Baffling late-game decisions doom Saints in loss to Falcons

The New Orleans Saints may have looked like Super Bowl contenders through the first two weeks of the season, but poor game management by head coach Dennis Allen has made the promising start to the season go south. 

After an aggressive fourth-down call one week ago against the Eagles, poor playcalling and a baffling fourth-down call ended up being pivotal turning points in New Orleans' 26-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

New Orleans faced a third-and-goal at Atlanta's five-yard line with 4:46 to play. In a classic passing situation, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak opted to run the football to the right — the notoriously weaker side of the Saints' offensive line — resulting in Kamara losing two yards. 

Kicking a field goal seemed like the obvious call given the Saints defense had only allowed six points all day and had kept Atlanta's offense in check. But rather than take the points and cut the deficit to three, the Saints decided to be aggressive, going for it on fourth-and-goal from the seven-yard line. 

On a play that looked eerily similar to many goal-line calls for the Saints in 2023, Derek Carr's pass to Rashid Shaheed fell incomplete, rendering a methodical drive useless.