Saints have no one to blame but themselves for ugly Week 4 loss to the Falcons

The New Orleans Saints are now 2-2 after losing to the Atlanta Falcons 26-24 in Week 4. The Saints entered the game with the odds stacked against them since they were missing several key players, and even loss Taysom Hill during the game. Still, it took a career-long field goal from Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo to put New Orleans away, but make no mistake about it, the Saints should be embarrassed because this was a very winnable game.

From the first series of the game to the last play, New Orleans made several mind-boggling decisions that cost them the game. It started when the Saints forced Atlanta to punt on the first series of the game. All-Pro returner Rashid Shaheed waived his had for a fair catch, and faded back all the way to the three-yard line to attempt to field the punt. He muffed it, the ball went into the end zone, and Atlanta recovered it for a score.

Muffed punts are unacceptable, but they happen, even for All-Pro returners. What shouldn’t have happened was Shaheed trying to field the ball at the three-yard line. Even the most casual football fan knows punt returners are taught not to field the ball inside the 10-yard line. For some reason, Shaheed went against returner 101 and it cost New Orleans seven points.

The second Falcons touchdown also came on a bizarre play, as Derek Carr tried completing a screen pass to Chris Olave. Unfortunately for New Orleans, Falcons defender Matt Judon tipped the pass and it ricocheted straight into the air and landed into Atlanta linebacker Troy Andersen’s hands. He easily returned the pick for a score.

That wasn’t really a bad decision, but just one of those fluke plays that happen in football. Nevertheless, New Orleans should’ve been able to overcome the play.

The Saints defense held the Falcons to just four field goals, but they aren’t without blame in all of this either. While they didn’t give up any touchdowns, the tackling was bad, and the pass rush was mostly absent. Additionally, for the second week in a row, the defense went on the field with a lead, and gave up a game-winning score.

It’s going to be a brutal film session for the Saints, and as they sit at 2-2, they have to look in the mirror and figure out what needs to be done to stop making costly mistakes.

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