Reflecting on the Saints-Falcons game
By: Jake Rajala
It’s a complex day in the NFC South. The Atlanta Falcons took on the New Orleans Saints. If the Saints win, then the Bucs make the playoffs. If the Falcons come out with a win, the Panthers make the playoffs. Well, I’m going to lay out five things we learned from the showdown.
Running game
Bijan, who? The league’s top running back was quiet today. He averaged 2.7 YPC and only had 38 rushing yards. His longest run was 12 yards. Of course, Tyler Allgeier was playing with a few minutes left as he has never fumbled.
Pass rush
The Saints didn’t have the best defensive performance, but their pass rush got home. Cameron Jordan had a sack, Carl Granderson had 1.5 sacks, and Chase Young had 15 sacks! They finished with four sacks on the day. I have to point out that Granderson also had a beautiful interception.
Saints pass catchers
It would be an understatement to say Tyler Shough was short-handed today. He didn’t have the 100 catch man, Chris Olave, or DeVaughn Vele, and Mason Tipton. Even Taysom Hill left early in the third quarter. Of course, the Saints moved on from Rashid Shaheed and Brandin Cooks earlier in the season. Kevin Austin was the go to guy for Shough.
Tyler Shough
I would give Shough a C- for his performance. He was clutch on fourth down and had a fine rushing touchdown. However, he threw a critical interception. Furthermore, he missed a couple of deep shots down the field (including one in the endzone), and he missed a couple of intermediate shots down the middle. He had a passing touchdown that came when the game was out of hand.
Captain Kirk
Kirk Cousins didn’t play lights out, but he did a fine job of standing in the pocket and hitting the open wideouts. He was 19 for 33, 175 rushing yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He did a nice job of tracking down Drake London in the endzone. It will be fascinating to see if Cousins will be their 2026 starter.
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