Postgame Quotes: Atlanta Falcons 24, New Orleans Saints 10 | 2025 NFL Week 12

Quotes from head coach Kellen Moore, quarterback Tyler Shough, quarterback Taysom Hill, and safety Justin Reid

Nov 23, 2025 at 10:41 PM

Head Coach Kellen Moore

Opening Statement:
"Frustrating game, a game we felt good about coming in. We felt like there was some carryover from the Carolina game into the bye week. We felt like it was a good week. Then, we didn't come out and get this one done. Credit to those guys. Those guys coached better, played better and ultimately executed better than us today. It was a frustrating game. All three phases had different opportunities that, obviously, we missed. It's going to be a big opportunity for us to respond the right way, stick together and keep battling."

On if he still has faith in K Blake Grupe:
"It's a frustrating one. I think the biggest and most important thing is we have to go through this whole process to understand how this happened today. He missed a couple, and that's unfortunate because there's been a lot of good. We'll have to evaluate that and just get a better feel for just how that process went down today."

On evaluating the kickers:
"We'll just evaluate that as we go. It's an important thing we will have to evaluate. First, really dig into what happened today, as far as let's communicate at a high level, let's go through the process and understand how the outcomes occurred. Then, we will evaluate, and there will be another day to continue to assess that."

On whether Charlie Smyth will be a part of the evaluation:
"Charlie is certainly in a developmental role. He's done a lot of good as he's gone through this process for a couple of years now in the developmental role. It's something we will have to spend some time and invest some time in. Today's not going to be the answer to all of that. I think it's a process that we are just going to have to go through."

On playing QB Taysom Hill in the red zone:
"Just some of the run game stuff. I feel like it's a numbers game down there. We need a number (advantage that we get) with Taysom. Red zone's on me. We're not getting it done. It's as simple as that. We're not scoring touchdowns down there. 0-for-3 today, had a huge impact today. We have to find a way to get it done."

On if he will consider playing QB Tyler Shough in the red zone in those situations in the future:
"I think always the goal is still to win the football game. There are plenty of opportunities that Tyler goes through that are hard, challenging situations. There's plenty of stuff in there red zone-wise where I felt like there would be some good opportunities. I felt like the run game in the plus-one situation, there's a lot of evidence to support it would be a positive manner. Certainly, there are more opportunities that we will have to evaluate Tyler. There are plenty of games that we are going to be able to evaluate him in those situations. That will be an important part of the process."

On the fumble by RB Alvin Kamara:
"It's just a play action. Obviously, they got a little too close. There was a collision there. It was a play action play. We were going play action pass. I didn't get a perfect, clean look at it. I was watching the routes as it went. I saw a little bit of footage. I'll have to look more into it."

On passing on fourth and one with Hill:
"We ran a lot of direct runs with Taysom at the quarterback position. We felt like there was a play opportunity there (in the passing game). Ultimately, it's on me. It didn't work."

On the struggles in the red zone:
"Yeah, it's missed opportunities. Credit to those guys. They made the opportunities. They created enough explosive plays in the game. They made stops in the red zone. We had our opportunities, like in a lot of games. It's just a matter of small margins. We have to take advantage of them."

On the playcalling in the red zone:
"Not good enough. Obviously, we didn't get it done on offense. It was choppy. We weren't able to create the flow that we had in the previous week against Carolina. It's frustrating. I haven't done a good enough job with this group. We have to find a way."

On the playcalling against the Atlanta defense:
"Certainly, their pass rush has been really productive. They've been a very productive pass-rush team. I thought there were a few opportunities to get the ball out of our hands. Obviously, as the game progressed, we got into some challenging situations, and they're going to rush the passer with some known rushes, and that was a challenge for us."

On Shough's performance:
"I thought he battled. I thought he gave us some positive things in there. It wasn't an easy situation in some of those as the game progressed and we got into a multi-score game. I thought he battled. I think if you take the emotions out of it and watch the film probably tonight and tomorrow, you'll certainly take some positives."

On Kamara's injury:
"We will have to let that go through its process. Obviously, he wasn't able to return. We will have to get the full evaluation tomorrow, get a feel for that and see what this outline looks like."

On Smyth's development:
"I think it's something that's definitely part of the evaluation process. He's been here for two years, and he's developed in time. He's had some preseason opportunities. He's done a nice job there. He's in a developmental role. We just have to continue to evaluate that each and every week. We've had a lot of guys who have had opportunities to step up. We will see how all of this stuff progresses."

