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Katherine Terrell, ESPN writer
NEW ORLEANS — Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints entered their game against the Philadelphia Eagles with the impression that their No. 1 scoring offense was unstoppable.
They came away with the feeling of having been brought back to reality.
The Saints averaged 45.5 points in their first two games, but on Sunday they lost 15-12.
It was the fewest points the Saints have scored since Carr’s injury, and the offense had nine in a Week 4 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season.
This time, the Saints (2-1) knew what they were capable of. That’s why this match was more painful than usual.
“We felt like we let a lot of plays go,” receiver Rashid Shaheed said. “When you lose like that, you always reflect on it. But we have to let this loss go. It’s tough, for sure, but we have to move on to next week.”
It was a give-and-take game for Carr, who completed 14 of 25 passes for 162 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Chris Olave in the fourth quarter to take the lead with two minutes left.
The Eagles responded with a touchdown and the Saints – who had never trailed this season before the fourth quarter – tried to mount a desperate attack in the final minute. But Carr, in a hurry, was intercepted as he forced a pass 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 managed to seal the game. It hurts. But we know it’s going to be a long season and we have to bounce back.”
Rebounding will be key for the Saints, who face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4.
“We knew adversity was going to come at some point,” Carr said Sunday.
For him and the defensive leaders, there is no discouragement.
“We’re upset because we lost. We’re mad about it,” Carr said. “We want to win all these games. But at the end of the day, we played a really good football team.”
How will the Saints react?
“You win a close game and it builds your confidence; you lose a close game and you have to go out there and dig deeper,” team captain and defensive end Cameron Jordan said. “You have to buy into it. So it takes what it takes.”
The Saints have preached “buy-in” the first two weeks. They’ve warned their players against hype after a 2-0 start to the season. They were also 2-0 last season before falling to a 9-8 final score.
“We can’t fool ourselves and think adversity won’t come our way,” tight end Foster Moreau said. “We’re not going to score 50, almost 50 points every game, but we’re trying … 12 points is not good enough. That’s not our level.”
It took just two plays late in the game to show how quickly a season can turn around. Saints defenders Marshon Lattimore and Will Harris collided while trying to cover a 61-yard reception from Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert.
The play led to the Eagles’ game-winning touchdown with 1:05 left.
“They made the right calls when it mattered the most,” safety Tyrann Mathieu said. “You can play great defense for 55 minutes and in five minutes you can lose control. We’ll learn from it, it’s still early. We still have confidence in what we can do.”
The Saints had almost everything going for them to start the season. The injury record was light, the team took the lead early and went through the first 10 quarters of the season without being led.
But it was clear that things wouldn’t be easy for them against the Eagles. The Saints went into the game without tight end Taysom Hill and center Erik McCoy left the field after three snaps with a groin injury.
They couldn’t run the ball at will, and Carr spent more time under pressure. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he was pressured 40.7 percent on his dropbacks and completed just 4 of 10 passes for 22 yards with one interception under pressure.
The Saints have given other teams a potential template for how to stop Klint Kubiak’s offense. Now, as the Saints prepare for a game against a division rival, adversity will either shape them or set them back.
“It was tough,” Saints tight end Juwan Johnson said. “Ultimately, we’ve crushed teams, so it really feels like we had a tough game. So this is our tough game. Obviously, you want to come out on top in these games, but this is one of the toughest games we’ve had. It kind of corrects you. … It can be an advantage or a disadvantage.”
