The wouldn’t be the New Orleans Saints or the Atlanta Falcons if they couldn’t kick off a new season in the most dramatic, at times ridiculous fashion imaginable. Let’s dig in to the Saints’ Week 1 win:
Final score: Saints 27, Falcons 26
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final | |
| New Orleans | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 27 |
| Atlanta | 3 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 26 |
Injury outlook
- Safety Justin Evans briefly left the game early on to receive attention in the blue medical tent on the sideline, but returned to continue playing on defense.
- Quarterback Jameis Winston also briefly stepped into the tent but returned to the sideline. It’s unclear what the issue was, but his last play before this saw two Falcons defenders fall on him after he hit the ground.
- Running back Alvin Kamara left for the locker room late in the fourth quarter escorted by a member of the training staff. It’s unclear whether he suffered an injury or had to step aside for another reason, but it’s clearly a situation to monitor.
It was over when...
You don’t want to chalk everything up to something nebulous like momentum, but Wil Lutz’s missed 44-yard field goal took all the wind out of their sails. The Falcons traveled 66 yards to score a touchdown on the ensuing drive, retaking the lead, and they didn’t give it back for the rest of the game.
Let’s be clear about this: Cesar Ruiz didn’t blow his blocking assignments because Lutz struck the upright. Bradley Roby didn’t get victimized by someone named Olamide Zaccheaus in zone coverage because of Lutz’s botched field goal try. Jameis Winston didn’t whiff on his passes out of sympathy for his kicker.
But that’s a real pivot-point in this game that led to New Orleans dropping behind, and they weren’t able to rebound as the deficit grew longer throughout the afternoon.
Well, that’s exactly what I wrote before “Sneaky Pete” Carmichael Jr. shifted into maximum overdrive midway through the fourth quarter. He adjusted on the fly to increase the Saints’ offensive tempo and set Michael Thomas to work against Atlanta’s top cover corner A.J. Terrell Jr. — against whom Thomas caught two touchdown passes to close the deficit. The Saints didn’t panic on their sideline. They kept their cool, cleaned up their mistakes, and put Lutz in position to win the game.
And he did just that, booting a 51-yard field goal with 19 seconds left in the game. Atlanta could have managed things better to give themselves more time, but they still managed to try a long field goal of their own after a questionable officiating decision granted them one last second of possession. Younghoe Koo was perfect on the day so far, having connected on both of his extra points and four previous field goals (from distances of 54, 50, 40, and 27 yards).
Instead, two young Saints players stepped up in a big spot to call game. Defensive end Payton Turner and linebacker Zack Baun got in on the field goal block squad and got their mitts on the ball as Koo kicked it. Atlanta recovered but had nowhere to go, and New Orleans left town with a win. If there’s one moment in which we can say it was really over, you’d have to go with the game’s closing second.
Saints' top performers
- Quarterback Jameis Winston‘s final passing line: 23 completions on 34 pass attempts (67.6% completion percentage) for 269 yards, 2 touchdown passes and 0 interceptions
- Tight end Taysom Hill led the team in rushing with 81 yards on the ground, also scoring a touchdown run
- Slot receiver Jarvis Landry paced New Orleans with 7 receptions for 114 yards through the air
- Linebacker Pete Werner had the most tackles on the team, with 12 solo stops (13 total) and a tackle for loss
- Punter Blake Gillikin averaged 54.4 yards per punt (five tries), with one of them landing inside the Atlanta 20-yard line
What's next?
The Saints will travel back to New Orleans for a week of practice before next Sunday’s home opener with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT/1 p.m. ET on Sept. 18). It’s a huge opportunity for them to separate from the pack in the NFC South after the Falcons and Carolina Panthers both lost their Week 1 games. Stacking these early-season division wins is critical.