On RB Devin Neal's performance:
"There's probably going to be some positives coming out of that film. I thought he made a couple of plays in space and got some extra yards, which was a positive. For the most part, his protection stuff, he did some nice things in there. He stepped up, and we will see how this opportunity progresses as we move forward."

On opting to play in the shotgun on the goal line:
"Get Taysom (Hill) and essentially you have ten blockers and Taysom. That was the goal with the play we ran earlier in the game and got a first down. Unfortunately, the snap wasn't successful."

On the atmosphere in the Caesars Superdome:
"I thought it was a great atmosphere. There were a couple of big-time opportunities that I felt like the crowd helped with, some third downs. They were in field goal range and got a false start. There were a couple of procedure penalties. We appreciate all of that. That makes this place special. We know we have some work to do. We have to keep grinding, getting better. There will be better days, certainly. We all have that sight that we will get better each week. We will keep finding those opportunities."

On the mood in the locker room:
"Just frustration because you recognize the opportunities that are out there, and we just haven't gotten it done."

On G Cesar Ruiz:
"Again, I think those ones are always really important to see the film. Up front, we got into some passing situations, and [the Falcons] are really good against the pass rush. It's a challenging situation, but we have to find something that works for us a little bit better and find a solution to get the ball moving in some of those situations. In the run game, we have to find some more consistency in the run game where we can get some things moving and create more flow."

On WR Mason Tipton:
"We like Mason a lot. He's done some positive things through training camps and through preseason football. He's played in a somewhat limited role in the regular season. Every time Mason plays in this game, he will continue to play a valuable role."

On if adjustments were not being fully implemented during the bye week:
"I mean, at the end of the day, we just didn't get it done. We can look at it from a lot of different angles. Schematically, I'm going to spend a lot of time saying are we putting ourselves in the best position to be successful? The players are trying to find every margin they can improve on. That's the goal of this thing. Every opportunity you have, whether it be a self-scout or a game film, you're going to evaluate it. There's going to be things that come out of it positively and negatively. You just have to keep growing. Obviously, we missed this opportunity."

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Quarterback Tyler Shough

On his first start in the Caesars Superdome:
"Yeah, running out of the tunnel and seeing everybody in the Dome, it was such a cool moment. I was talking to David at Drago's. He's one of the managers, and I went to Drago's yesterday with my family, and he talked about the dream that he had running out of the tunnel as a Saints quarterback, and it kind of gave me some perspective that a lot of people really dream about that opportunity. We fell short, but I was proud of how we battled, and it sucks to lose, especially to the Falcons, but at least the start it was a cool moment, and overall, we know what we have to do to fix it, and that's the story of the game. There's a lot of fixable things, especially in the red zone where we just came up short, and then we'll finish it, and then it's a different story."

On the first fumble and the first drive:
"Yeah, it was play-action, and it just hit his (Alvin Kamara's) elbow. It was literally like a fluke deal. Sucks, because I wasn't trying to give him it. It was just a fake. He was rolling over it, and it hit. He closed in, but it's on me at the end of the day. I've got to make sure I can hang on to that, and, yeah, it sucks. We've got to be better there, and we had guys open, but I was proud of how the defense responded the whole time. They held them to a field goal in a really bad scenario, and then they were making plays the whole game."

On his assessment of his third start:
"It wasn't good enough at the end of the day, but we were moving the ball really well. We were doing the things that we needed to do to put ourselves in position, and then two goal-line opportunities that are tough, and a couple of field goals where we shouldn't have been in a situation. We should have been scoring in those red zone drives, and we felt really good about it, and we came up short. So for me, just continue to learn from those new scenarios, little mistakes, and keep building."

On Blake Grupe's misses having an effect on the offense/team as a whole:
"No. I mean, Blake makes those nine times out of ten, and he's doing a great job throughout the week, and we've got his back. He's got our back, and it's part of it. We put him in those scenarios where we can finish those drives out, and that's really on us as an offense. But we know that's really on us because we can finish it. It motivates us. But we'll continue to get back to it and continue to stay together."

