The New Orleans Saints fell 26-24 to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The loss moves New Orleans to 2-2 on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The game began with the Falcons getting the football. They were forced to punt, but immediately on the attempted fair catch, Rasheed Shaheed fumbled and it was recovered for a Falcons touchdown. That made it 7-0 Atlanta.
The Saints offense responded, as Derek Carr and company moved the ball down the field. Nine plays and 70 yards later, Taysom Hill strolled in from two yards out to make it 7-7.
The Saints got an interception from Paulson Adebo on the next possession. That set up their second straight touchdown drive. This was another rushing chance for Hill to make it 14-7.
Kirk Cousins guided the Falcons into field goal range, but the drive stalled. Younghoe Koo drilled a 53 yarder to make it 14-10 with the Saints still out front. However, a tipped ball turned into a pick-six for Atlanta to immediately make it 17-14 Falcons.
After a couple of trades punts, that was the halftime score.
New Orleans failed to score to start the second half, and the Falcons put together a nice drive. It eventually stalled, but again Koo drilled a kick to make it 20-14 in favor of Atlanta.
The tracing of field goals began, as the Saints put together a drive that netted three. That was answered by Atlanta who got three more, and it was eventually 23-17 Atlanta.
The injuries mounted up for New Orleans. Already down four starters entering the game, they lost Hill, Tyrann Mathieu, and Alontae Taylor at various points of the game.
Still, Carr and the offense put together a big drive. Nine plays and 42 yards after a good punt return was finished off with an Alvin Kamara touchdown run to make it 24-23 Saints.
However, a penalty on Adebo got the last drive into field goal range for the Falcons with less than a minute left. Koo made a 58 yarder to clinch a 26-24 win for the Falcons.
BIG NUMBER: 30
A 30-yard pass interference penalty put the Falcons in field goal range at the end of the game. From their, their phenomenal kicker Koo handled the rest.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Younghoe Koo
Koo has hurt the Saints plenty of times before, and today was no different. He made all his kicks, including the game-winning 58 yarder at the end.
UP NEXT: The Saints will travel to Kansas City to face the two-time defending Super Bowl Champion Chiefs for Monday Night Football on Monday, October 7th at 7:15 PM in Arrowhead Stadium.