The Saints crawled into a hole, and dug all the way out.
The Superdome was on fire. The offense had led three straight scoring drives, but it took one play to erase all of that.
One week after an exhilarating victory in an NFC South clash, the Saints found themselves on the opposite end, falling to 5-3 and missing a prime chance to climb into the top spot of the NFC South. They now have a lot of questions left to answer before a Week 10 showdown with the Tennessee Titans.
With all that in mind, here are my top three takeaways from a 27-25 loss to the Falcons at the Superdome.
CAN SOMEONE CATCH A DAMN BALL?
We're officially halfway through the 2021 season. There are 18 weeks of games, the Saints just finished week 9.
Michael Thomas won't be returning. The trade deadline has passed. Something's gotta give. It'd be easy to pin a tough offensive performance on the backup quarterback, but the issue is nothing new: The Saints pass-catchers just haven't gotten it done.
Whether it's a failure to win separation, or come down with balls that hit them in the hands ... it's been ugly and ineffective. That's what cost New Orleans in Week 9. I counted at least five clear drops, many taking scoring opportunities off the board.
Things started opening up late in the game. Siemian delivered on-time balls to Adam Trautman, setting up a touchdown to Marquez Callaway that brought the game within 10 in the fourth quarter. Stills made a pretty grab to set up the Saints in the red zone on their drive for a potential go-ahead score. He hauled in the go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes. The moments were nice. But the writing is on the wall.
Might the Saints get a shot at Odell Beckham Jr.? Is there another WR that shakes loose? Something's gotta happen. This team can win by playing complementary football on offense. There are very few compliments that can be given the pass-catching group thus far.
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TREVOR OR TAYSOM?
By what Sean Payton said in his announcement that Trevor Siemian would be the starting quarterback in Week 9, it sounded like it was less Trevor vs Taysom as it was Trevor vs the field.
Hill's emergence from the concussion protocol didn't really come in time to be a serious candidate for the job this week. All that is to say, there's another decision to be made.
Siemian didn't play terribly. He made some nice throws. His pass-catchers let him down several times. But he hung in and led drives to give the Saints a chance at a comeback. Was it enough to commit to Siemian the rest of the way?
Hill got his shots at the QB spot. He completed a pair of nice passes to Tre'Quan Smith and Deonte Harris. Siemian's worst moment of the game came immediately after, when he was caught from the blindside for a costly sack fumble. Hill ran a power set for a first down in the red zone late in the fourth quarter before Alvin Kamara powered it in to bring the margin back to 24-19.
There's merit to both potential options, but don't fool yourself into thinking the starting QB is written in anything but sand at this point.
THE FANS, WHERE DEY AT?
One negative of the rally towels is it makes it very clear what seats never got claimed on gameday.
There's always energy in the Superdome, but even Sean Payton mentioned after Week 8 that the noise hadn't been up to the standards he was hoping to see. That was the case in Week 4 against the Giants. It was the case in Week 8 against the Bucs. It was the case against in Week 9 against the Falcons.
A lot of empty seats, cutting into the noise production of the fans in the building. And they were loud when they got their chance, particularly during the Saints' 4th quarter comeback.
Will the capacity crowds return as the season goes down to the wire? Only time will tell. As the crowd ratcheted up the noise, the Falcons offense sputtered. The fan impact is real. This Saints squad needs that energy.