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Katherine Terrell, ESPN Staff Writer
NEW ORLEANS — Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints went into their game against the Philadelphia Eagles looking like their No. 1 scoring offense was unstoppable.
They came out of it feeling like they’d been dealt a reality check.
The Saints averaged 45.5 points through their first two games, but Sunday they lost 15-12.
It was the fewest points the Saints have scored since an injured Carr and the offense had nine in a Week 4 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season.
This time around, the Saints (2-1) knew what they were capable of doing. That’s why this one stung more than usual.
“We felt like we left a lot of plays out there,” wide receiver Rashid Shaheed said. “When you lose in that way, you always kind of reflect on it. But we’ve got to let this one go. Tough one of course, but we’ve got to move on to next week.”
It was a game of give-and-take for Carr, who completed 14 of 25 passes for 162 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Chris Olave in the fourth quarter to go ahead with two minutes left.
The Eagles responded with a touchdown and the Saints — who prior to the fourth quarter hadn’t trailed this season — tried to lead a desperation drive in the final minute. But a hurried Carr was picked off while forcing a throw to Shaheed instead of being sacked.
“I don’t really know what happened,” Shaheed said in the quiet locker room after the game. “It was just a poorly executed play, and they were able to seal the game. That one stings. But we know it’s a long season and we’ve got to bounce back.”
Bouncing back will be key for the Saints, who play at the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4.
“You knew adversity would happen at some point,” Carr said Sunday.
For him and the defensive leaders, there’s no discouragement.
“You’re pissed because you lost. You’re mad at that,” Carr said. “You want to win all these games. But at the end of the day, we played a really good football team.”
How will the Saints respond?
“You win a close game and it boasts confidence; you lose a close game and you have to go ahead and dig deeper,” said team captain and defensive end Cameron Jordan. “You have to fully buy in. So it takes what it takes.”
“Buy in” has been what the Saints preached in the first two weeks. The Saints cautioned their players not to listen to the hype after a 2-0 start. They were also 2-0 last season before falling back to an eventual 9-8 finish.
“We can’t fool ourselves and think that adversity won’t strike,” tight end Foster Moreau said. “Not every game we’re going to score 50, almost 50, points but we’re trying … 12 points isn’t good enough. That’s not our standard.”
It took only two plays at the end of the game to show how fast a season can take a turn. Saints defenders Marshon Lattimore and Will Harris collided while attempting to cover a 61-yard reception by Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert.
That play led to the Eagles’ go-ahead touchdown with 1:05 left.
“They made the plays when it mattered the most,” safety Tyrann Mathieu said. “You could play great defense for 55 minutes and [in] five minutes, it could kind of get away from you. We’ll learn from it, it’s still early. We’re still confident in what we can do.”
The Saints had almost everything go their way to start the season. The injury report was light, the team got off to early leads and it went the first 10 quarters of the season without trailing.
But it was clear things wouldn’t be handed to them against the Eagles. The Saints went into the game without tight end Taysom Hill and center Erik McCoy left three snaps into the game with a groin injury.
They couldn’t run the ball at will and Carr spent more time under duress. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he was pressured on 40.7% of his dropbacks and completed only 4 of 10 passes for 22 yards with an interception under pressure.
The Saints have given other teams a potential blueprint on how to stop Klint Kubiak’s offense. Now, as the Saints move forward to a game against a division rival, adversity will either shape them or set them back.
“That was tough,” Saints tight end Juwan Johnson said. “At the end of the day, we’ve been blowing out teams, so it’s really like, when have we had that tough game? So this is our tough game. Obviously, you want to pull these games out, but this is one of the tough games that we had. This kind of corrects you in a way. … It can be a benefit or a detriment.”