Saints season finale loss to the Falcons by the numbers

By Ross Jackson

Though the New Orleans Saints didn’t get a win to close out their season against the rival Atlanta Falcons, the future appears bright in the Big Easy. New Orleans fell to the Falcons 19-17 despite a litany of injuries on offense and this fall to 6-11 on the season, putting them in position to play a last-place schedule in 2026. 

Here are some of the numbers that help tell the story of the Saints’ loss and how they managed to find wins anyway. 

-93 – The Saints were shutout again in the first quarter of their Week 18 matchup, finishing the season with the worst first quarter point differential for an NFL team since at least 2000. 

1 – After exiting the 2025 NFL Draft with three possible options at quarterback, the Saints have their “QB1” in Tyler Shough. 

3 – The Falcons made a trio of front office/coaching changes after their final game against the Saints. The team fired head coach Raheem Morris, general manager Terry Fontenot and CEO Rich McKay. 

8 – New Orleans has locked in a top-10 NFL Draft selection for the second consecutive year. The team is positioned to select No. 8 overall in 2026. 

12 – For the first time in 12 years, the Saints have two defenders with double-digit sacks in the same season. Defensive ends Cam Jordan and Chase Young wrangled 10.5 and 10 sacks in 2025, respectively. They are the first tandem to do so in New Orleans since Jordan and former pass rusher Junior Gallette each topped 12 takedowns in 2013. 

27.6 – Young closed out a remarkable 2025-26 season with eight pressures against Falcons tackle Jake Matthews on 29 pressures, good for a 27.6% pressure rate. Young’s 22% pressure rate generated against Matthews in his career is the second- highest percentage achieved by a rusher against an individual blocker since 2018, per Next Gen Stats. 

43 – Falcons running back Bijan Robinson was held to a season-low 43 total yards from scrimmage against the Saints’ defense on Sunday. 

76 – With 76 catches on the season, tight end Juwan Johnson became the second tight end in Saints history to reel in more than 75 receptions in a year. Former tight end Jimmy Graham is the only other at his position to reach that mark. 

126 – After finding success attacking the middle of the field throughout his starts, Shough compiled 126 of his 259 passing yards outside the numbers against the Falcons, per Next Gen Stats. 

132 – Jordan now has 132 career sacks, just one half-sack shy of legendary New York Giants defender Lawrence Taylor.