ATLANTA — The New Orleans Saints spent time during their bye week working on their red zone offense.
That work did not pay off Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Saints managed to get inside the Falcons 40 on eight possessions, but those resulted in just five field goals, two turnovers and a missed field goal during a 24-15 loss.
“We had our opportunities,” said Saints coach Dennis Allen after his team fell to 5-6. “This game boiled down to our inability in the red area. Two penalties, two turnovers, one for a pick-6.”
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In the first quarter, the Saints drove to the Falcons 12. On third-and-3, quarterback Derek Carr tried to hit Rashid Shaheed, who was cutting over the middle after coming out of the backfield. Falcons safety Jessie Bates anticipated the throw and cut in front of it. He picked it off at the 8 raced 92 yards to put the Falcons up 7-3.
“Bates is a really good player and it’s not the first time he’s made a play like that,” Allen said.
On the final play of the third quarter with New Orleans trailing 14-12, Taysom Hill scrambled to the Atlanta 9 before Bates made another big play for the Falcons. Bates punched the ball out just before Hill hit the turf, and Albert Huggins recovered to end another red zone opportunity for the Saints.
Entering the game, the Saints were short-handed at wide receiver. Leading pass catcher Michael Thomas was placed on IR on Thursday with a knee injury.
Shaheed, the Saints’ third-leading receiver, injured his quad during the first series of the game and finished with two catches for 9 yards. Chris Olave, the team’s second-leading receiver, had a season-high 114 yards on seven catches in the first half, but early in the third quarter he suffered a head injury on a deep ball down the sideline. The back of his head hit the turf, and he was placed in concussion protocol and ruled out for the game.
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With their top three receivers missing, the Saints relied on running backs Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams as well as tight end Juwan Johnson. Not having a full complement of playmakers down the stretch hurt the offense.
“At the end of the day, we always say, ‘nobody cares.’ We care about their injuries, of course,” Carr said. “It is a little frustrating, but nobody cares. At the end, guys came in and did their best and made some plays for us. They gave us a chance.”
The Saints gained 444 yards, their second-highest total of the season, but they did not reach the end zone.
“I thought the red zone was improving (during the bye week),” Allen said. “It wasn’t good enough today. An interception and a fumble when you get down there, that’s a problem. And when you get two penalties, that’s a problem. ... I thought we moved the ball well. We couldn’t finish in the red area.”
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