Second-year coach Kellen Moore was “disappointed” and “frustrated”.
asserted
Moore → frustrate → ?
And a day of festivities commemorating one of the most triumphant moments in the New Orleans Saints’ history ended with boos and early exits.
asserted
day → commemorate → boos
Three plays into Monday night’s game against Atlanta, Falcons running back Bijan Robinson silenced an electric Superdome crowd with a 59-yard touchdown run.
asserted
Robinson → silence → run
The Saints’ performance in a 45-24 loss to the Falcons bore no resemblance to their landmark 23-3 victory against the same team 20 years ago, when the venue finally reopened after being damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
asserted
venue → bear → Katrina
On that made-for-TV night, Steve Gleason blocked a punt on the Falcons’ opening possession and Curtis Deloatch recovered it for a touchdown, sending the Saints on their way.
asserted
Deloatch → make → way
This time, New Orleans held pre-game ceremonies commemorating those magic moments two decades ago, with retired players Drew Brees, Scott Fujita, Scott Shanle, Deuce McAllister, Devery Henderson and Deloatch joining Gleason – now in a wheelchair because of ALS – on the field before kick-off to lead fans in the team’s familiar ‘Who dat!’ chant.
asserted
players → hold → chant
Irma Thomas, a New Orleans local who sang the national anthem when the dome reopened, reprised her role.
asserted
dome → sing → role
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell even traveled to New Orleans to commemorate the ‘Domecoming’ game he also attended in 2006.
asserted
he → travel → 2006
Earlier in the day, New Orleans mayor Helena Moreno gave Gleason a key to the city.
asserted
Moreno → give → city
Gleason later shared a moment with former Falcons punter Michael Koenen at the ‘Rebirth’ statue outside the dome which memorializes the famous punt block.
asserted
which → share → block
Then came the game itself – the first nationally-televised, night-time home game for the Saints in nearly two years.
asserted
game → come → years
“It’s extremely disappointing,” Shough said.
asserted
Shough → ’ → ?
“It’s embarrassing.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
I can’t say enough good things about fans showing up, the entire process, what this game meant and we fell short as a team …
asserted
we → say → team
we’ve got to do better on all fronts.”
asserted
we → get → fronts
One of Gleason’s mottos is “never punt”.
asserted
One → punt → mottos
The Falcons seemed to take that to heart, scoring their most points since a 48-33 victory against Carolina in 2016, never punting after the first quarter and getting touchdowns on five of their last six full possessions.
asserted
Falcons → seem → possessions
The Saints (1-3), who secured a breakthrough victory at Baltimore two weeks ago, followed that up with two straight losses at home.
asserted
who → secure → home
“We’re all frustrated, all disappointed with where we’re at,” Moore said.
asserted
Moore → ’re → where
“We’re going to have to learn from this one and move forward.”
asserted
We → go → one
Shough threw for 286 yards and wide receiver Chris Olave had eight catches for 116 yards, but the Saints scored on only one of their five first-half series, falling behind 24-7.
asserted
Saints → throw → series
After they settled for a 27-yard field goal on their opening drive of the second half, Atlanta responded with a nine-play, 74-yard touchdown drive to go ahead 31-10.
asserted
Atlanta → settle → drive
The dome started to empty out at that point, and it turned into a red-clan Falcons’ fans celebration after Atlanta scored another touchdown to go ahead 38-17 with 9:50 left in the fourth quarter.
asserted
Atlanta → start → quarter
“I love New Orleans.
asserted
I → love → Orleans
I love this place,” Shough said.
asserted
Shough → love → place
“And you see the energy, the passion of everybody, the culture behind this place and it sucks whenever you don’t come through on the field in that way, especially against our division rivals.
asserted
you → see → rivals
It hurts me.
asserted
It → hurt → me
I don’t want to feel like that ever again.”
asserted
I → want → that
Playing without injured defensive end Carl Granderson, linebacker Kaden Elliss and running back Travis Etienne, among others, New Orleans struggled.
asserted
Orleans → play → others
Atalanta’s Robinson ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns, and Brian Robinson Jr added three scoring runs.
asserted
Jr → run → runs
After falling behind, New Orleans pretty much abandoned their running game, finishing with 50 yards on 19 carries.
asserted
Orleans → fall → carries
The Saints fell a game behind NFC South co-leaders Atlanta and Carolina.
asserted
Saints → fall → Atlanta
“We squandered an opportunity but we’ve got more opportunities,” Shough said.
asserted
Shough → squander → opportunities
“You’ve got to kind of take it on the chin and we’ll see them again.”
asserted
we → get → them
The Aporia
