The Saints battled the Falcons at home giving Alvin Kamara a chance to recapture past glory with his first touchdown of the year. Quarterback Tyler Shough dueled Michael Penix Jr., eliciting a take on whether he's a franchise quarterback or not from Troy Aikman.
New Orleans fell behind 24-7 as the first half wound down in the Big Easy, prompting Aikman to share another take on the well-experienced Shough (who spent seven years in college) that was quite humorous in nature.
“I'm not sure how you get seven years of college…I don't understand college football these days anyway, but I've heard of six years. I've never heard of seven,” Aikman added as shared by Ari Meirov of The33rdTeamFB.
Shough completed 12-of-19 passes for 139 yards to lead the Saints but failed to capitalize on first-half opportunities as the Penix Jr. led Falcons took control.
Article Continues BelowThe Falcons jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead behind a huge touchdown run from Bijan Robinson, who accomplished a huge feat not seen since 2008. Falcons defensive end Za'Darius Smith suffered a scary hit to the head that had people concerned for his well-being. Atlanta piled on ten more points in the second quarter while Saints struggled to keep pace.
Robinson went over 100 yards with two rushing touchdowns while Drake London led the Falcons with over 80 first-half receiving yards.
Chris Olave led Shough's Saints with three catches for 62 yards as they began to strive for balance in a pressure-filled situation. Shough is carving out a name for himself in the NFL, a job he knows is never easy considering his relative youth and inexperience at the highest professional level. Aikman knows that college experience is a big deal, but the NFL is a different animal entirely.