 Photo By: ESPN Da Boot Sports 1/4/2026 Article Courtesy Of Crescent City Sports By: Ken Trahan The New Orleans Saints were going to win in Week 18, one way or the other.A victory against a hated rival would have been a fifth in a row to close the season. A loss would give the New Orleans Saints a higher first-round draft pick in 2026. The rivalry burns hot, as it has since 1967. The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons entered Sunday’s game in Atlanta with each having won 56 times. The Falcons had not swept the Saints in a season series since 2016 but they have now. Atlanta had its key players available. Kirk Cousins has played better than Michael Penix did. The Saints did not have many key players available, particularly on offense. The Falcons won and finished their season on a four-game win streak. The Saints lost and saw their four-game win streak come to an end. It was really simple – New Orleans lost because of two turnovers which led to six points, a blocked punt which led to a touchdown and a missed field goal, giving the Falcons a short field which led to another field goal. The Atlanta offense basically earned three points. The rest were late Christmas gifts from the Saints. Here are my Quick Takes on the 19-17 win Sunday for Atlanta over New Orleans: **Inactives for the Saints included Ugo Amadi, Bryan Bresee, Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Spencer Rattler, Nathan Shepherd and Xavier Truss **Charles Granderson and Chase Young forced a three-and-out, combining on a sack of Cousins on the opening series. **Tyler Shough completed a nice rollout pass, on the money to Juwan Johnson for 19 yards but Johnson fumbled when hit by A.J. Terrell Jr. and it was recovered by Xavier Watts at the New Orleans 39-yard-line. **Cam Jordan came up with sack No. 10.5 of the season on the next play but the Falcons overcame third-and-15, converting a fourth-and-three situation. **It was the 132nd career sack for Jordan as he became just the 22nd player in NFL history with seven seasons of at least 10 sacks. **Granderson came up with a terrific play, intercepting a quick screen pass, intended by Kyle Pitts, at the New Orleans 14-yard-line. It was a great read by Granderson, who displayed very good hands with the first interception of his fine career. **It was the eighth straight game with a takeaway for Brandon Staley’s defense. **The Saints went three-and-out, giving Atlanta the ball again. **Alontae Taylor was penalized for holding, giving Atlanta a first down but the Saints got another stop. **Nyheim Miller-Hines, for a second time, inexplicably did not field the ensuing punt and it cost New Orleans at least 10 yards, pinning the Saints back to their 11-yard-line. **Shough missed an open Kevin Austin on a crossing route. Austin was open and the Saints had to punt again. **Jammie Robinson blocked the next punt by Kai Kroeger, giving Atlanta the ball at the New Orleans 5-yard-line. Robinson came straight up the middle. Two players had pressure up the middle and upback Taysom Hill blocked the other but could not block both. Chris Rumph II was the other in protection but he released into kick coverage. **Bijan Robinson scored on a 5-yard-run on the next play but Matthew Bergeron was flagged for holding John Ridgeway, negating the score. **With all day to throw, Cousins found Drake London wide open for a 15-yard touchdown pass to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead with 3:02 to play in the opening quarter. It was a blown coverage by the Saints. **Johnson made up for his fumble with a terrific one-hand 28-yard catch to the Atlanta 38-yard-line. Johnson became just the second tight end in franchise history to record 75 or more receptions, joining Jimmy Graham in that statistical category. Graham did it four straight years from 2011-14. **Shough was sacked by Kentavius Street. **The Saints finished the first quarter with 58 yards on 12 plays while the Falcons had 45 yards on 17 plays. **Taliese Fuaga, who has had a below average second season, committed a false start to help stop the drive. **Charlie Smyth came on and missed a 56-yard field goal wide left, giving Atlanta the ball with great field position at its own 47-yard-line. **The Falcons capitalized as Zane Gonzalez booted a 40-yard field goal to give Atlanta a 10-0 lead with 10:19 to play in the half. **Kelvin Banks Jr. killed the next drive with a false start and on the next play, he injured his ankle and did not return. Asim Richards had to take over at left tackle. **Making things worse, Dante Pettis then committed a false start penalty. **Shough engineered a nice drive, highlighted by completions to Audric Estime for 19 yards and to Pettis for 22 yards. **A sack by Dee Alford, followed by a holding penalty against Dillon Radunz, pushed New Orleans back but Terrell committed a pass