Four fourth-quarter turnovers — including one that re-stoked officiating frustrations from two weeks earlier — spoiled the Saints’ much-anticipated home-opener.
Finally playing in the friendly confines of Caesars Superdome, New Orleans once again found itself on the wrong end of a fumble-or-incompletion call by officials.
This time, a ball was ruled loose from quarterback Tyler Shough’s hand before he could begin his forward throwing motion, and visiting Las Vegas was able to recover and convert the opportunity into a go-ahead touchdown.
The Saints (1-2) had other opportunities, but the pivotal play reminiscent of an apparent Detroit fumble in Week 1 they were not awarded was just the first of four costly miscues in the final period of a 35-27 loss to the Raiders (2-1).
New Orleans had owned fourth quarters the past two weeks on the road, rallying back to force overtime against the Lions and then to upset the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2.
But Sunday’s proved to be a ball-security nightmare with three lost fumbles, an interception on multiple other bobbles the Saints managed to re-secure to avoid further issues.
This article will be further updated…
