After a scorching hot start to the season, the New Orleans Saints finally hit a roadblock in a 15-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The Saints outscored their opponents 91-29 in their first two outings this season but could only muster up 3 points in the first three quarters before a fourth-quarter rally that fell short.

While the score indicates it was a close game, and the Saints were holding the Eagles scoreless heading into the fourth quarter, the game was actually very one-sided with the Eagles in control throughout. The Eagles more than doubled the Saints in both total yards, with 460 to just 219, and passing yards, 311 to 142. The Eagles were having their way running the ball as well, as they accounted for 172 rushing yards, with Saquon Barkley leading the way with 147 rushing yards on a terrific 8.6 yards-per-carry.

After a long, well-orchestrated opening drive to the game for the Saints, an all-too-familiar sight for Saints fans so far this season, it came up short, resulting in a field goal. The offense seemed to be holding onto the momentum of the previous two victories as they effortlessly drove the field in 15 plays before being forced to settle for 3 points. Nobody would have expected that this same Saints offense that scored 91 points in the previous two games would be completely scoreless following that field goal all the way into the fourth quarter. But, that’s exactly what happened.

The Saints’ offense completely disappeared as Derek Carr and Co. couldn’t find a spark for what felt like days before they finally woke up following a late score from the Eagles. The Saints finally showed signs of life on the ensuing drive as they scored a field goal to bring the deficit to just 1 point, 7-6. Eagles kicker Jake Elliott came up short on a deep 60-yard field goal, giving the Saints outstanding field position, which they translated into a touchdown. However, New Orleans was unable to convert on the 2-point conversion and left the door open for the Eagles to regain the lead, which they did after a costly defensive lapse on third and 16 led to a 61-yard reception by Dallas Goedert and set up a Saquon Barkley touchdown on the following play. A successful 2-point conversion made the Eagles’ lead 15-12, and Derek Carr’s attempt at being the hero was quickly erased after a deep pass on the second play of the drive was intercepted.

Derek Carr finished the game with a disappointing 14-25 passing for 142 yards, one touchdown and one interception. 113 of Carr’s 142 passing yards came on the Saints’ three scoring drives, meaning that between the 9:09 minute mark in the first quarter and the 13:17 minute mark in the fourth quarter, Carr had just 29 yards passing.

However, Carr wasn’t getting much help from the rushing game, as Alvin Kamara struggled to get much going on the ground. Kamara finished with 26 carries for 87 yards, which isn’t a bad total but his average was a measly 3.3 yards-per-carry. The Eagles did a fantastic job of bottling up the explosive plays that Saints fans were accustomed to seeing in their first two games. Rashid Shaheed, who recorded a 70-yard touchdown reception versus the Dallas Cowboys last week and a 59-yard touchdown reception in week one versus the Panthers, was held without a catch on five targets this weekend.

The one bright spot for the Saints offense was their star wide receiver Chris Olave, who, after a quiet week one against the Carolina Panthers, has recorded back-to-back receiving games with 80 yards or more and scored his first touchdown of the season on Sunday. Olave caught all six of his targets and gave the Saints a fourth-quarter lead with two minutes remaining after his 12-yard toe-tapping touchdown that wowed the Caesars Superdome crowd.

While the defense had a hard time slowing down the Eagles’ offense all game, their ability to pressure quarterback Jalen Hurts and force turnovers allowed them to hold the Eagles scoreless until the fourth quarter. The Saints’ pass rush was outstanding today, as they sacked Jalen Hurts four times, with Carl Granderson and Bryan Bresee leading the way with one and a half and two sacks apiece.

The Saints forced the Eagles into two turnovers with linebacker Willie Gay recovering a fumble after Jalen Hurts was stripped of the ball, and Tyrann Mathieu getting a crucial redzone interception to cut a successful Eagles drive short. In addition, the Saints got two fourth down stops, both in field goal range, to negate two more long Eagles drives. While the Saints’ defense certainly gave up plenty of explosive plays, their ability to make crucial stops on their own end of the field kept them in the game long enough to give the struggling offense a chance in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles special teams came up with a huge play as well, blocking the Eagles’ punt and giving the offense great field position. However, the offense wasn’t able to convert on the short field as they turned the ball over on downs after Alvin Kamara was stuffed at the line of scrimmage on fourth and 1.

While this weekend wasn’t the same level of dominance as Saints fans enjoyed in weeks one and two, they still sit atop the NFC South standings at 2-1, tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who also took a loss this weekend to the Denver Broncos. The Saints will look to get back on track in a critical early-season divisional game on the road against the Atlanta Falcons, who beat the Eagles last weekend 22-21. The game will be on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 12 p.m. CST at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and will be streamed on FOX.