Here’s what Sean Payton had to say after Week 9 loss to Falcons
The New Orleans Saints took a crushing loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9, dropping them to 5-3 on the year. Sean Payton spoke to the media following the 27-25 defeat in the Caesars Superdome.
Payton started things off by noting that his team didn’t do enough well to win the game. He mentioned that the penalties and being put in long-yardage situations really killed any momentum this team could have had on Sunday.
Sean Payton: “I thought they played better today. We didn’t do enough things well today. Too many penalties, too many long situations.”
— John Hendrix (@JohnJHendrix) November 7, 2021
The game came down to a Falcons field goal, which was good, but Payton said he wanted his defense to let Mike Davis score on the play where he fumbled. Had Davis scored there, the Saints would have had under a minute of clock to work with to try and retake the lead to win the game.
Payton says they were trying to let Falcons score on the fumble on last drive before the game winning FG
— Sean FazendeFOX8 (@SeanFazendeFOX8) November 7, 2021
It’s hard to say what would have truly gone down had the Falcons scored a touchdown on this drive, but it’d have made things interesting. New Orleans’ offense finally got something cooking in the waning minutes of the game, so perhaps they could have gone on to put together a game-winning drive.
Payton was then asked about Trevor Siemian, who played well in his first-ever Saints start. As we all know, Siemian came in for an injured Jameis Winston last week and played well against the defending champion Buccaneers. While his numbers were rough in the first half of this game, it wasn’t on Siemian. His receivers did him no favors and Payton touched on that.
Payton said Trevor Siemian played with poise and was overall good.
— John Hendrix (@JohnJHendrix) November 7, 2021
“I thought we dropped a few balls, more than our fair share.”
Payton didn’t care about PFF grades last week ahead of the trade deadline and felt confident in these receivers. They did show potential at the end of the game but it was too little, too late. Payton didn’t put all of the blame on the receivers either, for what it’s worth.
"It wasn't just receivers, I saw other guys dropping balls." -- Sean Payton
— Amie Just (@Amie_Just) November 7, 2021
This was a frustrating loss for New Orleans but we knew the Falcons would give the black and gold everything they had. These Saints/Falcons games nearly always come down to the wire and this one was no exception.
Next. 3 Takeaways from Week 9 Loss. dark
The Saints had a chance to jump into first place in the division with a win on Sunday but failed to beat a team who weren’t as talented as them. Good teams find ways to win these games and the Saints’ offense is clearly an issue, even if Payton won’t give the receivers the criticism they deserve.