Falcons – Saints finale recap: Shutting the door on the season and New Orleans

When the victories are hollow in the big picture, you can only make them a little fuller and sweeter by diving into the details. Atlanta’s season was already over on Sunday, but they capped off the year

by moving to 2-0 against the Saints for the first time in a while, wrecked Tampa Bay’s playoff dreams in the same afternoon, and capped things off with a four game winning streak. Those who were worried that would save jobs needn’t have done so; the team announced last night that both Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot had been fired.

Of course, it wasn’t easy, because nothing has been easy with the 2025 edition of this team. The offense labored, gasped, and scraped its way up and down the field, with a Kirk Cousins-to-Drake London touchdown pass and four Zane Gonzalez field goals representing their 19 points for the day. The defense was by far the better side of the ball, but they still allowed several big plays and near-misses, which resulted in the Saints being down just two points on their ultimately failed onside kick attempt in the late fourth quarter. It was ugly, borderline watchable football for much of the day, befitting of a game that would decide the ugly, borderline unwatchable NFC South’s fate; we give massive props to James Pearce Jr., Jammie Robinson, and especially Dee Alford for giving us exciting moments to enjoy. Easy or not, though, the Falcons triumphed and ended up with the same record as the NFC South leaders, despite not having a prayer of making the postseason. It was that kind of season, but at least it ended with a bit of a bright spot.

It’s now time for Atlanta to ensure that we have more to get excited about than just beating the Saints in 2026, a tall order and one we’re already apprehensive about but also intrigued by. There are decisions to come on a new football czar (Matt Ryan?), new general manager and head coach, and plenty to re-tool and build up the roster. Working with more limited resources than they had the past two offseasons, the Falcons will need to build on their 8-9 finish by heavily improving from within, something they have repeatedly failed to do in recent years. We can have optimism for the pass rush, the ground game, and a handful of other spots and still acknowledge there’s much work to be done, and a single offseason in which to do it. We’ll start finding out about some of those decisions very soon, perhaps even before this article publishes.

On to the full recap.

The Good

It was good to see Drake London look more like himself in this one. London made a handful of tough catches on the day, including a sideline bomb from Cousins, and a really easy one where he slipped open in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. Later on, he reeled in a leaping grab that brought the Falcons into field goal range, showing his trademark impressive ability to get vertical and hold on to the ball in a tough situation. The second half of this year was marred by injury for the team’s top wideout, but when healthy, he’s a difference-making talent the team will need to rely on in 2026.
I don’t know if either Kyle Pitts will be back in 2026, but he ended the season on a high note. Pitts managed six grabs for 58 yards on the day, most of them in traffic, and consistently fought for more yardage via spins, stiff-arms, and sprints. He also fell on the onside kick and tumbled out of bounds with it to seal the win. Regardless of where he lands, this was Pitts putting together his most complete season yet in the NFL, and showing he can function as a top option in someone’s passing game.
James Pearce Jr. is the non-Bijan player I am most excited to watch in 2026. In this one, he offered some pressure early and then really arrived in the third quarter, sacking Shough on back-to-back plays. The first one was a relentless pursuit and the second was just canny pass rushing moves, and with those sacks, he both helped Atlanta set the franchise record for sacks in a season and set the Falcons rookie record for sacks in a season. The Falcons’ big bet on him was justified, even if the cost was a heavy one, as he already looks like a perennial game-changing edge rusher. The debate about the draft pick will rage on, of course, but there’s little doubt that Pearce is the caliber of player Atlanta believed him to be.
Dee Alford was all over the place, making big tackles and setting up the franchise record-tying 55th sack in the second quarter when he forced Shough to stumble down into the waiting arms of LaCale London. Alford also delivered a good hit that forced Kevin Austin Jr. to drop a fourth quarter, third down pass that would’ve been a first down, but he saved his biggest play for late in the game. With the Saints driving and within striking distance, he read Shough like a book and jumped the route to pick off the pass, turning on the Jets and returning it well past midfield to set up the Falcons to grind clock, force the Saints to take timeouts, and set up field goal tries. He should be back in 2026, and I’ll go ahead and stump for the team to get it done.
Both Kentavius Street and LaCale London made their cases for returning down the stretch. Two of Atlanta’s better run defenders up front, Street and London are cheap, effective players who add a little pressure, and both came up with a sack in this one, Street a coverage sack and London a play where Alford flushed a stumbling Shough into him. The Falcons need to upgrade their defensive interior, but as depth, both players are extremely useful and showed it on Sunday.
Xavier Watts, making plays. On New Orleans’ first offensive play, Juwan Johnson fumbled as A.J. Terrell hit him, and Watts smoothly scooped it up to recover the ball and give Atlanta a shot at a score. That would be squandered, inevitably, but Watts finishing the season on such a strong note is a big deal as he establishes his playmaking bonafides.
Jammie Robinson was brought here to play special teams, and he had a stellar play in this one. With the Saints punting deep in their own territory, Robinson flew in and got a hand on the ball, sending it lazily flying up in the air before Feleipe Franks fell on it. Robinson has done enough in his limited looks to be a strong candidate for a re-signing this offseason, but that play may have sealed it.
Zane Gonzalez has been a godsend for Atlanta. I don’t know if he’s the team’s kicker of the future or not, but he stabilized a deeply broken position since taking over for John Parker Romo, nailing 19 of his 22 field goal tries and 17 of 18 extra point tries; for perspective, Younghoe Koo and Romo combined to go 13/17 on field goals this year and missed critically important kicks at different points in the season. I can’t say I expected that level of stability from Gonzalez, but I’m glad he offered it, and hope he’ll be competing for a job next year.
Beating the Saints is always a good thing. Forget the record, the implications for the draft, and anything else when these two teams play, because the hatred is real and the victory a bit more honeyed when it involves making New Orleans sad. That’s science.