On balancing emotions of getting the team to the red zone and then going to the sideline:
"I'm trying to do whatever it takes to get in the end zone. If Taysom (Hill) scores on a run, I'm equally as fired up as if we hand the ball off or if I run the ball in. At that point, we're trying to win. So whenever we think we can get the advantage-wise or schematically, I'm all for it. So it sucks we weren't able to finish it. And continually, we'll look at how we can be better there as an offense. But there's nothing really special to say as far as that. It sucks."

On the one-yard play and the stumble:
"Yeah. No, I thought I was in whenever I landed. Then obviously I think my knee was down short, which happens, it was second down. So I knew that I wasn't going to reach. I didn't want to reach and have something bad happen. So I wouldn't really change anything about that. I just fell short. And maybe if it was third or fourth down, we're going to reach for the ball. And then the second one, we had a little rub. So I was getting ready to throw it, and that's why. It was more of a throw—RPR—and then slipped on the cut and almost got in. But, yeah, that was more of a design throw in the flat and then trying to make a miss when they switched it off. So, yeah, super close."

On dealing with Atlanta's pass rush:
"We put ourselves in that situation when you're down two scores at the end. That's a scenario where defenses want to live, and they know we're going to throw the ball. And so it's tough. It's tough on any other lines. Every D line is going to have an advantage there. So we have to be better on first down. We had too many second and longs where we have to get back on track. We've got to be better starting off the drive."

On feeling prepared pre-game:
"I felt really prepared. We were moving the ball how we thought we could, and came up short. But at the end of the day, it stinks, especially against them. But, a lot to build off of. And I was proud of the receivers — (Mason) Tipton, (Devaughn) Vele, (Dante) Pettis, Kevin (Austin Jr.) — all those guys stepping up, especially with some departures. And (Chris Olave) obviously was a huge part of that as well, and what he's been able to do and all the tight ends too. They've had an increased role. So I was proud of them. It's obviously not an easy situation. But there's a lot to build off of, encouraging stuff. And we have to fix those little things on first down and then in the red zone."

On outside-of-structure plays:
"Yeah, just instinct. Trying to push it. You can't take a sack. Obviously, the time is against you. So, doing everything you can to move up, trying to find different angles and get it to the guys. So just part of it."

On embracing it (out-of-structure plays) when down:
"Whatever it takes. That's my mindset. I love when we stay on the ball. We can get some tempo. We're throwing it whenever those odds are against us. I felt the whole time, who knows what's going to happen. We can break a tackle, can score here, can get it to a one-score game. So nobody's belief was shattered. That was one thing I was really encouraged by. We were all still pretty in it. It sucks because it's the Falcons, and we came up short there. But like I said before, we'll build off it."

On any commonality to problems in the end zone:
"No, it's tough when you're on the one-yard line and you come up short. And, like I said, we're moving it. And, we have to find a way to get that last yard. So, we'll look at it. It's tough to think about it right now. But I don't think there's any commonalities with it."

On formations in the red zone that were recently introduced the past week or from camp:
"A little bit of both. There was some new stuff that we were repping. And then, obviously, you got some new guys in the mix. Tipton, Vele, and Taysom are switching around. So there's a lot of different personnel styles where you've got to rep. And then, there was some traditional stuff as well. But, yeah, that's very common week to week, though, just trying to attack."

On confidence in the red zone throughout last week:
"Yeah, we felt really, really confident. And with those results, and like I said, you get down really close, you've got to find a way to punch it in. You've got to find a way. So, and whether that's, whatever it is, I don't have an answer for that."

On losing Alvin Kamara in the first quarter affecting the offense:
"Yeah, he's a great part of what we do as an offense, and from riding the ball, catching the ball, receiving it, he's obviously one of the best in the business when it comes to that. So, hopefully he's okay. I haven't heard anything yet, but it obviously sucks. But I was really proud of (Devin) Neal and what he was able to do. He was laying the boom quite a few times, doing his job really well. Taysom (Hill) as well. He's like a Swiss Army knife, and he was thrown in some tough situations. So, hopefully he'll be good, and then we'll continue to go."

On if he got hurt the last play of the game:
"I got landed on my leg. So, it was just a bruise. It should be good. I got some flashbacks where he landed on, and I put some weight on it temporarily, and it was fine. But when you're in those scenarios, you're trying to go down and score."

