Saints Chris Olave pulled through despite his sore hamstring | Saints

With the game on the line, the New Orleans Saints repeatedly went to Chris Olave, and the third-year receiver routinely delivered.

Despite dealing with a hamstring injury that made him questionable before the game and caused him soreness after the game, Olave caught eight passes (on 10 targets) for 87 yards in a 26-24 loss to Atlanta. His biggest catches came at the most critical moments, on third down as the Saints tried to erase a late deficit.

Made his final catch on third-and-2 from the Atlanta 17-yard line. Olave recognized that the Falcons were sending an all-out attack, with safety Jessie Bates on his side. That meant he had to beat single coverage, and quickly.

“I was supposed to take six steps, but I took four because I knew they were flashing,” Olave said. “I was trying to get the ball out of (quarterback Derek Carr)’s hands.”

Running back Alvin Kamara stepped into a gap to accommodate the lightning-quick Bates, and Carr fired a 16-yard shot to Olave. The win set the Saints up for a touchdown in the final minutes.

“End of the game, he keeps reminding me,” Carr said. “I tell him, 'The game is on the line, I'm coming to you.' He reminded me again and said, ‘Hey, I’m here.’ In fact, he made a lot of big plays for us on that drive.”

It wasn't the only time Carr looked for his top receiver on third down late in the game. All three of Olave's catches in the fourth quarter moved the chains on third down, gaining 12, 13 and 16 yards on those plays. After the game, Olave said he knew Carr trusted him to not only be in the right spot, but to make the play at the crucial time.

“That's what you want from your quarterback, to be able to trust you in those positions, especially late in the game when we're trying to come back from a deficit,” Olave said.

The fact that he was on the field at all was a bit surprising.

Olave said he first felt the problem with his hamstring while running a distance in practice on Friday. He said it's something he's dealt with before – something he believes is related to his lower back and hamstring junction.

To be sure, the team did an MRI and the imaging came back clean. Olave then said he spent the night and most of the following day in treatment, trying to prepare his body as best he could for Sunday's game against the rival Falcons.

When match day came, Olave said he didn't feel limited – even though his hamstring was tight towards the end of the game.

“When I first started out, I put a whole bunch of stuff on it just to try to make it feel good,” Olave said. “But once I got my adrenaline going, I was good.”

While he said he doesn't believe in moral victories, Carr said Olave's performance while battling the sore hamstring was one of his positive takeaways from the game.

“His grit and toughness, that’s what we need from our No. 1 (receiver),” Carr said after the game. “That’s what he gave us today.”