Expect a strong case of road rage from the Saints in Tampa

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton may have been engaged but his team certainly wasn’t Sunday against the surprisingly resolute Atlanta Falcons.

That might help explain the Saints’ stunning stinker at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, a 26-9 loss to a prohibitive road underdog (+13 1/2) mired in a six-game losing streak and fighting to save the job of its embattled head coach, Dan Quinn.

With both teams coming off a bye in Week 9, the NFC South cellar-dwellers came to play in Week 10; the divisional leaders and Super Bowl LIV contenders inexplicably did not.

Were the Saints as bad as the score suggests? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. They now have little margin for error in their quest to win homefield advantage in the NFC and/or a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Consequently, look for the Saints (7-2) to be acting out a serious case of road rage when they visit the enigmatic Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6) at noon Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

The Saints’ shocking defeat came two days after Payton became engaged to longtime girl friend Skylene Montgomery, a native of West Virginia who represented her home state in the 2008 Miss USA contest.

“They outplayed us, they outcoached us, and they deserved to win,’‘ Payton rightfully acknowledged after the 100th regular-season meeting between the franchises.

Pick a game situation and the Falcons likely won it, beginning with six sacks and 11 pocket hits on future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees and bending but not breaking in coverage against marquee wide receiver Michael Thomas, who caught 13 of 14 targeted passes for 152 yards but no touchdowns.

The Saints compounded their problems with a season-high 12 penalties for 90 yards, resulting in six Atlanta first downs. They were flagged four times for hands-to-the-face. A roughing-the-punter penalty enabled the Falcons to move into field goal range midway through the fourth quarter and extend their lead to 23-9.

Two key injuries worth noting: cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hamstring) and left guard Andrus Peat (arm).

The loss harkened back to Payton’s first three seasons in New Orleans when his teams lost games coming off byes in 2006 (Baltimore, 35-22, Superdome), ‘07 (Carolina, 16-13, Superdome) and ‘08 (34-20, in Atlanta) before reversing the trend after seeking advice from then-Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid.

In a nutshell, Reid suggested Payton’s team would benefit from a week of R&R during the bye to allow the mind and body to refocus and re-energize. Beginning with the Super Bowl championship season of 2009, the Saints posted an 8-2 record in games coming off byes with both losses coming on the road.

The unexpected slip-up at home now makes the Saints 8-3 after byes over the past 11 seasons, including 2012 when Payton had to serve a season-long suspension for his role in the Bounty scandal.

So, it’s back to work for the Saints who failed to score a touchdown for the third time this season (LA Rams, Dallas) and struggled to get off the field against the Falcons, who converted seven-of-16 third- and fourth-down plays. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan twice kept touchdown drives alive with chain-moving scrambles of 5 and 8 yards.

I suspect things will be different when the teams meet again in Round 2 on Thanksiving night (NBC) from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta. I also suspect we will see a different Saints team in Tampa when it goes for a season sweep of the Buccaneers, who acquitted themselves well in New Orleans in Week 5 before losing 31-24 to backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

In other words, look for the Black and Gold to be fully engaged ... just like their newly betrothed head coach.

This story was originally published November 12, 2019 at 10:56 AM.