On what message he's trying to send to the team about this game:
"Yeah, a lot of the NFL, and a lot of this game, it can be taken emotionally, and understandably. It's a high-strung game, but if you think about it analytically and what we could have done better or fixed, it's very simple. We score on those two red zone scenarios on the one-yard line, and we find a way, then it's a different story. It just comes down to that. I don't think there needs to be anybody freaking out about it, and we know what we need to do, and keep going. And it's part of it, and it hurts a little bit more, and it should. So we'll see them again."

On the third guy stepping up in the passing game after Chris Olave and Johnson:
"Vele and Tipton equally. I continually get reps with them. I was really proud of Tipton when he was able to do (some of the things that he did this afternoon). He made some huge plays, especially with the amount of reps that he's gotten all year—minimally. And Vele as well, everything that he does. So, we've got some good options, and we just continue to go."

On if it feels different starting his first game at home compared to on the road:
"Preparation-wise and the game plan-wise, no. But like I said in the beginning, it was really cool to kind of be home in front of the fans and have that opportunity. It means a lot, but at the end of the day, we lost. So it hurts at the end, and we'll continue to keep building, and we'll get it done here at home. We've got to protect our house."

On what he learned about the rivalry today:
"Yeah, just how important it is to the people of the city, and how important it can be, and it makes you want to work that much harder and find that extra edge. At the same day, you've got to go back to execution and analytics, and that's why we lost. It wasn't anything other than that as far as some of the scenarios. So, we feel really good about going forward. We've got to get back to work, and there's a lot of ball left."

Quarterback Taysom Hill

On the play where the snap went over his head:
"We got a certain look. It's a little challenging because I haven't seen the film. We'd like to have that on back and I'd secure the snap and get into the end zone there. It's hard to really comment on it without having seen it. That was a disappointing play. It was a disappointing game. We had plenty of opportunities as a team and an offense to create situations. We didn't capitalize on that and it is a hard thing to swallow at this point. I think there were some good things to build on obviously we got down in the red zone and put ourselves in position to score. We have to find ways to finish."

On if the fourth down play near the end zone was a designed pass:
"I did not just decide to throw it on my own. It was a designed pass play."

On what he saw on that play:
"There is no secret that when I am in at quarterback that we run the ball a lot. We have done different things through the course of my career. We were counting on a heavy box. They made a good play. We were trying to sneak (Devaugn) Vele in the corner. They made a good play."

On what caused the troubles in the red zone:
"It's a little bit challenging right now. You get into the game. It's hard to give you a really good answer frankly having not seen the tape. I am trying to think through the drives. We had plenty of opportunities. It's not like there were negative plays. We had one negative play that turned into intentional grounding. Certainly, you would like to think that we can score from the one-yard line. It's a tough yard to gain down there. It's hard to give you a great answer. We could all play with lower pad level. We were all trying to run a sneak down there. I don't know. We had some missed opportunities down there."

On if it is frustrating when you have that many shots:
"No one feels good about this game. The first 24 hours are hard. Right now, it is hard because we had a lot of opportunities to get that done. We didn't do that. I'm not trying to all of a sudden feel great about this. You take a step back and there are some great things that we did and are encouraging. It's week 12 and (we) should have that figured out by now. Atlanta is a good team. Those guys get paid too. They did a good job. We knew that they were an aggressive front. They rely on getting negative plays that way and they are aggressive in their schemes up front."

On being in so many close games:
"Nobody feels good about our record. It's one of those things a competitor and a player, that you can't let circumstances dictate how you prepare, the effort that you put into it and the film that you put out there. We have conversations in the locker room and that's really the conversation. At the end of the day nobody cares what you record is. When you put it on film, then it is out there forever. I think the leadership in the locker room has been really good about managing that. Guys are competing. I love that locker room. I really appreciate everyone in there."

On if his role changed when Alvin Kamara came out of the game:
"For sure. There were a lot of things that I ended up doing today that I had zero time on task. That is the nature of the NFL. He went down (and) I spent a little bit extra time with the running backs coach (Joel Thomas), figuring out some things schematically and finding out some things."

On Tyler Shough's progression:
"I think Tyler has done a really nice job. I think Tyler is in it. You feel his presence. You feel confident with him in the huddle. He knows what's going on. He has put the time and energy into learning the system and understands the intricacies of what's going on. He has a really positive, great presence in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage. As a fan base, if you watch a play, then you can feel that. As a teammate and in the locker room, you feel that as well. He has made some nice plays over the course of the three games that he has been playing. We have had conversations, and the nature of that position is challenging. As you look at an NFL game, so often the game boils down to a few plays and I feel that Tyler has done a nice job of making these 50-50 plays. I really appreciate the time that he has put into it and he has progressed really well."

