The New Orleans Saints had a painful Thursday night before Christmas arrives. They fell 30-22 to the Los Angeles Rams. The score was closer than the game - again.
Unfortunately, it was a very painful evening for one Saints star, in particular. Wide receiver Chris Olave has been dealing with an ankle injury over the past couple of weeks. On Thursday night, he played through the pain and had an impressive outing for the Saints.
The young, standout WR totaled 123 yards on nine receptions. He was a key contributor in picking up first downs, and New Orleans was not doing that nearly often enough when going to other players.
After the loss, Olave admitted that it 'took everything' for him to play in the game. He was clearly in pain postgame.
Olave proved that he wanted to put it all out there in the Saints' biggest game of the season. Sadly, he could not do it alone.
The ascending wideout was shown on the sideline rooting for his team to complete a comeback that did not quite occur. It was clear that Olave desperately wanted New Orleans to pull it out, even when they were down by a score of 30-14. He did not lose faith in his guys and was trying to supply some energy.
There's no doubting his commitment to the Saints. That should have never been doubted, and it certainly should not be a topic of discussion again moving forward. He deserves a lot of respect for playing through his injury and performing.
This season, Olave, like others, has been let down by a multitude of factors in New Orleans. It's truly a shame.
The second-year receiver has a bright future ahead of him in the NFL, and he's passionate about being on the Saints.
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