In the first two weeks of the season, the New Orleans Saints appeared unbeatable. Now, it’s time to face reality.
The Saints let another close game slip away, losing 26-24 to their NFC South rival, Atlanta. Coach Dennis Allen described the loss as the kind that can “rip your heart out.”
New Orleans managed to lose without allowing an offensive touchdown from the Falcons, which hurt even more after their previous week’s 15-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, who scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to win.
The Saints (2-2) had looked like one of the best teams in the league with a 47-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers and a 44-19 win against the Cowboys in Dallas. But that confidence has faded.
“You try your best not to be so angry about it,” said quarterback Derek Carr, who completed 27 of 34 passes for 223 yards against the Falcons. He also had a deflected pass that was returned for a pick-6. “But you hate losing, especially close ones. They stink.”
After failing to score on fourth-and-goal at the Atlanta 7 with 4:01 left, the Saints got the ball back and drove down the field for what looked like the winning touchdown.
Carr connected with Chris Olave on a couple of important third-down passes before Alvin Kamara scored from the 1-yard line with a minute left. Blake Grupe’s extra point put New Orleans ahead 24-23.
With no timeouts, the Falcons faced second-and-10 from their own 30 after a false start penalty on center Ryan Neuzil.
Kirk Cousins threw a pass down the sideline to Darnell Mooney, but the ball seemed to hang in the air longer than expected. This caused Mooney to raise his hands as if he was about to catch it, leading to contact from cornerback Paulson Adebo.
The 30-yard pass interference penalty moved the Falcons to the Saints’ 30-yard line. Cousins threw three straight incompletions, but it didn’t matter. Younghoe Koo kicked his fourth field goal of the game from 58 yards with just 2 seconds left, securing the win for Atlanta (2-2).
“I’ve got to be better right there,” Adebo said. “Personally, I know a big part is on me playing clean late in the game.”
The biggest mistake for the Saints happened early when punt returner Rashid Shaheed mistakenly called for a fair catch at his own 2-yard line and let the ball bounce off his shoulder. It rolled into the end zone, where KhaDarel Hodge recovered it for Atlanta’s first touchdown.
“It’s a bad decision,” Allen said. “We don’t ever want to field that ball. He’s typically been a guy who’s made a lot of really good decisions back there, so it was uncharacteristic for him to make that decision to field the ball there. But we certainly don’t want to do that.”
Atlanta’s other touchdown came when Matthew Judon deflected a pass from Carr, sending the ball high into the air. Falcons linebacker Troy Andersen intercepted it and returned it 47 yards for a score.
It was a tough break for Carr, but he didn’t see it that way. “I’ve got to get rid of it quicker when it’s not there,” he said. “I can’t wait that long to throw it away.”
New Orleans was already dealing with injuries, missing two important offensive line players—center Erik McCoy and right guard Cesar Ruiz—along with linebacker Demario Davis.
Then, two more players got hurt during the game. Linebacker Willie Gay Jr. was ruled out with a hand injury, and all-purpose player Taysom Hill left with rib injuries, different from the chest issue that kept him out against the Eagles.