On if this season has gone as expected with his injury:
"I think as things relate to me, this season and this year is kind of like a perfect storm with a new coaching staff, a new scheme and a new offense. I was out (from offseason, training camp practices and Weeks One-Four), so the first opportunity I had was week Five. My first practice with them was on a Wednesday. You practice in pads on Wednesday, and we had practice Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and then a game on Sunday. It was one of those things that I was hyper-focused on. How can I expedite? The rest of it was that I really didn't have a lot of expectations. I certainly had conversations with Kellen (Moore) and what that was going to look like when I came back. We are still in the process of learning together and what my role will be week to week in this offense. I don't know if I had any real expectations. I was just so hyper-focused on getting healthy and being available."

On if he feels he is getting better as the season is going on:
"It is a really fair question. The reality is coming out of surgery, it was trying to be available to play in November or December. I think it is one of those things that you don't realize how bad that you felt a month ago. I think it is one of those things that I will continue to feel better as the season goes on. I had surgery on December 17. Through my conversation with people who have had that surgery and talking to surgeons, you are going to continue to feel better through the rest of the season. Personally, I feel confident in my knee. I feel confident in the responsibilities on the field that I am asked to do. I don't feel like I am lacking as a result of this injury. I also don't know how I am going to feel in a month too."

On his conversation with Joel Thomas when his role in the run game increased due to Kamara's injury:
"Obviously there are things that I have done in my career that I am familiar with. It is fine to say in the balance that this is what I have done in the past. It fits our game plan already. There are obviously things that we have game planned for that we don't need additional conversations about. There were a few plans I ran today that I had zero reps. It was quick conversation. You play enough football and you can scheme different things up. As a runner, you rely so much on instincts and that is really what happened today."

Safety Justin Reid

On scoring a touchdown:
"It felt good. It was a result of my teammates and coach making a great play call. My teammates did their job. Kool-Aid (McKinstry) helping get the pop up. We got help on blocks from teammates to help me get into the end zone. It was great defensive snap all around."

On practicing cutting back:
"It takes me back to my younger days when I got to play both sides of the ball. It felt like an opportunity to do it. I cut back on it and found a way to get to the end zone."

On Kirk Cousins' performance:
"First of all, credit to them. They came out and played a tough game. The most important thing is the W or the L and they found a way to get the win. I think in a lot of ways we let it slip through our fingers. We were so aggressive on defense in the first half. They went to some screens. If your defense is flying around and you have energy, then offenses are going to go to screen plays and screen and go plays. They were able to get that one to (Kyle) Pitts early on. They were able to come back to another one to Bijan (Robinson). I think you take the screens off the field that we were dominant defensively. They were able to get some momentum from it. That is just something that we are going to have to be aware of. I don't want us to lose or energy or our edge. I want us to continue to be a ferocious defense. When we are flying around like that, then we just need to be aware that teams are going to go to screens or screen and gos."

On the second and 24 play:
"They had a screen to Bijan. He is such a talented back. He found a lane and he took it. That's such an advantageous position for the defense to be in. We have to take advantage of that."

On the Darnell Mooney touchdown:
"We were in a quarters concept. Kool-Aid was on an island on the field side. We had a cut and climb where the safety drove the dig and the corner climbed. Mooney just hit is so skinny that it was tough for our help to get there, our assist on the touchdown. That's a play that we really wanted to make sure that we took care of the run because we knew that they were going to do wide zone all day. We are going to have an answer for that next week. We talked about an adjustment on the sideline. We didn't get the chance to use the adjustment, but we are just going to have to be aware. This is (a) copycat league, so teams are going to see the same thing and pull it back up. We have to make sure that we don't get beat on the same play in the future."

On the frustration of the offense not converting in the red zone:
"The biggest thing is to find a way to finish. I think that the offense actually moved the ball well. They made it down to the one-yard line and inside the five. We just have to take advantage of the opportunities. We just can't leave points off the board offensively and on special teams I think they did a great job moving the ball. We just have to find a way to get into the end zone. Those points are big. More than anything it's momentum."

Photos: Game Action | Saints vs. Falcons | 2025 NFL Week 12