The Saints were 14-point favorites against the Falcons on Sunday and got blown out 26-9, the first time this season that a two-touchdown favorite had lost a game. Clearly, something went wrong.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees said he and his teammates on offense consider it “unacceptable” that they managed just three field goals against a defense that had previously been among the worst in the league.
“We were extremely disappointed in our performance,” Brees said. “I think we know we’re a lot better than that and understand that, especially at this point in the season, this is a time when we really want to start separating ourselves from the pack in a positive way and continuing to position ourselves to achieve the goals that we have set for this team.”
Brees doesn’t believe the Saints looked past the Falcons, they just didn’t play as well as they should have.
“We understand that every game you’ve got to show up and you have to play your best and what comes with that is great attention to detail, great execution, great focus and intensity,” Brees said. “And unfortunately our execution just was not up to standard across the board. That needs to get cleaned up and it will get cleaned up and as a result, we’ll play a lot better.”
The Saints will have to play a lot better. For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, Sunday’s loss should be a wakeup call.