The Atlanta Falcons suffered a brutal 27-26 defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Saints in their season opener on Sunday. Atlanta ultimately blew a 26-10 lead en route to the loss. Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota shared his thoughts following the game, per NBC's Pro Football Talk.
“I would say the biggest difference was just finishing in the red zone,” Mariota said. “We had opportunities — multiple opportunities to go in there and score touchdowns and kind of put the game away. We allowed them, as an offense, to stick around, and that’s something we have to get back and look at and correct.”
Marcus Mariota displayed leadership qualities by placing the defeat on the offense. But the fact of the matter is that the defense blew the lead. The Falcons seemed to have the game wrapped up before coughing up their 26-10 advantage.
Mariota finished the game with 215 passing yards on 20-33 passing. He added a rushing touchdown as well. Marcus Mariota's favorite wide receiver target was Drake London, who reeled in 5 receptions on 7 targets.
However, it was Cordarrelle Patterson who stole the show on offense. The running back recorded 120 rushing yards and added 1 touchdown.
Marcus Mariota, Cordarrelle Patterson, and the Falcons offense did enough to earn the win. But Atlanta's defense was simply unable to contain Jameis Winston and the Saints passing attack. Winston finished the game with 269 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Falcons will look to rebound next week in a road matchup against the reigning champion Los Angeles Rams.
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