That was a humbling experience. The New Orleans Saints just got blown out by their biggest rivals in their only prime-time game of 2026 -- and they let it happen on their home stage on a historic anniversary. As far as this week's NFL power rankings are concerned, it doesn't get much worse than this.
Everywhere you look, the Saints took a step back. Some outlets saw top-10 potential in Kellen Moore's team, but those expectations were just too high. Moore needs to lead his team out of the hole they've dug for themselves before it's too late. Here's what the Week 5 NFL power rankings had to say:
USA Today Sports: 16 (Last week: 12)
They're in the same boat as the Lions, likely needing to win a shootout every week. But the Saints will need to get RB Travis Etienne and WR Jordyn Tyson
back soon if they're going to recover sufficiently to make their first post-Brees playoff appearance.
CBS Sports: 23 (Last week: 18)
After their 1-1 start, they've lost two straight home games to fall to 1-3. Atlanta beat them up badly on Monday night as injuries have taken their roster apart.
FOX Sports: 23 (Last week: 15)
They had a real shot to win each of their first three games before getting blown out by the Falcons on Monday night, and there are two big reasons why they’re in a bit of trouble. One is the injury to RB Travis Etienne, because it’s pretty clear Alvin Kamara can’t lead their rushing attack anymore.
The other is that their rushing defense is terrible. The Falcons ripped through them for more than 200 yards and they’ve given up almost 600 rushing yards in four games. It’s a pretty good bet the Vikings, Giants and Steelers are going to try to take advantage of both those things over the next three weeks before the Saints’ bye.
The Athletic: 25 (Last week: 20)
The Saints have been fine in the final two quarters, but they’ve consistently put themselves behind early. They’ve managed just 26 first-half points through four games (including only seven on Monday night), which threatens to dim a lot of the optimism around Tyler Shough and this team.
Yahoo Sports: 23 (Last week: 18)
It seemed like the Saints were off to a promising start to this season after the second half of last season went very well. But it doesn't look as good after Monday night's blowout loss to the Falcons. New Orleans is a fourth-quarter comeback against the Ravens from being 0-4. Its offensive line did a poor job protecting quarterback Tyler Shough, the running game without injured Travis Etienne Jr. was ineffective and the defense was picked apart by the Falcons.
The one concern about taking the Saints' hot finish to last season and projecting it to this season was that it came against weak competition. In Shough's starts last season, the Saints faced just one team with a winning record, and they lost that game 34-10 to the Rams. Almost beating the Lions and then defeating the Ravens made it look like the Saints would carry over their hot streak from last season. After blowing a game to the Raiders at home and being blown out by the Falcons, it looks more like that start was a mirage, and last season's second half was a product of a soft part of the schedule.
Sports Illustrated: 25 (Last week: 21)
In back-to-back weeks, the Saints have managed to dismantle the goodwill built up over the first two weeks of the season. While injuries have taken their toll, this was the kind of home win that would have created ripple effects for the rest of New Orleans’s season.
Bleacher Report: 24 (Last week: 16)
Maybe the New Orleans Saints are who we thought they were entering the season.
The Saints showed some moxie over the first three weeks of the 2026 season—they took the Lions to overtime in Detroit, upset the Ravens in Baltimore and gave the Raiders a run for their money.
Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons, everything fell apart. The Saints can't run the ball at all. That is forcing Tyler Shough to try to win with his arm, and while the second-year signal-caller has exceeded expectations, he's not that guy. Not yet.
Meanwhile, an injury-depleted defense was rolled on the ground, with Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr. accounting for five rushing touchdowns and over 240 yards.
This was a beatdown. No getting around it.
And with the undefeated Vikings coming to town, it might be getting late early in the Big Easy.
ESPN: 21 (Last week: 18)
The Saints had optimism going into Monday night's game against the Falcons despite their 1-2 start. But the loss to Atlanta exposed holes all over. The Saints suffered a humiliating defeat in primetime and now have to figure out how to fix their defensive issues, their slow starts and their offensive line problems if they want to save their season.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Week 5 power rankings have humbling takeaways for Saints' blowout loss
