After a scorching hot start to the season, blowing out the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys, the New Orleans Saints have come back down to earth, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons.  

The Saints scored a touchdown with under two minutes left in both losses, as the defense could not get a late stop to hold on for the win. Last week, the Eagles scored a fast touchdown, leaving a minute on the clock for the Saints to blow it, while this week the Falcons kicked a 58-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to steal the win. 

The Saints and Falcons went back and forth in the first half, trading scores to regain the lead with both teams unable to take control. After the Saints took a 14-7 lead on Taysom Hill’s second touchdown of the half, they began to let the game unravel as the Falcons scored a field goal on the ensuing drive before intercepting Derek Carr and returning it for a touchdown. Just like that, the Saints were in relatively unfamiliar territory: losing. After not spending a single second from behind in games against the Panthers and Cowboys, the Saints lost a lead for the first time against the Eagles in the fourth quarter. So, entering the game against the Falcons, the Saints had only been down for down 12 minutes and 15 seconds this season. 

The Falcons held onto their lead for almost the entire second half, as neither team could find the end zone until late in the fourth quarter when Alvin Kamara was finally able to hit pay dirt to take a late lead of 24-23. However, with just one minute remaining and no timeouts, the Falcons drove down the field quickly, with the help of Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo, who was flagged for a 30-yard defensive pass interference on Darnell Mooney deep down the field. The Falcons capitalized on the costly penalty with an incredibly long 58-yard field goal by kicker Younghoe Koo, to the dismay of all Saints fans while Mercedes-Benz Stadium went wild. 

You don’t often see a team that scored 24 points lose to a team that was unable to score an offensive touchdown the entire game, but that is exactly what occurred on Sunday. The Atlanta Falcons offense was stifled in field goal range on three occasions before the game-winning field goal at the end to win it. But that is only 12 points, so how did the Falcons wind up with 26? Turnovers. A large takeaway from the game was the Saints’ inability to stay out of their own way, as two costly mistakes provided the points Atlanta needed to counteract the offense settling for field goals.  

The first major shoe to drop came early in the first quarter, as the Saints made a big stop on third and 20 to force the Falcons to punt. Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed was back to receive the punt, but dropped what normally is a routine catch as the football bounced off of Shaheed’s body backward into the end zone where the Falcons jumped on it.  

The second big mistake came midway through the second quarter. The Falcons’ defensive line deflected Carr’s short pass intended for Chris Olave up in the air and it landed in linebacker Troy Andersen’s hands, who returned it for a touchdown. These two mistakes accounted for more than half of the Falcons’ final 26 points and ultimately made the difference in the Falcons’ win. 

Carr had a relatively clean game, besides the interception that was batted in the air, as he completed nearly 78% of his passes and finished with 239 yards passing. While it is easy to compare this game to the Saints’ two wins and think this performance was a disappointment, Carr led four scoring drives and 24 points, including a go-ahead touchdown with one minute remaining. 

Ignoring Shaheed’s special teams blunder, both he and Olave had solid days offensively with double-digit targets and eight receptions for more than 80 yards each. Shaheed also received two carries for 14 yards bringing his yards from scrimmage total to 97. 

The Saints’ running game was effective as well, with Kamara racking up 77 rushing yards on 19 carries and a touchdown, and Hill had a huge day with six carries for 24 yards and two touchdowns. Kamara was also active through the air as he racked up seven receptions for 42 yards taking his total scrimmage yards over the century mark for the fourth time in as many games this season. Kamara’s touchdown on Sunday brings his season total to six in just four games as his outstanding season continues. 

While 26 points by the Falcons makes it seem as though the Saints’ defense struggled, only 12 of those points were scored on them, with the defense’s only big blunder coming on the Adebo penalty in the final minute of the game. It is certainly fair to criticize the defense for giving up the game-winning field goal after taking the lead with a minute left and the Falcons having zero timeouts left. Still, if it weren’t for the big mistakes on offense and special teams that resulted in touchdowns, this game could’ve gone much differently.  

Adebo was enjoying a terrific game before referees called him for the late pass interference flag. Adebo recorded 12 total tackles, three passes defended and an interception of Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins on Sunday. 

While the Saints are still 2-2 through four games, the loss to the Falcons puts them in danger of falling under .500 as they are set to face the undefeated, reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on the road Monday night. Hopeful Saints fans can get a glimpse into a potential Super Bowl opponent if the Saints can return to their early season form. The game is set to be on ESPN at 7:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Oct. 7 at Arrowhead Stadium.