Despite losing to the Atlanta Falcons, the New Orleans Saints can at least boast about the fact that they shut down Bijan Robinson.
Robinson is the Falcons' top running back and one of the top five in the NFL at his position. He had one of his worst games this year, rushing only 33 yards on 15 carries (2.2 yards per carry). In fact, Robinson had such a poor game that Saints quarterback Tyler Shough had more rushing yards than he did. Unfortunately for the Who Dat Nation, the Dirty Birds were still able to finish out their season with a victory.
The Saints defense did their thing, but unfortunately the offense can't say the same. While they did pick it up eventually, the Kellen Moore-led offense was unable to get anything going until a little over halfway through the second quarter. If they want to be more successful in 2026, Moore and the rest of the team are going to have to figure out how to start faster.
The Saints' defense's best game against the run came just too late
The first year in Brandon Staley's defense has been a clear success. He has definitely turned around the defense for the better, as the Saints changed systems for the first time in years. However, one crutch to their game this year was the inconsistency in stopping an opponent's run game.
To make matters more impressive, Robinson was coming off a monster game against the Rams. He had 195 rushing yards and 229 total yards in that game. Robinson had 168 yards the week prior and 175 yards the week before that. He had been on a tear recently, and the Saints struggles in that department suggested Robinson would sustain his momentum.
On Sunday though, the defense definitely had a hand on the running game, holding the two-time pro bowler to just 33 yards on the ground, and the entire Atlanta offense to just 49 yards rushing.
It was the Saints best game of the season in that category, but their epiphany on how to be consistent against the run came too late in the year. If they had figured out that issue earlier in the season, the Saints might not have finished the 2025 season with double-digit losses.