Atlanta – Getting out of their own way turned out to be the insurmountable object for the New Orleans Saints in Sunday’s 26-24 loss to the Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
A second consecutive loss stung, especially considering New Orleans’ worst wounds were self-inflicted. But there were a few standouts for the Saints amid the disappointment.
OFFENSE: Receiver Chris Olave tweaked his hamstring Friday and was questionable for the game Sunday, but he started and caught eight passes for 87 yards. It was a gutsy performance from the third-year pro. And Alvin Kamara was questionable with a rib injury, but the running back totaled 119 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown on 26 touches. But that said, the offensive line deserves to take a collective bow. Shane Lemieux took his first NFL snaps at center, Landon Young stepped in a right guard for injured Cesar Ruiz and the rest of the line (left tackle Taliese Fuaga, left guard Lucas Patrick and right tackle Trevor Penning) helped pave the way for 366 yards, 35:42 in time of possession and seven successful third-down conversions in 13 attempts. That’s a lot to build on.