Paulson Adebo's pass interference penalty costs Saints | Saints

ATLANTA – With 29 seconds left in Sunday's game, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins ​​targeted the cornerback he had been targeting all afternoon. And he got the matchup he was looking for.

Darnell Mooney won the route right away, and when Cousins ​​pulled his wide receiver wide open down the sideline, he let it rip – leaving New Orleans cornerback Paulson Adebo one last attempt to break up the pass.

Adebo forced the incompletion, but at a significant cost: He was cautioned for a 30-yard pass interference penalty that blocked Younghoe Koo's game-winning 58-yard kick in New Orleans' 26-24 loss to the Falcons prepared.

Atlanta didn't gain another yard on the drive, but that didn't matter. Adebo's mistake put them in exactly the right position.

“When push came to shove, they wanted to go there,” Saints coach Dennis Allen said. “They wanted to attack him over there.”

For Adebo, the penalty was another frustrating moment in what has quickly become a confusing season. A practical, physical cornerback, Adebo has always tried to find a delicate balance of when to be aggressive and when not to be. But too often this season, Adebo's aggressiveness has gone in the wrong direction.

Adebo's pass interference on Mooney was the sixth penalty assessed against the 25-year-old in 2024 – three of which came against the Falcons. The other two flags on Adebo in Sunday's game were also for pass interference, although Atlanta declined penalties in both cases because the receivers made the catches anyway. In the first quarter, Cousins ​​hit Ray-Ray McCloud III for a 14-yard gain and later in the third quarter, the quarterback connected with Mooney for a 36-yard catch.

“If they demand it, I have to be less aggressive,” Adebo said. “That’s all I’m focused on. I just try to play cleanly throughout the game. I have to work on that personally.”

But it's not just the referees who notice Adebo's aggressive nature. Quarterbacks do too.

According to Pro Football Focus, Adebo was targeted 13 times on Sunday. He allowed seven catches for 120 yards, the third-worst yardage performance of his career. The performance came after Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott had similar success tackling Adebo two weeks earlier. Although New Orleans won the game in a loss, Adebo gave up 116 yards on three catches.

Typically, Adebo has used his style of play to his advantage. What's surprising about the 2021 third-rounder's uneven start to this season is how much he enjoyed his career season just a year earlier. In 2023, Adebo finished with four interceptions and played at a Pro Bowl level as the Saints were without Marshon Lattimore for most of the season. His graduation last season seemed to have him well prepared for the start of a contract year.

But that wasn't the case in the four games in 2024.

To be fair, there are moments when Adebo responded impressively to mistakes. On Sunday, for example, he tackled Cousins ​​after being called for pass interference on McCloud. The turnover was reminiscent of Adebo's Week 2 interception against Prescott, just a few plays after Adebo was whistled for defensive holding.

But Adebo would receive no last-minute redemption. The Falcons won the game despite their offense only gaining five yards on their game-winning drive. And although Adebo recorded a pass breakup on third-and-10 in that series that forced Atlanta to punt, the Falcons found themselves within field goal range due to Adebo's error.

“The way the ball was in the air, I knew I had to draw something,” Mooney said. “I was able to get Adebo to push me a little earlier than he wanted.”

That's right: Mooney lured Adebo into taking the penalty. The wide receiver said he previously showed his hands to force Adebo to respond. And Adebo did – because he wasn't in front of the ball.

“We missed that,” said Adebo. “Personally, it has to be better straight away if the PI is called late in the game when you have a chance to win it. I'm just trying to find a way to closure. So personally, I know that a big part of my job is to play flawlessly late in the game.”