Saints mistakes six-pack: It wasn't all Drew Brees' fault in loss to Falcons

Drew Brees lost the Falcons game, but he had plenty of accomplices in a bizarre Thursday night performance that left the Saints’ playoff hopes on life support.

Whether or not it was the quick turnaround from a physical, emotional matchup with San Francisco four days earlier, New Orleans made far too many mental and physical errors in its 32-13 loss to Atlanta.

Brees’ litany of mistakes has been well-documented. Here were the key gaffes by his teammates, in chronological order:

1) On the first play, safety Malcolm Jenkins stepped in front of a fluttering duck by Falcons QB Matt Ryan, but TE Tony Gonzalez wanted the ball more, snatching it away from Jenkins. Instead of the Saints having the ball inside the Falcons’ 30, it was an 8-yard gain, and Atlanta proceeded to cruise straight down the field for a touchdown.

2) With the Saints threatening to close a 17-7 deficit to 17-14 before halftime, TE Jimmy Graham blocked LB Sean Weatherspoon downfield before RB Darren Sproles caught a swing pass and cruised into the end zone, drawing a 10-yard penalty for offensive pass interference. Weatherspoon might have had a play on Sproles without the block, but the worst scenario for the Saints would have been second-and-goal around the 1. Instead, the ball was moved to the 17, setting up Brees’ inexplicable clock mismanagement that left New Orleans with no points.

3) Lance Moore, the most sure-handed receiver on the team, dropped a Brees bullet in the end zone on first-and-goal as the Saints tried to score a TD on their opening possession of the second half. NFL Network color analyst Mike Mayock said Moore would catch that pass “99 times out of a 100.”

4) On the next step, RB Mark Ingram stumbled to the turf after catching a low Brees swing pass, losing 2 yards. He had fullback Jed Collins blocking in front of him and would have scored if he had stayed on his feet and eluded a tackle by safety William Moore. Instead, the Saints settled for a field goal.

5) On the Saints’ next possession, Sproles beat Weatherspoon down the sideline and dropped a perfect deep pass from Brees that would have put the ball at the Falcons’ 15. The Saints ending up settling for a 52-yard field goal.

6) With the Saints trailing 20-13 but driving, Sproles caught a swing pass on first-and-10 at the Falcons’ 41 and had an easy first down if he had dove or even taken on a tackler. Instead, he stepped out of bounds a yard shy of the first to avoid a hit. This wasn’t a preseason game. It was a game the Saints felt they had to win to make the playoffs. On second-and-1, the Falcons stuffed Pierre Thomas for a 4-yard loss, and Brees took a sack on third down, forcing a punt.

That was a six-pack of mistakes on top of Brees’ five interceptions and mental meltdown at the end of the first half.

The Saints gave themselves absolutely no chance to win.

Follow Saints reporter Guerry Smith on Twitter @CBSSaints.