Brandon Staley pushes back against Troy Aikman's criticism: It's not true

Published October 8, 2026 09:10 PM Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley pushed back at comments ESPN analyst Troy Aikman made during the Monday Night Football broadcast.With 2:43 remaining in the third quarter of the Saints’ 45-24 loss, Aikman said Staley didn’t have answers for the Falcons. Atlanta gained 420 yards, including 205 rushing yards, and the Falcons scored five rushing touchdowns. The Saints played without linebacker Kaden Elliss and edge rushers Carl Granderson and Andernee Jennings.“Brandon Staley, he just simply doesn’t have any answers, and I think he knew it when we talked to him coming in,” Aikman said Monday night. “I think he knew. He didn’t tell us, but the guys that are out — their big edge rushers and guys who can play the run and set the edge — they’re not on the field, and they just don’t have that star defender that can erase mistakes for other people.“This was a matchup issue coming into this game, and it’s proven true.” Staley heard the comments and said he has “no idea” what Aikman was talking about.“It was a tough night for us, and certainly, I’m responsible. I’m calling the defense, but we’ve got a great group of guys,” Staley said, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN. “No one defended that runner [Bijan Robinson] last year better than us. He’s a hell of a player. But our group defended him twice last year better than anyone through his time in the NFL.“We’re focusing on Minnesota, learning the tough lessons from the other night. We’ve got the right guys to bounce back.”Staley admitted the comments bothered him “because they’re not true.”He also defended his players’ effort after Aikman commented that some of the Saints were “standing around watching the play, missed tackles, just bad football” on the fifth rushing touchdown.“Our guys have played the right way,” Staley said. “And mainly that’s assignment, technique, effort, all in one. I think the other night, we were missing two out of the three. Our effort was there.”