Any Saints loss to the Atlanta Falcons is heart-breaking, end of the world sorrowful, but this one was a throwback to the 70’s, with a last minute dagger that felled the Saints 27-25.
The Saints played a pretty lackluster first 3 quarters, allowing Matt Ryan to chop up their vaunted defense with mostly short passes, with an occasional embarrassing long one thrown in. The Falcons led 24-6 with 8 minutes left, and it all seemed a formality. The Saints were going to squander their chance to take the division lead.
There are a lot of tried and true ways to lose in the NFL. Here are a few:
- Sleep walk through 3 quarters and let the other team jump out to a big lead
- Drop about 7 passes
- Fail miserably on a couple of critical two point conversions
- Lose a fumble in the pocket in the middle of the comeback.
- Waste a stirring comeback by leaving the veteran opposing quarterback too much time to mount a comeback of his own.
- Put a rookie man to man on the best receiver with the game on the line.
Consider all those boxes checked.
The Saints trailed by 18 with 8 minutes left and mounted a thrilling comeback, as Siemian and Taysom Hill began to sling the ball all over the field. It was the most remarkable comeback since the Brees-led one over the then-Skins of Red back in 2017. When Kenny Stills caught a touchdown pass with 1 minute left, Saints fans were ecstatic, but also knew that was a lot of time for Matt Ryan. He needed about 10 seconds of it. His 64 yard pass to Cordarrelle Patterson over rookie Paulson Adebo took the wind out of the Superdome faster than a bomb cyclone, whatever that is. The Falcons won it on a short field goal.
The Saints are a puzzling lot. They’ve lost to three teams, the Giants, Falcons, and Panthers that now have worse records than the Saints. They beat the two teams, the Bucs and Packers that are the favorites to play in the NFC Championship.
They broke their improbable 3 game winning streak. Instead of a remarkable 6-2 record, they stumble to 5-3, making their playoff odds significantly longer. Three of their next 4 opponents, Tennessee, Dallas, and Buffalo lead their divisions, and the one that doesn’t, Philly, is in 2nd place. Cakewalk it ain’t. These 3 losses to teams they should have beaten would have provided a margin for error they don’t have now. Going into December at or under .500 is a very real possibility. Meanwhile, their home field advantage seems to have evaporated and escaped through that fire on the roof a few months back.
They’ve hidden their major deficiency – wide receiver, until today. Against the Falcons, drops were plentiful, and separation was not in evidence until late in the game. My personal opinion is that OBJ is a head case, but he’d easily be the #1 receiver on this team. Not that I’m advocating.
Tight End Adam Trautman contributed a couple of critical drops, but came alive in the 4th quarter. They say he’s a good blocker. Whatever.
Mark ingram looked good in the first quarter, then he disappeared, into the “minimal use” bucket.
Atlanta receivers, on the other glove, were wide open all day. If this is evidence of game-planning by their first-year coach, Arthur Smith, the Saints recent superiority may be in jeopardy. While Atlanta upped their series lead to 54-51, the Saints are 21-10 since Payton arrived, including 6 out of the last 7 until today. It would be nice for recent momentum to continue.
Taysom Hill embarrassed the Birds last year, and zinged two completions right before Siemian’s game-changing fumble. Payton may not have been convinced Hill was ready after his concussion, and Siemian played pretty well, but I’m thinking the decision will be tougher next week. The loss was certainly not Trevor’s fault, but could he win a Super Bowl? I don’t know. Could Nick Foles? Brad Johnson? Jeff Hostetler? Trent Dilfer? How much has the game changed? I just don’t know. No one is talking about his big arm, that’s for sure.
Today reminded me of the Minneapolis Miracle. The Vikings jumped out to a big lead. Brees piloted a brilliant comeback, one that should have made it a signature win. It all went out the window on an improbable bomb to Stefon Diggs, whose part was played today by Patterson. After what the Saints did to Brady last week with under a minute left, this outcome was particularly surprising. The defense was a step slow all day, and Patterson one-on-one with any rookie is a full load, although they did contain rookie phenom tight end Kyle Pitts.
So, a puzzling day in the NFL all around. In future opponents, Jacksonville embarrassed Buffalo, and Denver surprised Dallas, so they’ll be more focused. Let’s hope the Saints are.
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