Monday Night Football in the Big Easy!  With pictures of Bourbon Street, the Superdome, and a Reggie Bush-Adrian Peterson matchup, the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings game was set up to be full of big plays and highlights.

Led by Drew Brees, the Saints came out of the gates showcasing their lethal passing attack and scored a quick touchdown.  Brees found Devery Henderson for a 17-yard touchdown pass and the Saints led 7-0.

Scoring easily, the Saints seemed like they would roll over the Vikings without breaking a sweat.  Instead, the Saints completely fell apart and found themselves down 20-10 at the half.

It started when a drive that would have put the Saints up 14-0 was stalled by a holding penalty, which erased a Bush run to the Minnesota 5-yard line.  Following the penalty, Robert Meachem dropped a pass that would have led to a Saints first down.  As Martin Gramatica attempted a field goal, it was blocked and Antoine Winfield returned the football for a 59-yard score.

From this point on, the Saints offense was never the same.  It finished the half with four fumbles (two lost), one interception and nine penalties.  

In the second half, Bush's best efforts were not enough to lead the Saints to victory.  Bush returned two punt returns for touchdowns and racked up 176 yards in the return game alone.

The second of Bush's returns actually gave the Saints the lead 27-20 with 11:36 to play.

However in typical Saints fashion, New Orleans was unable to close the door In typical Saints fashion, New Orleans was unable to close the door on the Vikings and lock up a win.  

The defense, which shut down Peterson all night, allowed Gus Frerotte to hook up with Bernard Berrian for a 33-yard touchdown pass.  

With the game tied, the Saints managed to get in field-goal range, but Gramatica missed a go-ahead field goal with two minutes remaining.  He is 6-for-10 on the year and has missed several key kicks.  It's time for the Saints to find another option.

The Vikings took advantage of a Kevin Kaesviharn pass interference, and Ryan Longwell connected on a 30-yard kick for the win.

The Saints fell to 2-3 and are alone in last place in a very competitive NFC South.

Inconsistency has been the biggest problem for the Saints this year.  Their three losses have come by a combined 9 points.  At times, the Saints can look like a legitimate contender.  But their inability to close games has proven to be the difference in all of their losses.  If a few balls bounce their way, then they could be 5-0.  

Perhaps the team will be more consistent when some of their more dangerous weapons return from injuries.

Other NFL news:

In a hard-hitting game, the Tennessee Titans move to 5-0 with a win over the Baltimore Ravens.  Kerry Collins produced a fourth quarter game-winning drive to give the Titans a 13-10 victory.  This is the first 5-0 start in franchise history for the Titans.

The New York Giants returned from their bye week to lay a beatdown on the Seattle Seahawks.  The Giants won 44-6 and have quietly started 4-0.  Despite being the defending Super Bowl champs, no one is talking about the Giants.  If it were the Patriots, everyone would be talking about a perfect season.

Speaking of quiet starts, the Carolina Panthers improved to 4-1 with a 34-0 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.  DeAngelo Williams rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns as the Panthers pounded the Chiefs.

The Indianapolis Colts scored 21 points in the final four minutes to come from behind and beat the Houston Texans 31-27.  Two Sage Rosenfels fumbles, one of which was returned by Gary Brackett for a score, cost the Texans the game.  The Colts improve to 2-2, while the Texans fall to 0-4.