NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints (2-9) hoped to come into their game against the Atlanta Falcons (4-7) with momentum after getting their first win under rookie Tyler Shough in Week 10 and coming off their Week 11 bye. The idea was that the Saints could build off the positive things Shough did against the Carolina Panthers two weeks ago.
Instead, New Orleans took a giant step backward, losing 24-10 against its NFC South rival Sunday and fumbling on offense.
"We didn't come out and get this one done," Saints coach Kellen Moore said Sunday night. "Credit to those guys, those guys coached better, played better, and ultimately executed better than us today, and so a frustrating game. All three phases kind of had different opportunities that obviously we missed, and it's going to be a big opportunity for us to respond the right way."
The Saints' lone touchdown came on defense after Justin Reid returned a Kirk Cousins interception 49 yards for the second-quarter score. The Saints' offense drove to the Falcons' 1-yard line twice, but came away with three total points.
"It was a disappointing game," Saints quarterback Taysom Hill said. "We had plenty of opportunities as a team, as an offense to put us in a great situation to win that game, and we didn't capitalize on that."
Here are four things that went wrong against the Falcons:
Red zone woes
The Saints' offensive issues were highlighted in their five trips inside the Atlanta 30-yard line.
The result: Two missed field goals, a turnover on downs at the 1-yard line, two failed attempts to reach the end zone from inside the 1 on another drive and an interception in the end zone to end the game.
The Saints had the ball for 13 minutes and five seconds in the third quarter, but failed to score a touchdown in that time. They drove down to the Atlanta 2-yard line, and Shough's scramble on third down gained one yard. On fourth-and-1 at the 1-yard line, Hill received a direct snap and attempted a pass to Devaughn Vele that fell incomplete.
"I mean, there's no secret, right? When I'm at quarterback, we run the ball a lot and ... we were counting on a heavy box and they made a good play," Hill said.
The Saints drove to the Atlanta 1-yard line in the fourth quarter after Shough barely missed the end zone after running around the left side for a 4-yard gain. Shough gained no yardage on the next play. On third-and-1 at the goal line, Hill took the snap out of shotgun and it sailed over his head. He picked it up and threw it away, leading to an intentional grounding penalty and a field goal attempt.
"We had obviously a couple different things that we were doing and we got a certain look, so I killed the play," Hill said. "It's a little bit challenging. I haven't seen the film or whatever, but I wish I could have that one back and secure the snap and get in the end zone there. But it is hard to really comment on it right now having not seen it and everything else."
Kicking struggles continue
The Saints have been loyal to kicker Blake Grupe despite his ups and downs, and on Sunday, he missed two kicks against the Falcons. He is making 69.2% of his kicks -- a career worst.
Fans expressed their displeasure at Grupe on Sunday after he missed field goal attempts from 38 yards and 47 yards in the first half. When Grupe lined up to kick a third field goal after a disastrous sequence at the goal line, the fans booed him. While the field goal was good, it did little to turn the Saints' or Grupe's situation around.
In his postgame news conference, Moore did not commit to Grupe's future but said everything would be evaluated to understand why the misses happened.
If the Saints move on from Grupe, they have second-year kicker Charlie Smyth on their practice squad. Grupe was a clear winner of the summer kicking competition and missed one kick in training camp, but Smyth has had impressive moments over the past two summers and has a big leg.
The downside is Smyth's inexperience, having come to the NFL via the International Player Pathway. Smyth, who is from Northern Ireland, had never kicked an American football until 2023.
"He's done a lot of good as he's gone through this process for a couple of years now in the developmental role," Moore said. "It's something we'll just have to spend some time. ... I think it's a process we have to go through."
Losing Alvin Kamara
Things didn't get off to a good start offensively when Shough hit Kamara's elbow while trying to hand off on the second play of the game. The ball was juggled out of Kamara's hands and scooped up by the Falcons, who kicked a field goal four plays later.
Kamara was injured later in the quarter, twisting his knee after being tackled while making a reception. The nine-year running back left the game and did not return and was replaced by Hill and rookie Devin Neal.
"We'll have to get the full evaluation tomorrow and get a feel for that and see what this outline looks like," Moore said.
While Neal caught five passes for 43 yards, a portion of Kamara's responsibilities went to Hill, who is less than a year removed from a major knee injury.
The reshuffling meant more upheaval for a team that was playing three reserve offensive linemen and reserve receivers after the departures of Brandin Cooks (release) and Rashid Shahed (traded).
Hill said he was doing things in the run game that he had not practiced recently, and he was spending extra time to prepare with running backs coach Joel Thomas on the sideline.
"There were a few plays that I ran today that I had zero reps, but it was quick conversation," Hill said. "And look, I think you play enough football and you can scheme different things up, but especially as a runner, you rely so much on instincts and that's really what happened today."
Giving up the big play
The Saints defense had some plays to hold their hats on, including sacking Cousins three times, defensive end Cameron Jordan forcing a strip sack and Reid getting a 49-yard pick-six. The Saints gave up only 181 net passing yards.
But the one play they most wanted back occurred with the Saints trailing 16-10 at the start of the fourth quarter. Cousins found wide receiver Darnell Mooney for a 49-yard touchdown two plays into the Falcons' drive, putting Atlanta up 24-10 after a 2-point conversion and effectively sealing the game.
"We were in a quarter's concept. Kool-Aid [McKinstry was] basically on an island there on the field side," Reid said. "We had a cut and climb to where the safety drove the dig and a corner climb. Then Mooney just kept it so skinny that it was tough for the help to get there to assist on the touchdown.
"That's one play that we really wanted to make sure we took care of the run. We knew they were going to be wide zone all day, but we're going to have an answer for that next week."