The New Orleans Saints had a chance to make a statement on Monday Night Football against the Falcons, and boy did they make one -- just not the one they'd hoped.
In a game that doubled as the 20th anniversary of the famed 2006 'Domecoming' game, a hot Caesars Superdome crowd turned to boos and then an early departure as the Saints were throttled 45-24. It was a performance that was as disappointing as it is concerning for this team's outlook, as the Cajun Cannon Bobby Hebert broke down in his postgame rant.
“Does our team look tough? We don’t have no dawgs," Hebert said on WWL Radio. "I mean, does anybody, like, truly get mad or, you know, we could do rah-rah speeches and all that, but I mean, it’s too much — we’re just going along to get along."
Hear Bobby Hebert's full postgame rant in the player above.
The Saints offense continued its frustrating habit of starting slow, but it was the defense's inability stop the run or get stops when needed that truly cemented the result. The Falcons ran for more than 200 yards and five touchdowns, headlined by Bijan Robinson's 145 yards and a pair of scores. Atlanta scored on its final six possessions of the game, excluding a pair of possessions to run out the clock at the end of each half.
“I think we could’ve played an extra game," Hebert continued, "we’re still not going to tackle Bijan Robinson. … It looked like he was just clowning out there."
The inability to stop either Falcons RB named Robinson was an issue was apparent from the get-go. Bijan Robinson scored a touchdown from 59 yards out on the third play of the game. His counterpart Brian Robinson plowed in touchdowns from 4, 8 and 11 yards out.
The Saints cut the margin to 14 twice in the second half, but in both instances the defense allowed touchdown drives that pushed the falcons lead to 21. The Saints run game managed just 50 yards on 19 attempts and they were a woeful 6-15 on third down. QB Tyler Shough seemed to be under pressure constantly in the second half with the team forced into obvious passing situations, taking two sacks.
The Saints also lost the turnover battle for the third time in four games, and they failed to record a takeaway for the second consecutive game. The loss marks the sixth consecutive primetime defeat for New Orleans.
“It’s a bunch of things, that it makes you question the team that where are we at, are we heading in the right direction, what changes do we have to make," Hebert said.
The Saints will get another home game to potentially right the ship when the 4-0 Vikings and their pressure heavy scheme roll into town for Week 5. That will be followed by a road trip to face the Giants (3-1), then a Paris trip for a matchup with the Steelers (2-2).
"Tell you what, they’d better pack a lunch against the Vikings when they come to town," Hebert said. "Now, you can’t hit the quarterback anymore, but the Vikings will be coming defensively.”