The Ugly

Kirk Cousins was among Falcons with the flu, perhaps making it no coincidence that he threw a eye-watering interception in the first quarter with the Falcons getting close to the end zone. Looking for Kyle Pitts with pressure coming, he tossed one near the line of scrimmage in his direction, but did not notice or care about Carl Granderson sitting between him and Pitts. The pass wasn’t high enough to clear the defender, Granderson picked it off, and a promising drive was dead in the water. Cousins looked slow and weary throughout the first half, with the absolute non-interception lowlight being a pass he never should’ve thrown on a doomed screen where Bijan was basically already tackled and lost seven yards. There were some nice throws mixed in and some moments where he hung tough in a muddy pocket to deliver the ball, which is quite impressive given how he must have been feeling, but this wasn’t the extremely strong season-ending effort Cousins wanted before an uncertain offseason to come.
The Falcons couldn’t run the ball at all. The Saints clearly identified stopping Bijan and Allgeier and sniffing out screens as their best path to victory, and they did an impressive job of it all day long. Both backs were regularly stymied at or behind the line of scrimmage, putting the Falcons in a bad position where they needed to pass all day long. The duo combined for just 49 yards on 22 carries on the ground, meaning Robinson did not break Chris Johnson’s scrimmage yardage record (or even come close) and ending the year on a bit of a dour note. For what might have been Allgeier’s final game as a Falcon, that’s a bummer.
Atlanta’s tackles got beat repeatedly on the day, which led to Cousins eating sacks, Bijan Robinson having trouble kicking it outside, and a raft of problems for the offense. The Falcons will have another starter at right tackle next year, but the fact that Jake Matthews is showing some signs of slowing down means the team needs to start thinking about his successor sooner than later, too. The entire line had a tough day, but the pressure off the edge and the inability for Robinson to do what he does best definitely limited the offense.
Considering what New Orleans was working with on offense, that was actually a bit of a frustrating day. Ronnie Bell (?) got open repeatedly and nearly made a couple of game-changing plays before ultimately reeling in the final Saints touchdown, the team let Tyler Shough escape on a couple of long runs, and had a little trouble in coverage throughout on a day where the team’s top options were Kevin Austin Jr., Dante Pettis, and Bell at receiver. The loss of Cobee Bryant, compounded by the absence of Mike Hughes and Clark Phillips, definitely didn’t help, but it underscored that the Falcons need to do quite a bit of work on their depth chart even if they bring back Alford and let Bryant compete for a significant role.
That half-ending drive for the Falcons offense was the thing of nightmares. Kirk Cousins had a super slow scramble and plays that failed to take into account the team’s need to stop the clock or how far they had to go, nobody really sprang open, and they were hit with yet another delay of game to ensure they couldn’t get into field goal range. The result was an opportunity for points totally squandered, yet again. Zac Robinson’s play calling on the day, which was heavy on the same bevy of runs and screens that he likes to lean on despite the complete lack of success for those plays, was a disappointing coda for an offensive coordinator who will now be looking for a new job in 2026.

The Wrapup

Game MVP

Tough one, but given how important that Dee Alford interception was to the outcome and how well he played overall, I’m giving it to him. Honorable mentions to Drake London, James Pearce Jr., and of course Zane Gonzalez.

One Takeaway

The Falcons have enough talent to be difficult, but not enough to stomp inferior teams, and that has to change in 2026 lest they find themselves right back here in January 2027.