New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough understood the Superdome crowd’s reaction to their 45-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons and said he would be booing the team, too.
The Saints were second-best on Monday Night Football all night behind rivals the Falcons and the home fans let the players at half-time, eventually muting the jeers as the majority walked off the field.
New Orleans, which dropped to 1-3 for the season, never got going and trailed 24-7 after two quarters.
“I’m disappointed. More than anything, you lose like that to the Falcons, and especially Monday night’s game, it’s bad,” he said. There’s nothing you can say like, “Oh man, that’s not bad.” It definitely does. But as a team, I know we’re very close and we’re going to keep going and keep our eyes peeled.
“We have really good leadership and our leadership on the team recognizes that we have to be better. We have to improve and watch film and appreciate it. There’s no hiding it. But at the same time, it’s a long season and there’s still a lot of games to play before we can do that.”
“We got punched in the mouth” – Saints Jordan
Defensive end Cameron Jordan admitted the Saints “need to be a better team” after the home loss.
“Everybody gets punched in the mouth in this game. Any given Sunday. But that’s how you respond,” Jordan said. “So we lost that game. Gossip, we got beat, that’s what it is. We’ve got to be able to respond. That’ll show you what kind of team we are. We can go on for days … about what we can do better. Break down the film, go to next week, we’ve got to be a better team. Otherwise, this is what we’re going to get every week.”
While it was doom and gloom for the Saints, the Falcons continued to bounce back with their second win in two weeks.
After struggling in weeks one and two, the return of QB Michael Penix has breathed new life into Atlanta’s offense.
Penix, who scored just 16 points in the first two games with Cooper Rush under center, led his team to a 35-14 victory over the Green Bay Packers and Monday’s victory in New Orleans.
Penix and the Robinsons team up to sink the Saints
Penix orchestrated an Atlanta offense that relied heavily on the running game with Bijan Robinson rushing for 145 yards and two touchdowns, while Brian Robinson Jr. managed 62 yards and three touchdowns.
“He was phenomenal, man,” Brian Robinson Jr. said of Penix. “There’s not much else I can say about how he’s played. I appreciate his attitude, how he’s come in and how he’s been on the court, and he’s focused and ready. He’s not letting anything in his past get in the way of his goals and what he wants to do in the future.”