Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo stood with his hands on his helmet in disbelief after his field goal attempt to tie the game bounced off the right upright with 6 1/2 minutes left against the Saints, a team that hadn’t won a game since September.
His frustration highlighted what was an unusual day for the Falcons, who believed they played better than New Orleans, only to lose 20-17 because of a series of untimely mistakes.
The Falcons entered the game as road favorites, sitting in first place in the NFC South. The Saints, on the other hand, had lost seven straight games and were playing their first game since firing head coach Dennis Allen and replacing him with special teams coach Darren Rizzi.
Atlanta had a 25-14 advantage in first downs and received a 306-yard passing game from Kirk Cousins, along with a season-high 116 rushing yards from Bijan Robinson.
Koo missed three field goals in the game, marking the first time in his seven seasons in the NFL that he had missed that many in one game. This came just six weeks after he hit a career-long, game-winning 58-yard field goal against the Saints in Atlanta.
Koo missed a 53-yard attempt to the left in the second quarter. Then, backup defensive tackle John Ridgeway blocked his 35-yard attempt just before halftime.
“This game’s fully on me,” Koo said. “I’ll take that. That’s not OK. We played well enough to win, and I let the team down. I don’t take that lightly. It’s one of my lowest points as a kicker.”
Falcons coach Raheem Morris supported Koo after the game.
“I’ve got all the confidence in the world in him,” Morris said. “He’s one of the best kickers in this game. He’s done it for us for a long time and he had an off day.”
The Falcons also missed several other chances during the game. In the third quarter, a personal foul on guard Chris Lindstrom for a low block wiped out Robinson’s first-and-goal run to the 1-yard line when Atlanta was trailing 17-7. Then, receiver Darnell Mooney committed a false start penalty, forcing the Falcons to settle for a 27-yard field goal.
After Robinson’s 37-yard touchdown run brought the Falcons to within 20-17, they couldn’t score again despite having four possessions in the fourth quarter.
Atlanta was at the Saints’ 44-yard line when Cousins threw an interception to safety Tyrann Mathieu with 1:59 left in the game.
“I was just being too aggressive,” Cousins said. “I’d stayed patient all game long — until that moment.”
The Falcons had one more chance. They moved from their 14-yard line to the Saints’ 49 in the final minute, but Cousins fumbled on a sack by defensive end Chase Young, losing 19 yards.
Atlanta got back to the New Orleans 43, but on fourth down, Ray Ray McCloud III was tackled just short of the first down as time expired. Falcons coach Raheem Morris chose not to attempt a 61-yard field goal from Koo.
“We were in desperation mode,” Morris said. “It didn’t work out for sure. We had all the chances in the world out there. It was just one of those days.”
Cousins took the blame for the loss.
“We certainly ran out of clock, and the sack-fumble didn’t help,” he said. “I needed to avoid the negative play there. We had chances to take the lead, and not being able to do it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. This is one that you’re sick over.”
The Falcons spent much of the game playing from behind, partly because their defense allowed two long passes from Derek Carr to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. One pass covered 40 yards for a touchdown, and the other went for 67 yards to set up another touchdown.
Morris said the Falcons shifted their top cornerback, A.J. Terrell, to cover Valdes-Scantling for the rest of the game, but the damage had already been done.
“Hats off to the Saints,” Morris said. “They did a great job executing. We have to find ways to stop those plays and find ways to be ahead of the curve so those plays aren’t disastrous.”
