Ellington

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When the New Orleans Saints returned to the Superdome in 2006, a year after Hurricane Katrina, a punt block turned around that first game against the Atlanta Falcons. Flash-forward to 10 years later, and a punt has changed the fortunes of those two teams again.

During their matchup on Monday, Sept. 26, New Orleans was leading 7-0 in the first quarter when an injury-decimated defense forced Atlanta into a quick punt on the Falcons opening drive. When the Falcons punted, Saints players De’Vante Harris and Tommylee Lewis crashed into each other.

Players colliding into each other looks bad enough, but the problem compounded when Harris tried to grab the ball and return it. Several Falcons ended up hitting Harris causing him to fumble.

Atlanta recovered and tied the game at 7-7 three plays later, taking all momentum away from New Orleans. The Superdome went from rocking and ruckus to nearly silent in just a couple of minutes.

New Orleans’ next drive was three straight incomplete passes, followed with a punt. Atlanta went on an 11-play, 74-yard drive to go up 14-7. The Saints answered back with a 12-play drive for a touchdown to tie the game at 14-14 but never tied or led in the game again.

The first half ended with Atlanta outscoring New Orleans 14-3 to lead 28-17 at the half. Atlanta opened the third quarter with a touchdown drive, but the Saints answered with a touchdown and two-point conversion to bring the score to 35-25.

Atlanta would add a field goal on its next drive to go up 38-25 late in the third quarter. New Orleans drove to the Falcons 11 yard line with a solid shot at getting at least a field goal, but a touchdown would have made the final 15 minutes very interesting.

Instead, on first down and 10 yards, Falcons linebacker Deion Jones tipped and picked off quarterback Drew Brees’ intended pass to rookie Mike Thomas, taking the interception 90 yards to essentially put the game out of reach.

Brees put up respectable numbers, going 36 for 54 passing for 376 yards with three touchdowns. But if you happened to watch the game, several of his passes wobbled down the field, and several more were low throws when they didn’t have to be thrown low.

The Saints’ defense struggled again and couldn’t stop the run or cover the Falcons’ receivers most of the night. Two of the biggest plays in the game were fourth-down conversions for Atlanta, both ending with the Falcons scoring touchdowns.

The first fourth-down conversion gave the Falcons a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter and took more momentum from New Orleans. Atlanta’s drive to start the second half also featured a fourth-down conversion that gave the Falcons a 35-17 lead.

New Orleans’ defense is missing several players, including cornerbacks Delvin Breaux, Damian Swann and P.J. Williams, safety Kenny Vaccaro, linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Hau’oli Kikaha, and defensive tackles Sheldon Rankins and Tyeler Davison.

Even if those players were on the field, it doesn’t mean the Saints would have won last night, but it sure as heck would have helped them have a better chance to win. Injuries have been New Orleans’ main reason for struggling on defense.

While it is easy to point to the defense as the cause for the Saints’ 0-3 record thus far, last night’s loss was a team effort. The Saints’ punt blunder and Brees’ pick-six all helped New Orleans lose.

The loss to Atlanta means the Saints fall to 0-3 for the fourth time since signing Brees. The other three times ended with New Orleans missing the playoffs. Since the NFL expanded the playoffs in 1990, only three teams have reached the playoffs after a 0-3 start.

Each week, it seems less likely that New Orleans and Brees will have a “walking into the sunset as Super Bowl champions” moment. It seems more likely that the team will be mediocre, and Brees will either move on to another team or retire.

This season already has 7-9 or worse ritten all over it.