The New Orleans Saints‘ anticipated Domecoming celebration turned into a nightmare Monday night, and head coach Kellen Moore pointed directly at one offensive failure that helped the Atlanta Falcons take control.
New Orleans managed only 50 rushing yards on 19 attempts during its 45-24 loss to Atlanta, falling to 1-3 while its biggest rival improved to 2-2. Alvin Kamara scored twice, but the veteran running back was held to 23 yards on seven carries. With Atlanta jumping ahead early and taking a 24-7 lead into halftime, Moore said the Saints never found an opportunity to establish the ground game they wanted.
“Yeah, I’d just say we were not able to run it well,” Moore said. “We weren’t able to put ourselves in a position to even have the ability to run it. We never found that ability to get it going. When you fall behind and play in some different circumstances, obviously you have to adjust the plan.”
Saints Couldn’t Match Falcons on the Ground
Moore’s explanation becomes even more glaring when comparing what happened on the opposite sideline. Atlanta running backs Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr. combined for 207 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
Bijan Robinson immediately put New Orleans in trouble with a 59-yard touchdown on Atlanta’s opening possession, then scored again later in the first quarter. Brian Robinson added three rushing scores as the Falcons repeatedly punished a Saints defense that couldn’t stop them on the ground.
The Saints experienced the exact opposite problem offensively. New Orleans quarterback Tyler Shough attempted 48 passes, completing 30 for 286 yards and a touchdown. Some of that volume became unavoidable once Atlanta created a significant advantage, which gets to the heart of Moore’s point. The Saints couldn’t run effectively early, and once the deficit grew, they increasingly lost the luxury of trying to establish it.
The timing made the performance even more painful for New Orleans. Monday marked the 20th anniversary celebration of the Saints’ historic return to the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina, with the Falcons once again serving as the opponent. Instead of recreating the magic of New Orleans’ 23-3 victory in 2006, the Saints watched Atlanta control the night. That history made this result hurt considerably more.
There were plenty of problems Moore and his staff will have to address after a 21-point rivalry loss. New Orleans was outplayed on both sides of the line of scrimmage and spent most of the night chasing Atlanta. The Saints now have to find answers before one ugly night becomes something more damaging to their season. For Moore, though, the inability to ever get the running game established helped change everything that followed.
Kellen Moore Blames 1 Saints Failure for Domecoming Beatdown by Falcons