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Column: Loss to Saints a challenge Falcons should have conquered

With "all the chances in the world to win," the Falcons couldn't defeat a wounded Saints team in Week 10. 

NEW ORLEANS — "Walk into your trap. Take over your trap." Kirk Cousins has gone viral on a few occasions for saying this in press conferences or even in the darkened corridors of an opponents' tunnel as his teammates huddle around him.

On Sunday, against a New Orleans Saints team that just fired their head coach at the beginning of the week and hadn't won a game since September, it was the definition of a trap game. Especially for a Falcons team coming off big wins against the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They had health on their side and an undefeated record in the NFC South.

It was a game the Falcons should have controlled from the first snap to the last one. On paper, that is.

Instead, they never controlled the game, losing 20-17 against a team that — as their own quarterback said — "had nothing to lose."

"They already fired our coach," Derek Carr told New Orleans media postgame.

And so, the mantra from the loudest faction of the fan base following this loss was that these are the "same 'ole Falcons." Never quite remaining on a high and flying too close to the sun when trending in the right direction.

Unfortunately, history would likely be on the fans' side on this one. The Falcons have not turned a 6-3 record into 7-3 since 1980. They have not beaten the Saints in both divisional games in the same year since 2016. Perhaps it's the marker of a great rivalry, sure. But in a situation like this, where one team is licking its wounds after losing its last seven games? That's when good teams put them out of their misery.

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In a sense, this game is not unlike what happened with Atlanta two weeks ago in their loss to the Seattle Seahawks. After that game, I dubbed the game a complete team loss, arguably their first of 2024. This loss now? Well, the tendrils of the same defeat linger, even if the Falcons managed to fight back and had multiple opportunities to win.

In Week 10, the defense started slow, allowing Carr to connect with receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (who has been with the team for less than 20 days) for over 100-yards receiving in the first half. The offense couldn't muster a response, even when the defense held the Saints to four consecutive three-and-outs in the final quarter. They never put up points as an answer.

And then there were special teams and Younghoe Koo. The Falcons' notoriously accurate and confident kicker was 1-for-4 on the day, missing two field goals and having one blocked. That's nine points left out on the field. Nine points that would have been the difference.

But there were also explosives given up, penalties counted, third downs not converted to go along with the missed field goals. Again, the Falcons are looking at a complete team loss against a team they should have handled.

It's one that, as Kirk Cousins said, leaves a bad taste in your mouth. It's one that, as Raheem Morris said, Atlanta had all the chances in the world to win, and still couldn't capitalize on the moment.

"We're going to play in those type of games. We plan on playing in a lot of those type of games, particularly against this type of team, the guys that they are, the rivalry that we have," Morris said. "But we gotta win that one."

They do because good teams — the best teams — do. And the Falcons will never get past the narrative the organization carries of being the same type of team every year until they handily win these types of games.

Get an inside look at the matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome during Week 10, presented by Grady.

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