The New Orleans Saints didn't look like the same team against the Atlanta Falcons that we saw last time New Orleans took the field. The offense wasn't as seamless. Tyler Shough and the Saints offense saw some early success, but the team stalled out in Atlanta territory. Most of those drives ended with missed field goals by Blake Grupe.
The Saints spent much of the third quarter controlling the football, but not scoring points. There was a point where the FOX broadcast flashed a graphic where the Saints had the ball for over 30 plays, and scored just 3 points. The Falcons had the ball for six plays and scored 8 points.
If there was one thing to point to to illustrate what type of game it was, that's the perfect stat. The Saints were able to move the football but never finished the drive. If those early field goals were made, this game would have felt a lot different as it progressed.
Saints fight their way out of the NFC South basement
The Saints came into this game looking to get out of last place. With a victory against Atlanta, both teams would be sitting at 3-8. The Saints would have had the early tiebreaker. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and the Saints remain in last place of the NFC South.
The Saints are right where they were predicted to be near the bottom of the league. They are. They were predicted to be near the bottom of the league. They are. If there was a team they were expected to share the basement with, it would have been the Carolina Panthers. That surprisingly wasn't the case.
The Panthers came into Week 12 a half game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Falcons only had three wins and were on a five game losing streak. This was a true role reversal for Carolina and Atlanta.
The odds felt like they were in the Saints favor coming into the game. The Falcons were without Michael Penix Jr. and Drake London. The Saints found out Kirk Cousins still has a little left in the tank. The offense primarily flowed through Bijan Robinson, but Cousins did deliver a bomb to Darnell Mooney. That plus the Saints own inefficiencies on offense were enough for Atlanta to walk away with a victory.