You never know how good things are until they’re gone.
After New Orleans quarterback Derek Carr was injured in the third quarter against Green Bay, the Packers went on an 18-point rally to give the Saints their first loss of the season.
“We need to get in, review the film, and make corrections to the mistakes we made,” New Orleans head coach Dennis Allen said. “I don’t feel we executed, and Green Bay did. As a team, we weren’t good enough and we need to be better than that. We need to get better at playing in the second half.”
In the first half, New Orleans drove up and down the field at ease. Tight end Jimmy Graham caught the first touchdown with 6:40 left in the first quarter. Wide receiver Rashid Shaheed then returned a punt 76 yards for a Saints touchdown with 10:30 left in the second quarter.
Six seconds before the half, kicker Blake Grupe knocked in a chip-shot field from 25 yards after converting both extra points and making the score 17-0 in favor of the Saints at halftime.
Despite good defensive play, New Orleans would not score for the rest of the contest. Green Bay was able to gain needed momentum after Saints quarterback Derek Carr went out with a shoulder injury. Carr is now at a local hospital and undergoing additional tests to see what the issue is, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Backup Jameis Winston came in and struggled to advance the ball. Carr was 13 of 18 for 103 yards and a touchdown before exiting the game. Winston finished 10 of 16 for 101 yards and no scores.
Green Bay’s comeback began with a 38-yard field goal from Anders Carlson followed by a sneak option rushing score from quarterback Jordan Love. Love subsequently connected with Samori Toure on a two-point conversion to erase any possibility of a tie.
With 2:56 left to play and the Saints up 17-11, Love found Romeo Doubs in the end zone for the go-ahead score. A successful PAT from Carlson lifted the Packers to an 18-17 victory as Grupe missed a game-winning 46-yard attempt with a minute remaining.
With the win, Green Bay (2-1) became the third team in the past 30 years to come back from a three-quarter shutout.
The New Orleans Saints (2-1) will return home to the Caesar’s Superdome next Sunday to face off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0).
