DETROIT -- The worst part about the New Orleans Saints' worst defensive collapse of the season was that they had played their best game of the season for 55-plus minutes.
With 4:47 remaining, the Saints led the Detroit Lions 23-10, and Detroit had a total of 240 yards.
The Saints had a season-high two interceptions -- one by cornerback Keenan Lewis early and one by safety Kenny Vaccaro that appeared to clinch the game midway through the fourth quarter.
The Saints had a season-high three sacks -- including one by linebacker Parys Haralson that forced a third-and-10.
Then came the breakdowns: on that third-and-10, a 21-yard pass from Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford to receiver Corey Fuller. And three plays later, a 73-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to receiver Golden Tate on third-and-14.
A few minutes later, Stafford threw the go-ahead 5-yard touchdown pass to Fuller after a pass-interference penalty on fourth down.
"It just flashed," said Vaccaro, one of many Saints who were torn between taking some positives from the overall effort and feeling exasperation because it was their third blown loss in the final minutes this season.
"It's the league, though. Anything can happen at any time," Vaccaro said. "You're feeling good about yourself sitting there at 23-10. Then, blink, now we're back in here talking to y'all [the media] about what happened."
The biggest dagger of all -- not just Sunday, but this entire season -- was the touchdown pass to Tate, which was a short, innocent-looking pass that was actually a little underthrown.
The Saints were in a Cover 3, prevent-style defense. But cornerback Corey White saw an opportunity to jump the route. And then Tate sneaked in and undercut White instead.
As a result, White was in the air and wasn't in position to tackle Tate. Then Tate burned past Vaccaro and Lewis, with safety Rafael Bush too far away to get over and make a tackle.
"I should've made that play," White said. "I had a good beat on the route, and I was going for the interception, and he just kind of stepped in front of me. I didn't know where he was. I knew he was behind me, but I didn't know whether or not he could work back to the ball, and that's what he did.
"Of course you're stunned. A play you could have made, and you look up and it's going the whole distance. And you're like, 'Man, if only I made the play it'd be over.'"
The Lions got a short field to work with on their next series after Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw an interception, but the Saints' defense appeared to hold tight before Bush was flagged for defensive pass interference on fourth down for hooking the arm of running back Reggie Bush.
Two plays later, Saints rookie cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste allowed Fuller to run straight past him wide open for a touchdown -- an apparent missed assignment by Jean-Baptiste, who was playing for the first time this season because Lewis was battling injuries late in the game (cramps/hamstring/knee based on varying accounts).
"I'm sick of it," Lewis said, according to The Times-Picayune. "I'm tired of all of this losing. It doesn't matter if you lose by one. A loss is a loss, and it's going down in the record book.
"We've got to find a way to finish games. All since OTAs, minicamp, that's what Coach has been saying. All the gassers we run, we've got to finish games."
That's exactly what the Saints' defense did two weeks ago in a 37-31 overtime victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And they carried that momentum through the bye week to the start of this game. The defense actually kept the Saints afloat while New Orleans' offense took a while to get going Sunday in Detroit.
That's why there was still some pride and optimism mixed in with all the frustration after Sunday's loss.
"I've had games where as a defense you walk away with a bad taste. But this one, we grew," Vaccaro said. "But in the end you've gotta finish. … You can't give up a 75-yard play when we're in a Cover 3, prevent-type defense, third-and-forever."
