ATLANTA — Injuries to the receiving corps continue to plague New Orleans with the Saints losing both Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed during the Week 12 loss to the Falcons in Atlanta on Sunday.
Shaheed left the game in the second quarter with a thigh injury and was listed as questionable to return, while Olave was ruled out due to a concussion he sustained early in the third.
Without Olave, Shaheed to close out the game, as well as Michael Thomas, who was placed on injured reserve last week, quarterback Derek Carr went 24 of 38 for 304 yards with no touchdowns and on interception that resulted in a Falcons 92-yard pick-six by Jessie Bates in the first quarter.
With the win, the Falcons (5-6) now enter a tie with the Saints (5-6) atop the NFC South standings – one game ahead of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7).
Saints head coach Dennis Allen assessed Carr's performance as saying "some good and some bad" in the post-game press conference.
Here is what some of the national pundits had to say about the Saints:
- Saints receivers suffer game-ending injuries in loss to Falcons – Aaron S. Lee, WWL Louisiana
- Saints come undone in the red zone again, fall out of first place – Luke Johnson, The Times-Picayune
- 3 things we learned from Saints' deflating loss to Falcons – Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune
- Dennis Allen's take on Derek Carr's day vs. Falcons – Patrick Magee, Nola.com
- Notable numbers in Saints loss to Falcons – Spencer Urquhart, Nola.com
- What went wrong, what went right in Saints loss to Falcons – Dylan Sanders, USA Today
- Falcons pound Saints to take over first place in NFC South – D. Orlando Ledbetter, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (*subscription required)
- Ridder overcomes 2 interceptions to lead Falcons into first-place tie with Saints – Charles Odum, AP
- Saints offense fails to finish drives in 24-15 loss to Falcons – Bill Trocchi, AP
- Falcons retake first place in NFC South after win over Saints – Harrison Reno, SI.com
- Reactions from Saints' loss in Atlanta – Nola.com
After two road games bookmarking a bye week, the Saints return home to host the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions (8-3) on Sunday, Dec. 3.
Kicking is set for noon inside the Caesars Superdome.
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