JACKSON: Despite loss at Atlanta, Saints piled on wins for 2026

By Ross Jackson

ATLANTA Ga. – Despite a 19-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, the Saints came away feeling like they gained far more than they lost.

There’s no doubt that the Saints wanted to finish up the season with a win against the Falcons, capping off the year with five-consecutive wins, toppling a bitter rival and spoiling the Carolina Panthers’ day for a third time in the season. However, things just didn’t come together in their Sunday finale. 

But the team’s two-point loss also brings a ton of promise and optimism to the Saints’ future. By the end of the Week 18 game, New Orleans was down to just three starters around quarterback Tyler Shough on the offensive side of the ball. Hanging with a talented unit like Atlanta’s was impressive, especially in a loss that could have been a win if not for a missed field goal earlier in the contest.

While the Saints would have loved to spoil the days of the Falcons and Panthers, the results brought about a few very important wins headed into 2026.

The Saints have their quarterback of the future.

Shough, the team’s rookie second-rounder, put on a show over the final stretch of the Saints’ season. The spark and optimism he has provided the team in his inaugural NFL year settles the pursuit of the next starter at the position.

Shough finished the year completing 67.6% of his passes for 2,384 passing yards, 10 passing touchdowns and six interceptions. He set numerous rookie franchise records along the way and is now firmly in contention for the 2025 Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Regardless of how many games the team won or lost this year, knowing that it can move ahead with a clear vision at quarterback was the team’s most important victory.

Running back Audric Estime spoke with LouisianaSports.Net after Sunday’s game and shared his excitement around Shough and what it means for the team.

“Yeah, Tyler’s a dawg, man,” he said. “I’m just excited to play with him, hopefully for the rest of my career. Seeing what he did as a rookie, jumping in the season mid-year, and carrying it. What we did is exciting for the future.”

New Orleans is locked into a last-place schedule.

The Saints will face a constantly underperforming NFC South and several last place teams during the 2026-27 season. They are now in line to face at least 11 teams that finished 2025-26 with losing records. New Orleans avoided matchups with strong clubs like the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for games against the Las Vegas Raiders, Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants.

The Saints are set with the No. 8 overall selection.

For the second year in a row, New Orleans will select inside the top 10 of the NFL Draft. However, the optimism around this year’s club is vastly different from the doubts that festered this time last year. The Saints have a lot of assets ahead of them as they look to rebuild around Shough and continue to refine and add to a strong defensive unit. And those assets are now in prime positions. 

Defense is back in the Big Easy

Give credit to defensive coordinator Brandon Staley and what he’s done to revitalize defense in New Orleans after a few down years. He’s gotten the best out of defensive end Chase Young who secured the first 10-sack season of his career on Sunday and helped Cameron Jordan reclaim double-digit sacks despite seeing one of the lowest snap percentages of his 15-year run. 

New Orleans will finish as a top 10 total defense that crossed 40 sacks in a season for the first time since 2022, all under the tutelage and leadership of Staley. With the Saints in position to add more talent to the unit over the course of the offseason, the confidence is palpable across the locker room.

“I think that a good offseason, allowing us to get healthy will be huge for us,” safety Justin Reid said Sunday. “Hopefully we just don’t have so many injuries next year, so that we’ve got all of our top dawgs on the field the whole year. And I think that we’ll be a force to deal with for the entire league.”

The Saints have a culture that players want to be a part of.

Finally, the Saints have built a product that players want to be attached to. From Jordan to linebacker Demario Davis, wide receiver Chris Olave and several others, players want to be a part of what head coach Kellen Moore and the Saints are building in the Big Easy. 

That is sure to permeate throughout the rest of the roster, as well as attract talented players from outside of the building. While it’s easy to get excited and look ahead to the NFL Draft after every season-closing performance, the open market in March represents a major opportunity for the team to continue adding talent and constructing a legitimate contender for 2026.