interference penalty against Pettis, giving the Saints a first-and-goal at the Atlanta 4-yard-line. **Estime ran it twice to the 1-yard-line before Shough play-faked, rolled right and scored to cut the deficit to 10-7 with 4:31 to play in the first half. The drive covered 65 yards in 10 plays, taking 5:48 off the clock. **Jonah Williams made a nice play for a seven-yard loss, sniffing out a screen pass on the next series. **The Saints finished the first half with 151 yards to 113 for Atlanta. New Orleans had just 19 yards rushing while the Falcons had just 34 yards rushing. **New Orleans got the ball at its own 40-yard-line to start the second half but back-to-back sacks of Shough killed the possession as the Saints actually lost two yards on the possession. **Kirk Cousins hit Drake London with a 37-yard completion on a great throw and catch over Quincy Riley to the New Orleans 34-yard-line, who ran stride-for-stride in coverage. London high-pointed the ball. **That led to a 51 yard field goal by Gonzalez to give Atlanta a 13-7 lead with 8:50 to play in the third quarter. **The Saints had a long drive, converting a pair of fourth downs and Shough extended a play and hit Dante Pettis for a touchdown but Pattis was called for offensive pass interference, a critical call, negating the score. Smyth had to kick a 29-yard field goal to make it 13-10 with 2:15 to play in the third quarter. It was a tough call to make and it went against the Saints. **The drive covered 56 yards in 14 plays, taking 6:35 off the clock. **Taysom Hill was injured on the drive and went to the locker room with a right shoulder injury. **Granderson got another sack to stop a long Atlanta drive. **Gonzalez extended the lead to 16-10 with a 38-yard field goal with 10:43 to play in the game. The drive covered 45 yards in 13 plays, taking 6:32 off the clock. **Young collected another sack before he sniffed out a screen pass and tackled Robinson for a loss on the next play. Young’s career-best 10th sack came in just his 12th game of the season. **Dee Alford sealed the deal, picking off a Shough slant pass intended for Pettis and he returned it 59 yards to the New Orleans 27-yard-line. Alford read it all the way. It was the first turnover for Shough in five games. **Gonzalez put the game away with a 38-yard field goal with 2:52 to play in the game. **The Saints did lay down and Shough fought back, leading the Saints on a seven play, 65-yard drive, culminating with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Shough to Ronnie Bell to cut the deficit to 19-17 with 1:11 to play in the game. **Smyth’s ensuing onside kick went out of bounds, clinching the win for Atlanta. The Saints lost despite outgaining Atlanta 340-208. Shough finished 23 of 35 for 259 yards with a touchdown, rushed three times for 34 yards and a score and had the costly interception. Given the circumstances, he did a solid job. As a result, the Carolina Panthers are the NFC South champion for the first time since 2015, ending the four-year run of Tampa Bay as division champion. The loss was predictable with so many key players missing and with the loss of other key players in the game. It ensured the Saints a higher draft pick, as mentioned. Still, it never feels good to lose, particularly to the Falcons. Young, Granderson and Jordan were simply superb all afternoon. Young has six tackles, including two for loss with 1.5 sacks. Granderson led the team with 10 tackles, including three for loss with 1.5 sacks. Jordan had four tackles, including two for loss with a sack. A week after he and the Falcons torched the playoff-bound Los Angeles Rams, Robinson was held to 15 carries for 33 yards and to three catches for 10 yards. Among the many shortcomings, the Saints have to radically change and improve their kicking game and special teams. Smyth is still a huge question mark moving forward. Kroeger is below average. The return game is a mess. Shough is clearly your biggest piece moving forward. He needs help, particularly up front (at least one guard) and with at least one more receiver and a feature running back. Staley did an excellent job with the defense and the young players on the back end should only get better. The 6-11 season was better than the 5-12 finish in 2024. I picked the Saints to win six games before the season started. They achieved that goal. The rebuild has begun. Eight of the nine draft picks form the 2025 NFL draft played and contributed this season, some in very good fashion. The only one who did not, Vernon Broughton, missed the season injured. With a mediocre division, another good offseason for New Orleans could catapult this franchise to a division title, though there are many needs to address. *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior) *John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
January 2026
|
RSS Feed