The New Orleans Saints had all the positivity and an extra week to prepare. It certainly didn't look like that in a 24-10 loss to a beaten-up Falcons squad riding a five-game skid.
The Saints followed up their impressive performance against the Panthers with a day that didn't feature an offensive touchdown and saw two 15-play drives that reached the 1-yard line generate 3 points total.
"That’s almost impossible to possess the ball that many plays ... and we scored 3 points," The Cajun Cannon Bobby Hebert said in his postgame rant. "What are we doing?"
The Saints were in the game throughout, but they trailed wire-to-wire in a fashion that's been all-too-familiar this season. The Saints are the lowest-scoring first quarter team in the NFL and they were shut out again in this game. Tyler Shough finished the day 30-43 for 243 yards and an interception.
“We take one step forward, two steps back, and it was a giant step against Carolina, but now we’re going back again," Hebert continued. "This is the kind of game that says, I don’t know, I’ve got to wait and see about Tyler Shough.”
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In a loss that dropped the Saints to 2-9 on the year, it was the opportunity that proved more frustrating than the result. The Falcons came in beaten down and missing QB Michael Penix and star WR Drake London. They were losers of five in a row, but they looked like the better team in this one. The Falcons defensive line won early and often, sacking Tyler Shough five times and limiting the Saints run game to 79 yards on 25 carries (3.2 YPC).
Kirk Cousins wasn't dynamic by any stretch, but he was efficient with a line of 16-23 for 199 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception, including a 49-yard, back-breaking touchdown to Darnell Mooney shortly after the Saints had cut the deficit to 6.
"They looked like the more desperate team," Hebert said. "Even though they’re not going to do anything. They’re not catching the Bucs, I don’t think, but losing five in a row they didn’t want to lose six in a row.”
The Saints will hit the road again for the next two weeks, first visiting the Dolphins before another matchup with the Bucs. Catch all the action on WWL and Audacy.