The Saints found what felt like every possible way to lose in Week 1, but somehow they ended up winning -- and the Falcons have justified every second of trolling.
Despite trailing by 16 with about 12 minutes to go in Atlanta, the Saints came all the way back with a stunning fourth quarter, finished off by a 51-yard Wil Lutz bomb and a 27-26 victory.
With all that in mind, here are my five quick takeaways from the Saints' thrilling, unlikely, incredible victory over the Falcons.
NOTE: A lot of this was written prior to the insane finish. It's been updated, but if some assumed-loss wording got through, I apologize in advance. It will be updated shortly to reflect more of the late-game heroics.
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1. NO PROTECTION
There's going to end up being a lot of blame heaped on Jameis Winston for how this game started, and I'm sure he'll accept it. But anyone who watched should've seen the real issue: The line protected no one.
The group lost in virtually every way possible. They got mixed up on stunts. Blitzes came through clean. On passing downs it was a level of bullying that'd get you suspended from school.
The biggest culprits were Cesar Ruiz and James Hurst, and those had to be the two spots you had the most concern about coming in. Hurst is taking over at LT and looked a bit overmatched, but he's a journeyman for a reason. Ruiz is a first-round pick beginning his third NFL season. That level of play just isn't acceptable. Jameis is mobile, and he probably will say he needs to do a better job of setting protections and IDing the rush. He'll say he needs to get the ball out quicker, on time and on target. All those things are true and fair.
Jameis didn't play well in the first three quarters. He was off-target on a few key throws. He looked gun-shy in a pocket that was constantly collapsing around him. Nothing worked. If you take away the QB power runs for Taysom Hill, the offense didn't generate much at all. That changed in the fourth quarter as he led two thrilling touchdown drives that pulled the Saints back within 2 after a failed 2-point conversion. He then had ice in his veins as he got the Saints into field goal range on a drive in the final minute and Wil Lutz knocked it through from 51. It included an unfortunate intentional grounding that forced the defense to have some tense moments, but it all worked out so we can forget about that.
Jameis finished the game 23 of 34 for 269 yards and TDs.
Mike Thomas had two touchdowns, by the way. He finished with 5 catches for 57 yards despite a few missed connections throughout the game. Welcome back, sir. We missed you.
Also, does anyone blow a lead quite like the Falcons?
But at the end of the day the story was the same as it was in Week 2 of last season. The Saints allowed four sacks, and that number doesn't adequately sum up the futility that was the Saints' blocking effort over the first three quarters. If the protection doesn't improve, this team won't be beating good teams later in the season.
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2. HELP YOUR DEFENSE
This is in large part an extension of No. 1, but the term "complementary football" isn't just something people say because it sounds nice. This defense is good enough to win you games, but you have to allow them to do it.
One way is by avoiding turnovers. The Saints didn't do that. Mark Ingram coughed up a fumble (which Marcus Mariota conveniently returned). Wil Lutz clanked a 44-yard field goal attempt and the Falcons drove for a touchdown on the ensuing series. That won't go into the books as a TO, but I count it.
The second way you can help the defense: Don't force them to be on the field all day. New Orleans had four 3-and-outs in the first three quarters. A pair of those came on possessions immediately following forced fumbles.
The Saints offense did neither of those things. The Falcons won the time of possession battle by 7 minutes (a gap that was much wider prior to the fourth quarter), but the defense still managed to stand to get the offense one last chance. The offense took advantage, and the defense closed it out despite a few unnecessarily tense moments.
If the offense can't be high-powered, you have to at least find a way to extend drives earlier in games. It only gets more difficult from here.
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3. CAN WE CALL IT RUST?
If we're being generous, we'd say this team looked verrrry rusty. That was particularly the case on the offensive side of the ball.
This team is largely healthy. Making sure that was the case was a clear emphasis in the offseason following a 2021 season that saw an NFL-record 58 players started. Part of that was limiting preseason reps significantly for the first team. Jameis Winston, Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram, Michael Thomas and a handful of other first-teamers only saw one full series. The workload wasn't high for rotational players, either.
It was an understandable approach, but it's impossible to not look back at that choice and wonder if played a role in this New Orleans team getting out-physicaled and out-executed early and often in Week 1.
If rust was a culprit and the team can shake that off heading into a Week 2 matchup with the Bucs, it'll be a lot easier to erase the early-game struggles memory. A loss in this game could've loomed large down the stretch. A stunning comeback means it won't be looked at like the game dropped to Atlanta last season. That's a good thing.
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WHERE'S THE PASS RUSH?
We've seen this movie before. A mobile quarterback. A lot of motion and RPOs. A team that celebrates a bird mascot. I'm talking, of course, about the Eagles, whose quarterback Jalen Hurts has looked all-world in two matchups against the Saints in his career.
Marcus Mariota looked much the same in this matchup. The pass rush was negated, and it looked exhausted by the time things got to the 4th quarter. Only a turnover and a bogged down drive into the red zone kept the Saints clinging to any hope in this one.
The Saints defense didn't sack Marcus Mariota on the day or register a hit while he was in the pocket, but Pete Werner did have a clutch stop just ahead of the 2-minute warning when the team needed it most. Mariota finished the game 20 of 32 for 215 yards passing, while adding another 72 yards on the ground. He didn't turn it over, though a fumbled snap late on a potential close-out play will keep him up late tonight.
The good news (as odd as it is to say) is next week's matchup comes against a pocket-locked quarterback in Tom Brady. Pressuring the pocket is where this team shines, but there are a whole mess of mobile QBs in the modern NFL, and the Saints face seemingly all of them this season (Mariota, Hurts, Kyler Muray, Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson). If this group can't find a way to handle QBs that aren't bound to the pocket, this could be a struggle.
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THE CRITICS WILL STILL BE LOUD
Locally there's a lot of hope for what this team can do. There are high hopes for Dennis Allen and OC Pete Carmichael. The same can't be said for the national critics.
That noise won't get quieter after this performance, even if it ended in an insane comeback and victory. But hey, remember how loud they were in the opposite direction after a 38-3 shellacking of the Packers in Week 1 last year. You should always take the opening week of the season with a grain of salt.
And there was some incredible positivity at the end. Michael Thomas flashed often in the fourth quarter and kept things alive. Chris Olave had a few nice grabs, including a 2-point conversion. Jarvis Landry made some monstrous big plays, setting up multiple scores.
The protection will be worked on. The timing will get better. Breathe. The Saints dodged a bullet.
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LAGNIAPPE: One thing to watch will be Jameis Winston throughout the week. He went into the injury tent in the second half and definitely didn't look spry in the fourth quarter. Hopefully it's nothing, but it's something to keep an eye on. ... Shy Tuttle had a big run stuff in the 4th quarter that forced a Falcons punt and gave the Saints a chance at a drive in a one-score game. The run game at the Saints up a bit in this one, but that was a good moment for a young player. ... Alontae Taylor got reps at gunner and looked solid. He got down field well multiple times, though he did have one missed tackle that could've forced Atlanta back deep. He'll be an impact player there, for sure. ... Justin Evans got a good bit of action in the slot, as did PJ Williams. ... The Falcons are brutal at holding leads. Last year in the Dome Atlanta led 24-6 with 8 minutes to play, with New Orleans taking a lead at 25-24 before a last-second field goal won it for Atlanta. The Falcons led 26-10 with 12 minutes to go in this one.