How Dennis Allen Handled the Saints' Heartbreaking Loss to the Falcons

New Orleans' head coach still believes in his football team ahead of the Kansas City tilt on Monday Night Football in Week 5.

Sep 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen reacts during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Dennis Allen began his postgame interview with an uncharacteristic expletive, but cooled down to offer an analysis of the game. New Orleans' head coach believes too many mistakes, injuries, turnovers, and penalties were the culprits as the Saints fell 26-24 to Atlanta.

Sunday's loss was the second straight winnable game New Orleans dropped this season to now post a 2-2 record before facing the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football in Week 5.

"I know we got a good football team in that locker room," Dennis Allen said in his postgame comments. "Now we have to play better. We can't spot a team with 14 points, a good team, and expect to win those types of games. The fact that you come back and put yourself in a in a position to win that, tells me that we got a good football team. But we have to be better. We've got to play better. You know, we got to coach them better."

KEY QUOTES FROM DENNIS ALLEN'S POSTGAME INTERVIEW

On Rashid Shaheed's Muff Punt

"It's a bad decision. You know, we don't ever want to field that ball. And  look, he's typically been a guy that's made a lot of really good decisions back there. So it was uncharacteristic for him to make that decision to field the ball there. But, we certainly don't want to do that."

Aggressive Decision-Making Pays Off

"Let's try to score the touchdown. They got the ball at, what was it, the 7 or 8-yard line, I think it was. You know? And so we knew we were going to have to make a stop anyway."

Struggling with Penalties:

"I think the penalties and get behind the sticks caused us to miss out on some opportunities."

On Chris Olave's Playing Through Injury

"I don't think he was a 100%. But I thought it was awesome to see him go out there, gut it out, and play the way that he did."

On Facing Kansas City In Week 5

"We'll see where we're at on the injury front. Who we have, who we don't have, and then get ready to go play against another really, really good team."

Alvin Kamara battled through injuries for another excellent game with 19 rushes for 77 yards and a touchdown via the ground. He also caught 7 receptions for 42 yards. Chris Olave hauled in 8 receptions for 87 yards. QB Derek Carr was 28/36 for 239 yards, and a costly interception returned for an Atlanta touchdown.

Besides his interference calls, Paulson Adebo notched 12 tackles and 1 interception.

New Orleans will face one of the top teams in the National Football League on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The game is set to start at 7:15 PM CT/8:15 PM ET.

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