The New Orleans Saints had more offensive possessions than points scored in their Week 10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. On 10 drives, the Saints managed just nine points via three Wil Lutz field goals. For the second time this season the New Orleans Saints offense was largely the reason for a loss.
In their only other loss of the season, a 27-9 Week 2 defeat courtesy of the Los Angeles Rams, the Saints offense possessed the ball 11 times. Their offensive futility was understandable in that game since quarterback Drew Brees left with a thumb injury on their second drive.
On Sunday though, the Saints had Brees back in action with a Week 8 blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals in his first game back from injury under his belt. They also had a bye week that gave running back Alvin Kamara, tight end Jared Cook, and wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith enough time to recover from their injuries. They faced a Falcons defense that had allowed a 30th-ranked 31.2 points per game through the first nine weeks.
All signs pointed to a dominant performance by the New Orleans Saints offense. Instead, the unit put forth one of its most disappointing efforts in recent memory.
New Orleans Saints Offense to Blame for Loss to Atlanta Falcons
Overview
Promising First Drive
The Saints were well on their way to scoring a touchdown on their first drive. In a matter of six plays, New Orleans made it to the Falcons five-yard line largely thanks to big gains on catches from Thomas and Cook.
Two plays later on third-and-goal from the two-yard line, New Orleans dialed up a pass that had Kamara coming in motion from the outside right wide receiver spot. After the snap, Kamara headed back into the flat for a potential catch, but slipped as he pivoted. Had the running back stayed on his feet, it looked like he would’ve easily reached the end zone. Instead, Brees was sacked and the Saints had to settle for a field goal.
Other First Half Drives
An eight-minute Falcons drive kept the ball away from New Orleans until 11:04 in the second quarter, after which the Saints promptly went three and out. On first down, Taysom Hill missed a key block on an otherwise promising Latavius Murray screen. Smith dropped a high pass on second down and a false start on the next play put New Orleans in third-and-14 situation. Brees ended up settling for a short pass to fullback Zach Line and New Orleans punted on the next play.
On their third drive, the New Orleans Saints offense picked up two first downs before facing a third-and-four. Inside pressure led to a Brees sack before his receiver’s routes could fully develop and the Saints punted again.
New Orleans started its fourth drive with 1:31 left in the second quarter. They quickly moved into field goal range and a 15-yard Thomas catch put them at the 22-yard line with 52 seconds left. However, Thomas grabbed a defender’s facemask on the way down, an infraction that moved the Saints back to the Falcons 40.
This drive was further hindered by a tripping penalty from center Erik McCoy, and New Orleans eventually settled for a 47-yard field goal.
Six points on four first half drives surely wasn’t part of the game plan, but it was enough to keep the Saints in the game while the defense held Atlanta to 13 points. Unfortunately, things got worse in the second half.
Second Half Drives
On their first drive of the third quarter, New Orleans picked up one first down, before ending up in a fourth-and-three situation. Head coach Sean Payton kept his offense on the field for a fourth down attempt but left tackle Terron Armstead jumped offsides. Now facing a fourth-and-eight, New Orleans decided to punt instead.
A 19-yard punt return from Deonte Harris set up New Orleans at the Falcons 38-yard line for their next drive. They drove down to the Falcons 10-yard line, but faced a third-and-16 following a sack. A Murray screen only got them back to the 10-yard line and New Orleans settled for another field goal, their last score of the contest.
New Orleans went three and out on their first drive of the fourth quarter. A holding penalty on Armstead put New Orleans in a second-and-14 situation, and following an incomplete pass, Brees was sacked on third down. This was the fourth drive where New Orleans failed to cross midfield and they were forced to punt again.
The Saints next two drives ended with failed fourth down attempts. Two Atlanta sacks helped stall the first one and the second ended after three consecutive incomplete passes. Atlanta sealed the win on their ensuing drive with a field goal that gave them a three-score, 26-9, lead.
On their relatively meaningless final drive, New Orleans fell inches short of the goal line on a fourth down pass to Thomas.
Key Issues
Lack of Run Game
Since they trailed for much of the game it’s not surprising that the Saints ran less than usual, but they hardly tried running the ball even when the game was close.
In the first half, New Orleans called 20 pass plays, compared to just six runs. While those runs weren’t very productive, Kamara and Murray still entered the half with a combined 4.0 yards per carry average.
Meanwhile, Atlanta went with a more balanced approach, with 20 pass plays and 16 runs. They weren’t significantly more efficient when running either, averaging 5.0 yards per carry. Atlanta’s commitment to the run helped them possess the ball for nearly five minutes longer than New Orleans in the first half.
Running more on early downs might have helped New Orleans face fewer third and longs. The Saints faced third and six or longer on half of their 12 total third down attempts and converted on just one attempt.
With that said, New Orleans only converted on three of their 15 total third and fourth down attempts, so getting closer to the first down marker on early downs might not have helped much anyway.
Offensive Line Miscues
The offensive line had its worst performance of the year in pass blocking. Perhaps this group could have had more success if the Saints didn’t call so many passes which allowed Atlanta to focus on their pass rush. Still, the Saints offensive line allowed six sacks and 11 total hits on Brees.
A few of the early pressures and a sack were allowed by left guard Andrus Peat. While Peat clearly struggled early on, things got worse when he left the game due to injury just before halftime. Backup Will Clapp appeared to be responsible for two sacks and allowed pressure on several other plays. Peat hasn’t had a great season in general, but this offensive line will likely continue to under perform if he has to miss significant time.
But Peat and Clapp weren’t the only culprits. Armstead dealt with an illness during the week which appeared to slow him down on Sunday. McCoy also had a rough game after putting together a solid rookie campaign in the first half of the season.
Lack of Wide Receiver Contributions
Most analysts discuss the Saints offense in the same manner. They begin with praise of Brees and Thomas, as well as their potent backfield combination of Kamara and Murray and (usually) dominant offensive line. Next, they express concern over the team’s lack of wide receiver talent outside of Thomas. It’s a completely fair assessment and this issue was as obvious as ever in the loss to Atlanta.
Thomas had another dominant performance on Sunday with 13 catches and 152 yards on 14 targets. It was his fourth game this season with at least 10 catches and over 100 receiving yards. The Saints other wide receivers were targeted five times. This group’s only catch came via Smith for 13 yards.
Admittedly, Brees was under pressure for much of the game, giving him little time to go through his reads. Atlanta also did a good job of taking away short and intermediate routes in the middle, where Brees loves to pick apart defenses. However, these factors don’t help explain why most of the Saints receivers continually struggle to get separation on their routes.
Unlike most of the Saints issues on Sunday, this one can’t be fixed in a week of practice. New Orleans has to continue working with what they have in the passing game unless they want to try bringing in a free agent like Dez Bryant. Second-year wide receiver Keith Kirkwood could also provide a boost if he’s able to return from injured reserve, but it’s unlikely he’ll significantly help the situation.
All things considered, fans probably shouldn’t overreact to this dismal performance. Brees and Payton rarely put together bad performances in succession and the Saints defense is still playing at a high level. This team is still on track for a high playoff seed, but the New Orleans Saints offense must player better down the stretch.
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