NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints' battered secondary absorbed another big blow on Sunday with veteran safety Rafael Bush suffering a fractured tibia late in their 27-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Bush took over as the starter when safety Jairus Byrd suffered a season-ending knee injury in October. And Bush's backup, rookie Vinnie Sunseri, suffered a season-ending fractured arm last week.
When asked if it's just been one of those seasons for the Saints (4-6), Bush let out a loud sigh and said, "Man, who you telling?"
"It's just been bad luck," said Bush, who said he was "hoping and praying" it was just an ankle injury after he got rolled up during a tackle. But he said he heard a pop and knew it felt "a little funny." X-rays revealed the fracture.
Bush said he didn't know yet if he'll need surgery or be placed on injured reserve. But even in the best-case scenario, it's hard to imagine Bush being back in less than six weeks. The Saints will turn to rookie Canadian Football League transplant Marcus Ball and newly-signed veteran Jamarca Sanford, among other possible replacements.
Meanwhile, the Saints' top cornerback Keenan Lewis struggled worse than expected Sunday with the knee injury he suffered last week. Though Lewis started the game, he only played 11 snaps and got beat on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton to A.J. Green in the fourth quarter.
Lewis said he felt "awful" physically and played less than expected.
"I thought it was (better) ... But it's different when you're just warming up against nobody," said Lewis, who suffered from heavy swelling last week but apparently escaped any ligament damage.
"During the game, I just knew I didn't have the speed to really run and get myself in position that I usually am," Lewis said. "I ain't where I need to be. Y'all seen that. You won't see me too many times just out of position like that.
"It wasn't no secret, they knew. They attacked me, which they should've did. ... I just gotta find a way to get myself healthy. That's it. That's just part of football."
The Saints' secondary struggled on the field on a day when they allowed Cincinnati to convert 9 of their first 11 third-down tries. And Bengals quarterback Dalton, who had a passer rating of 2.0 last week against the Cleveland Browns, had a 143.9 vs. the Saints (16 of 22 for 220 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions).
Worse yet, the one big play the Saints' secondary made - a forced fumble against Bengals tight end Jermaine Gresham near the goal line - resulted in Gresham kicking the ball to himself and scoring a touchdown in the first quarter.
"Physically I think I had the worst game of my career today," said Bush, who also missed an open-field tackle on a 62-yard Jeremy Hill run before halftime. "Things just weren't going our way. You know, we had the opportunity to get the ball on the goal line on the fumble, and somehow Gresham ended up kicking the ball and ended up scoring. So that was just one of those plays, you know, things just haven't been going our way this year.
"The crazy thing is we've still got a chance (tied with Atlanta for the NFC South lead) and we've still got an opportunity to win this division. So everything's ahead of us, and we've just gotta keep fighting."