The New Orleans Saints were hoping to bounce back after losing a second-half lead to the Las Vegas Raiders last week as they hosted the Atlanta Falcons in a primetime showdown on Monday night. Here’s a recap of the action.
First Quarter
The Falcons began with the ball, and Michael Penix Jr completed his first two throws to Drake London and Austin Hooper for nice gains.
Then, Bijan Robinson broke off a 59-yard touchdown run to give Atlanta the lead.
Trailing 7-0, the Saints went three-and-out before Atlanta had a brief
drive of their own and punted back to the black and gold.
Tyler Shough then found the first chunk play of the game for the hosts with a 23-yard pass to Juwan Johnson, before Alvin Kamara did the bulk of the drive’s work on a number of plays both on the ground and through the air.
But having been limited to a field goal attempt, Daniel Carlson missed his kick wide left from 52 yards.
Tyree Wilson sacked Penix on the ensuing possession, which resulted in another three-and-out. But New Orleans gave the ball right back to the visitors, as Kendre Miller fumbled.
Atlanta took advantage of getting the ball back on the edge of the red zone, and within a few plays Bijan Robinson was in the end zone again for a 4-yard score.
Trailing 14-0, Shough found a response straight away as a 44-yard connection with Chris Olave gave the Saints 1st-and-goal.
Second Quarter
A play later, Alvin Kamara found the end zone with a 3-yard touchdown run to get New Orleans on the board.
But Penix and the Falcons responded straight away, with Brian Robinson Jr finding success running the football to move the drive into Saints territory.
Shortly after a 27-yard pass from Penix to London, Brian Robinson ran in the 4-yard touchdown to give Atlanta a 21-7 lead.
The Saints then went three-and-out again, and on the first play of the ensuing series, Penix threw to London for 37 yards to get to midfield. Both Robinsons then got touches and continued to run at will against a depleted Saints defense.
New Orleans did eventually limit the visitors to a field goal attempt, which Nick Folk converted from 29 yards.
Shough did make two throws to Olave and Johnson for a combined 30 yards as the Saints sought a response, but he was sacked on the edge of field goal range, and the black and gold had to punt again just before halftime.
Third Quarter
Receiving the ball to begin the half, New Orleans embarked on a 13-play, 59-yard drive during which Shough found a variety of receivers, including two throws to Olave for 10 and 11 yards, respectively.
But an incompletion intended for Devaughn Vele on third down meant a short field goal attempt, which Carlson converted from 27 yards to put the score at 24-10.
However, Atlanta continued to move the ball at will, with runs from Bijan Robinson and a 23-yard catch by Jahan Dotson getting the drive near the red zone.
Penix converted a 3rd-and-10 with a pass to London, before Brian Robinson ran in an 8-yard touchdown to extend the visitors’ lead to 31-10.
A defensive pass interference rescued the Saints from facing another 4th down straight away on the next possession. But after three incompletions, Shough did face 4th-and-10, a play on which he found Vele for 18 yards to extend the drive.
Fourth Quarter
A pair of offensive penalties at the end of the third meant the Saints would face 3rd-and-18. Shough found 17 of those yards with a pass to Vele, before Kamara ran for two yards on 4th-and-1.
A few plays later, Kamara was in the end zone again with a 5-yard touchdown run to put the score at 31-17.
But New Orleans just couldn’t buy a stop. Penix found Pitts for 28 yards to begin the ensuing drive, and a few plays later he found Dotson with a 31-yard touchdown strike to seal the game for Atlanta.
Down 38-17, the Saints instantly turned it over on downs as Shough was sacked on 4th-and-6 deep in his own half.
Brian Robinson ran in another touchdown from 11 yards out to extend the lead to 45-17.
New Orleans then put together a 76-yard touchdown drive as time ran down, which was capped off by an impressive catch by Vele in the back of the end zone.
Penix knelt out the clock after that, as the Falcons secured a 45-24 victory.
Attention for the black and gold now turns to Week 5, as the Saints host the Minnesota Vikings.
