New Orleans Saints (1-5, 0-0): Rattler has best game of his season, but Saints fall
The Saints found themselves on the wrong end of a one-score game for the third time this season, falling 25-19 to the Patriots. It was a back-and-forth game, but ultimately, settling for field goals two of the three times the Saints made it to the red zone made a difference. The only touchdown came on a Taysom Hill run. The fourth quarter began with a field goal, but was punctuated by a turnover and a punt.
"Great battle of a football game," coach Kellen Moore said. "New England made more plays than we did. I thought our play style, I thought our guys played fast, played physical. At the end of the day, we didn't take advantage of opportunities that were presented to us. Every game is going to have those opportunities, and we have to take advantage of them.
"They won the turnover ratio. They won some situational stuff, and that's how this game was decided. We didn't make enough plays. I have to find a way for myself to coach better and put ourselves in better situations to be more successful as a football team. There's too much good and not enough in those little margins. Medically, I think we are OK. Nothing really drastic coming out of the game. We just have to get better and keep moving."
Rattler finished 20-26 for 227 yards with no interceptions, but no touchdowns. The Patriots fumbled twice, but the Saints' defense was unable to recover either, and Drake Maye threw three touchdowns, with no interceptions.
"I think it speaks volumes for us," cornerback Alontae Taylor said of the close losses. "Teams ain't just blowing us out like we're just trash. I think we're right there, and we've just got to find that hump and just stay consistent with that and try to get some wins under our belt."