The New Orleans Saints lost their second straight after a tight 26-24 loss against their division rival Atlanta Falcons. As the season progresses, the identity of this Saints team starts to be revealed more and more.
The pass rush needs to be better
The Saints’ pass rush was in a prime position to feast on Sunday against Kirk Cousins and the Falcons. Cousins is recovering from a torn ACL he faced during the 2023 season. His injury has caused him to be stiff in the pocket and immobile to start the season. On top of Cousins’ injury, Atlanta was without two starting offensive linemen. Despite promising factors indicating that New Orleans’s defensive line would have a big day, the Saints would only sack the veteran quarterback once.
The defense has been one of the top units in the league in terms of sacking the quarterback for the 2024 season, even facing more mobile quarterbacks and healthier offensive lines. Atlanta didn’t score a touchdown on offense but kicked four field goals including the game-winner. A better showing from the pass rush could’ve been the difference between winning and losing on Sunday.
Taysom Hill is irreplaceable
The Saints offense was 2/2 on drives to start the game with Taysom Hill capping off each with a touchdown. During the team’s third drive, Hill left with an injury and did not return. It wouldn’t be until the fourth quarter that New Orleans would find the end zone again. Hill’s presence on the field is enough to cause confusion and uneasiness for opposing defenses. Without Hill on the field, the Saints lose that X-factor that keeps opposing defenses guessing.
Hill is the most efficient runner in short-yardage situations and the Saints have struggled without him on the field in the last two weeks. Now that Hill is dealing with a separate injury from the one that made him unavailable against the Philidelphia Eagles, the New Orleans offense will have to find ways to succeed without the Swiss army knife.
The Saints biggest enemy was the Saints
The game started tragically for the Saints after Rashid Shaheed tried fielding a punt that he should’ve let bounce in the back of the endzone. Shaheed would muffle the punt, and the Falcons would recover it in the New Orleans end zone for a touchdown. Later in the game, quarterback Derek Carr would throw a pass right into the arms of defensive end Matthew Judon that would be deflected and taken for a touchdown by the Atlanta defense. These two scores were the Falcons’ only touchdowns on the day. The Saints had to play catchup for the rest of the game trying to make up for their mistakes. The team’s two weeks of dominance to start the season was clean football with minimal mistakes. Now in the tougher competitions, the team is shooting themselves in the foot leading to a two-game losing streak.
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