Saints make the worst kind of NFL history in heartbreaking Week 4 loss to Falcons

The New Orleans Saints seemingly can't lose a football game in a non-heartbreaking manner. In Week 3, they fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in a nail-biter. Week 4 was more of the same against the Atlanta Falcons. This time, they made some unfortunate NFL history.

Saints make 41-year-old NFL history

New Orleans was the first team since 1983 to lose a game where they scored 24+ points and gave up zero offensive touchdowns. Jeff Asher was the first to uncover this stat.

The defense bent but did not break in the game against Atlanta.

Kirk Cousins took what they gave him at times, and the Falcons running game saw some success in the second quarter. Even then, New Orleans consistently got stops on their side of the field.

A muffed punt returned for a touchdown and a tipped ball interception returned for a score were the daggers for the Saints.

New Orleans' biggest issue on defense was on Atlanta's final drive. Pauslon Adebo was flagged for a 30-yard pass interference penalty on second down. Atlanta had just over thirty seconds remaining to get into field goal range.

That flag put them on the edge of that for Younghoe Koo. He nailed a 58-yard attempt to win it for the Dirty Birds.

For the Saints, their offense had many highs and lows. The banged up offensive line had some issues with blitzes, and the running game was stymied at times.

All in all, the offense did enough to win with a TD run by Alvin Kamara in the closing two minutes. The defense's biggest lapse came at the worst possible time.

Dennis Allen ranks 166th in winning percentage after loss

After losing to Raheem Morris' Falcons in Week 4, Allen dropped below Morris in winning percentage for their careers so far. Morris owns a .355 percentage, while the Saints HC sits at .351 now.

John Sigler noted this unfortunate stat for the Saints coach on Twitter/X after the defeat.

Derek Carr frustrated after loss to Falcons

The Saints QB says that it was a loss that hurts. They know that it was another winnable matchup that they squandered late in the final quarter of play.

Carr played fairly well, outside of that unlucky interception that was tipped at the line of scrimmage, but pressure got to him on a couple of occasions where he needed to get rid of the ball a bit quicker.

The Saints QB has not had much success against ATL in his pro career. Bad news for New Orleans. He dropped to 1-3 with three pick sixes so far in his career against them. That must improve going forward.

Regardless, Carr remains confident in his team but also realizes the missed opportunities over the past two weeks of football for New Orleans. They must be better if they want to get back into the playoff picture in 2024.

The Saints will have a tall task against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5.

Related: New Orleans Saints' massive nightmare strikes in Week 4 loss to Atlanta Falcons