NEW ORLEANS — The most frustrating games are the ones you should win – and don't.
This loss was so frustrating that in his post-game press conference, New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen dropped an F-bomb.
He immediately apologized.
And I know, a football coach dropping an F-bomb is not exactly breaking news, but Dennis Allen tries very hard to be as even keel as possible in his dealings with the media.
He's always polite, but his delivery is deadpan. Emotional neutrality and very controlled.
But Sunday afternoon – with the cameras rolling – Allen dropped an inadvertent F-bomb because his Saints were the better team Sunday and the Atlanta Falcons won the game.
Let's start our four takeaways with that.
4) Odd Numbers
The numbers mean nothing.
I love the advanced analytics in today's sports.
I love trying to find answers in the numbers.
So, let's use the most basic football numbers.
The Saints had more yards rushing Sunday than the Falcons and more total yards, and way more first downs.
They controlled the time of possession.
The Saints' quarterback played better.
They were better on third downs.
They were better in the red zone.
But the Falcons won because the Saints lost the turnover battle for the first time this season by gifting two touchdowns to Atlanta.
Dominating in every category didn't matter. Hence, Dennis Allen's frustration.
3) The Routine 58
When Younghoe Koo lined up for his 58-yard game-winner, I expected him to make it.
Koo is the 4th-most accurate kicker in NFL history. Of the seven most accurate kickers to ever play in the NFL, do you know how many are kicking right now?
All seven.
Field goal kicking has gotten so exponentially better in the last five years or so.
A 58-yard field goal used to be so rare.
I went back 25 years to 1999. Just to compare in that season NFL teams attempted a little over five 50-plus yard field goals a week and those kickers made 48 percent of them.
This year, NFL teams are trying 19 50-yarders a week and kickers are making 76 percent.
A 58-yard game-winner is still a big deal, it's just not rare or surprising anymore.
2) The Good in the Bad
The loss overshadows a lot of positives.
I thought offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's game plan beautifully hid the injury problems on the offensive line.
Without Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz, the Saints still ran for 131 yards. Four games in they're 7th in the NFL in rushing offense and one of those new-age stats is called intended air yards.
Meaning, how far do you throw the ball upfield in each of the first three weeks, Derek Carr was Top 10 in the NFL but this week he threw significantly shorter passes.
The plan, obviously, was to get rid of the ball quickly and it worked. The Saints were good on third down and good in the red zone.
Of course, the offense functioned a lot better when Taysom Hill was in, but considering the missing pieces, I thought it was a creative, effective offensive plan.
1) The Anger is Good
And my number one takeaway is that anger is good and I think – productive.
Nobody ever won a playoff game in September. I know it's two losses, but the Saints have proven they're every bit as good as Philadelphia and Atlanta.
And there were major doubts about that before the season began.
Certainly, it gets tougher this coming week. On Monday night in Kansas City.
The Chiefs have not played great so far but they're 4-0. They know how to win.
The Saints haven't, but the last two weeks have shown they can be a pretty good team.
And now they're angry, which I don't think is a bad thing.
WWL Louisiana's '4 Takeaways' sponsored by Rouse's Markets, the official supermarket of the New Orleans Saints.
