The Saints Are Easily the Most Disappointing Team in Recent Memory After Latest Playoff Heartbreaker

Have you ever seen a professional sports team give their fanbase high hopes, only for them to rip their hearts out of their chests? OK, now multiply that by "every year".

We introduce you to the New Orleans Saints.

New Orleans entered the playoffs this year as probably the biggest threat to the San Francisco 49ers on the NFC side of the bracket. Instead, the team choked against a favorable opponent in the Minnesota Vikings, falling to them in a 26-20 overtime loss.

After this latest sobering playoff exit, it's official: There can be no team more disappointing than the Saints.

Since the Saints defeated the Peyton Manning-led Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV, New Orleans has never returned to the big game. In the years that followed, they have instead been eliminated in perhaps the most heartbreaking ways imaginable.

There was the "Beast Quake" run in 2011. A last-second loss to the Alex Smith-led 49ers in 2012. The "Minneapolis Miracle" in 2018. And how could we forget the missed pass interference call that helped lead the Los Angeles Rams to Super Bowl LIII over the Saints last postseason?

While their second recent playoff loss to the Vikings wasn't even in the class of their previous heartbreaks, it was equally disappointing and deflating. New Orleans was viewed as the heavy betting favorite over the Vikings, and ye, a quarterback in Kirk Cousins, who's been notoriously "not clutch," threw an overtime touchdown pass in the Super Dome to score the upset.

The Saints had an equally balanced team on offense and defense, ranking near the top of the league. Yet head coach Sean Payton couldn't put it all together when it mattered most.

When you think of the New Orleans Saints, you will pair them alongside the '90s Buffalo Bills that reached four consecutive Super Bowls, and won none of them. A team this talented should never be this disappointing.

Yet, here we are.