On Sunday afternoon, Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints dropped to a disappointing record of 5-6 on the 2023-24 NFL season with a frustrating road loss at the hands of their NFC South divisional rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, by a score of 24-15. Carr was able to give it a go after clearing concussion protocol earlier this week, but the Saints' offense was unable to convert touchdowns on several red zone opportunities against Atlanta, one of which resulted in a long pick six touchdown return for Atlanta's Jessie Bates.

After the game, head coach Dennis Allen got one hundred percent honest on some of the opportunities that the Saints were unable to capitalize on Sunday.

“I thought we had our opportunites,” said Allen, per the Saints' official account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “I think this game really boiled down to our ability down there in the red area… two penalties, two turnovers, one went for a pick six. And then obviously defensive, our inability to stop the run. And that's really what the game boiled down to. That's what the game was all about.”

With the loss, the Saints fell out of first place in the not exactly vaunted NFC South, allowing Atlanta to leapfrog them in the standings as the season enters its home stretch. However, all hope is still not lost for the Saints, as the teams still have identical records and will meet once again on the final game of the season, that time in New Orleans.