Muffed punt! Touchdown!
The @AtlantaFalcons recover the loose ball for SIX!
📺: #NOvsATL on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/DIgHsXa0vp— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2024
An All-Pro punt returner can’t make mistakes like this, and Rashid Shaheed isn’t known for them. But the New Orleans Saints specialist’s muffed punt was a costly error against the Atlanta Falcons. Shaheed made the bad call to try and field a Falcons punt inside his own 5-yard line, but an awkward angle put him too far in front of it, and he couldn’t make a clean catch.
Instead, the ball glanced off of him and into the end zone where a flock of Falcons fell on top of it. That’s a worst-case scenario. So rather than take over inside their own territory with a chance to take the lead, the Saints offense had to fight uphill against a deficit when they finally got on the field.
Hopefully Shaheed learned from this mistake. His coaches trusted him to go back in the game and receive the ensuing kickoff, so they clearly expect him to bounce bac. Now it’s on him to prove that faith is warranted.
