Canal Street Chronicles
The New Orleans Saints defensive line got after Kirk Cousins on Sunday, logging 4 sacks against the veteran quarterback to go with 8 tackles for loss. The Saints defense finished with 45 sacks this year which was good enough for 10th in the NFL. Cameron Jordan finished with 10.5 sacks, which was good enough for 13th in the NFL and was his most since 2021 and the seventh double digit sack season of his career. Chase Young finished with 10 sacks in just 12 games, finishing 6th in the NFL in sacks per game and setting a career high with his first double digit sack season. Carl Granderson also added 1.5 sacks with 3 TFLs and even his first career interception on a screen pass. The Saints defense also held Bijan Robinson to 33 yards on 15 carries, his lowest yards per rush average since Week 1.
The Saints finished just 5/16 on third downs in Week 18. They kept some drives alive by going 3/3 on 4th down, but the Saints offense stalled too often on Sunday. They came up one yard short and threw incomplete on their first two attempts of the day, and later threw incomplete on a 3rd and 6 at the end of the half and were forced to punt rather than possibly kicking a field goal to end the first half. They failed to punch it in on 3rd and goal from the 1-yard line and were forced to take a field goal after a penalty took away a touchdown on 4th down. On their next drive in the fourth quarter facing just a 6-point deficit they again threw incomplete on a 3rd and 5 and were forced to punt. The last two third downs were particularly costly, as they cost the Saints 4 points and then a chance to take the lead with a touchdown drive.
The Saints turned it over twice in Atlanta, and three times if you include the blocked punt in the first quarter. The Saints first offensive play of the day ended in a Juwan Johnson fumble, and they allowed the Falcons to block a punt which set them up at the Saints 5-yard line which they would convert into a touchdown. Tyler Shough would then throw his first interception in four weeks which the Falcons took back 59 yards to set up a field goal that would put them up by two scores. Shough tried to force it into a tight window on a slant and cornerback Dee Alford simply stepped in front of it and nearly took it back for a touchdown. The Falcons scored 10 of their 19 points on drives of 7 yards or fewer that were set up by Saints turnovers.
