NEW ORLEANS — A week after picking up their first victory of the season, the New Orleans Saints fell to the New England Patriots 25-19 inside the Caesars Superdome on Sunday afternoon. With the defeat, Kellen Moore’s team has lost five of their first six games this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
New Orleans (1-5) started off with excitement as Spencer Rattler found Chris Olave open for a 53-yard pass on the first play of the game. The drive would stall, and the team settled for a 34-yard field goal by Blake Grupe.
New England (4-2) responded quickly with a four-play, 65-yard drive, which was capped with Drake Maye finding DeMario Douglas behind the secondary for a 53-yard touchdown.
New Orleans, on its next possession, added a 48-yard field goal by Grupe, but New England added a touchdown drive. This time, Maye found Kayshon Boutte for a 25-yard touchdown reception.
New Orleans took the lead in the second quarter.
The Saints put together an 11-play, 60-yard touchdown drive capped by a one-yard touchdown run by Taysom Hill. After forcing a turnover on downs by the Patriots, the Saints added a 38-yard field goal by Grupe.
That lead proved to be short-lived as New England put together a touchdown drive right before halftime. Maye found Boutte for a 25-yard touchdown. The Pats went for the two-point conversion, which was initially ruled no good, but the review overturned it. At the break, the Patriots led 20-16.
New England added a field goal in the third quarter to make it 25-16. New Orleans cut into the lead with another Grupe field goal in the fourth — this time from 54 yards out.
After the defense forced a punt by the Patriots, the Saints got the ball at their own 25-yard line with less than 10 minutes to go. Rattler connected with Kendre Miller for an 11-yard pass and then on the ensuing play, found tight end Juwan Johnson for a 14-yard gain. The play was originally ruled as incomplete, but after a challenge by New England, it was ruled a catch, fumble, and recovered by the Pats.
New England couldn’t take advantage and was forced to punt the ball away. New Orleans couldn’t do anything either and opted to punt the ball back to New England with a little less than four minutes left on the clock. The Patriots were able to pick up a few first downs to run out the clock.
BIG NUMBER: 0
A week after recording five turnovers in last week’s victory against the New York Giants, the Saints’ defense could not force a single turnover on Sunday. New England’s Maye threw for three touchdowns and no interceptions. The Patriots did have two fumbles, but they recovered the loose ball both times.
PLAYER OF THE GAME (SAINTS): BLAKE GRUPE
In a season filled with disappointing kicks, Grupe was sensational on Sunday as he made all four of his field goals, including a long of 54 yards inside the Superdome.
PLAYER OF THE GAME (PATS): KAYSHON BOUTTE
The former Westgate High and LSU star Boutte had a monster game, hauling in five receptions, including a key catch on the final drive of the game, for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
UP NEXT: New Orleans (1-5) returns to action next Sunday when it travels to take on the Chicago Bears. Kickoff is set for noon.