Saints mistakes pile up in tough last-minute loss to Falcons | Saints

ATLANTA – Despite all the mistakes and unforeseen jumps, despite all the important injuries that kept some stars out and limited others, the New Orleans Saints still had a chance in the final minutes to eke out a win against their bitterest rival.

Alvin Kamara's 1-yard touchdown plunge on third-and-goal and Blake Grupe's subsequent extra point gave New Orleans a one-point lead with a minute to play. They left the game to a defense that hadn't allowed a touchdown all game to protect the rim.

But the final mistake was too big to overcome. Atlanta mustered just five offensive yards on its game-winning drive – and those were quickly wiped off the board with a penalty. The Saints got the better of them when the referees penalized defensive back Paulson Adebo for a 30-yard pass interference violation.

The next three passes were incomplete, but the penalty was all the Falcons needed. Kicker Younghoe Koo hit a 58-yard field goal with two seconds left to give the Saints (2-2) a 26-24 loss.

“It’s a shame to lose a game like that,” Allen said. “These are the ones that rip your heart out.”

It didn't help that the Saints were extremely shorthanded on Sunday.

Two offensive players (Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz) and a defensive captain (Demario Davis) were ruled out earlier this week. Davis' replacement, Willie Gay, left the game after the first series with a hand injury. Taysom Hill left the game with an abdominal injury after scoring two early touchdowns. Tyrann Mathieu was forced to watch from the sidelines for much of the second half due to a groin injury.

Nevertheless, the story of defeat can be told through the mistakes and missed opportunities.

It started when Saints receiver Rashid Shaheed made a bad decision even worse.

After the Saints made a defensive stop on the game's first drive, the normally confident All-Pro returner tried to make a fair over-the-shoulder catch on a punt at his own 5-yard line. He deflected the kick and the ball rolled into the end zone, where Atlanta dropped it for a touchdown.

“Bad decision,” Allen said. “We never want to field that ball.” And he was usually a guy there who made a lot of really good decisions, so that was out of character for him.”

The saints answered. They came up with a good offensive game plan to make up for the fact that they were missing two starting offensive linemen by peppering Atlanta's defense with short, quick passes and a mix of Taysom Hill and Alvin Kamara in the running game.

Hill capped the Saints' first drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, and after Adebo blocked an errant throw from Kirk Cousins ​​on the ensuing drive, Hill scored again from 5 yards to put the Saints up 14-7 in the lead.

But Hill, who missed last week's game with a bruised lung, suffered a rib injury on the other side and left the game in the first half. The Falcons then began to deal with the short, quick passes the Saints attempted.

On the Saints' third offensive possession, Derek Carr attempted to throw a short screen to the left. Falcons pass rusher Matthew Judon got in his way and forced Carr into a double clutch. Carr then tried to throw the ball away, but Judon caught it in his hand. The deflected pass flew to the middle of the field, where Troy Andersen intercepted it and returned it 47 yards, giving Atlanta a 17-14 lead.

“It sucks,” Carr said. “But I should throw it away quicker, 100%, throw it away quicker. There is no need to hold on to it just to see it and so on.

“We saw a touchdown there.”

The two teams exchanged rallies in the second half, but even then there were missed opportunities.

The fourth quarter saw a Saints pass rush that had little success for much of the game, as Payton Turner beat left tackle Jake Matthews and allowed Kirk Cousins ​​a sack. Turner released the ball on the play and defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd had a clear chance to recover, but he was unable to hold on to the loose ball.

Cousins ​​hit a 16-yard pass to Drake London on the next play, setting up Koo for a 42-yard field goal that gave Atlanta a 23-17 lead.

New Orleans had two opportunities to score touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The first resulted in a turnover on downs when the Saints chose to go for fourth-and-2 from the 7 rather than cut Atlanta's lead to three points. Carr's fourth down pass fell incomplete.

Allen said he thought about kicking a field goal, but since the Saints would need a defensive stop anyway, he decided to go aggressive.

The Saints defense forced a quick three-pointer and a 17-yard punt return by Shaheed moved the Saints to the Atlanta 42-yard line.

Carr then converted third downs with throws of 13 and 16 yards to Chris Olave, setting up Kamara's go-ahead touchdown run with 60 seconds left.

It was just that the Saints had one more mistake to make.

The loss was annoying in that respect. The Saints did not allow an offensive touchdown and became the first NFL team since the 1983 Saints to lose a game in which they scored at least 24 points without allowing an offensive touchdown.

“The fact that you come back and put yourself in a position to win shows me we have a good football team,” Allen said. “But we have to do better.”