The Atlanta Falcons had lost five in a row and lost several key contributors. They needed a get-right game, even if the season has essentially slipped away, and got one against their most hated rival.
Forget the big picture: That was nice to see.
Kirk Cousins did pretty well, the Falcons got enough on the ground to ensure the win, and the defense made plays when they needed to in order to frequently stall long, annoying Saints drives. As bad as the Saints are—and make no mistake, they’re really bad—beating New Orleans is always welcome, and this one was arguably even more lopsided than the score indicated. The Saints’ only touchdown, after all, came on a pick-six that doinked off of Kyle Pitts’ hands and into the waiting hands of safety Justin Reid; otherwise the defense bent a little but did not break against New Orleans. The return of Divine Deablo, Dee Alford having a strong game, and James Pearce Jr. continuing to grow all contributed to the win, and with the Jets next, the Falcons have a chance to build on the effort and try to find their footing defensively for tougher matchups down the stretch.
All that is ahead, though. For one Sunday, it was nice to watch the Falcons win a game, especially humiliating a woeful Saints team that’s as easy as ever to root against, and to see the defense rolling once more after they started the year so strong. With no expectations, let’s see where they take it next.
Here’s the drive-by-drive breakdown of the game you just watched.
1st Quarter
The Falcons got it first, and a Bijan Robinson toss went for a couple of yards. Bijan kicked it out side and picked up just a yard. Kirk Cousins tried Kyle Pitts over the middle, but he was hit as he reeled it in and couldn’t come up with it. Punt, and the Saints brought it back about 10 yards.
Alvin Kamara got a couple of yards before Dee Alford got him. Kamara them fumbled and Alford found it immediately, scooping it up and getting Atlanta the ball back.
Two straight Bijan carries went for about six yards. Cousins then sat in the pocket looking for an open man and was sacked. Zane Gonzalez hit the longish field goal easily to make it 3-0 Falcons.
The return went for 75 yards after the Falcons were blocked out of the play; Zane Gonzalez managed to slow down the returner enough for the cavalry to arrive. A.J. Terrell then turned Taysom Hill’s carry into zero yards. A screen to Kamara didn’t go far before Xavier Watts got him. Blake Grupe then missed the easy field goal try, and the Falcons had the ball back.
Darnell Mooney made a nice grab with Cousins managing to launch it under pressure. Robinson picked up a couple of yards. David Sills then reeled in a seven yard catch. On third down, Teagan Quitoriano committed a false start, backing Atlanta up. Elijah Wilkinson then had another false start. Wilkinson then fell on the ball after Cameron Jordan knocked the ball out of Cousins’ hands. A long punt from Bradley Pinion and some nice coverage work this time had Dante Pettis inside the 20, and the Saints were further backed up by a penalty.
Kamara was tackled after four yards by Divine Deablo, and Kamara then got five yards. A direct snap to Hill went for a yard and a first down. Shough then hit Chris Olave for a first down. A quick pass to Olave went for a few yards, but a holding call brought it back. A quick pass to Kamara went for two yards before Kaden Elliss got him. A quick pass to Mason Tipton went for seven yards. Shough ran away from pressure and threw one to a diving Juwan Johnson, who picked up eight yards. Punt, and the Falcons back it back inside the 25.
Cousins had time and floated one up to Kyle Pitts, who caught it in stride for 23 yards.
2nd Quarter
Bijan went for five yards on a first down. Cousins tried Pitts downfield against on play action, and he couldn’t hold on to it. Cousins then got Mooney on a sideline ball for a first down. Tyler Allgeier got a couple of yards. A screen to Robinson went for 32 yards. A Bijan carry then lost a yard. Then Cousns, still dealing, found David Sills in the middle of the end zone for Sills’ first career touchdown. 10-0 Falcons.
Pettis did some fancy footwork and made it around the 28. Shough tried to get away from pressure, spun out of a sack, and hit Foster Moreau, who dropped it. Tipton then ran one and picked up 11 yards. Juwan Johnson caught the ball for no gain and A.J. Terrell hit him hard, but appeared to be hurt on the play. A quick pass under pressure hit Devaughn Vele for a first down. Devin Neal then went for a yard. Shough was then sacked by James Pearce Jr., and his third down ball could have been picked by Watts but Olave knocked it down. Punt.
Allgeier took it for eight yards on first down. Allgeier then took it 13 yards. He was tripped up after a yard. Kyle Pitts then couldn’t reel one in and it was picked off the deflection and returned for a touchdown. 10-7 Falcons.
Jamal Agnew took it past the 35. Cousins rolled out and hit Charlie Woerner for a yard or two. Woerner then picked up a first down and 18 yards over the middle from another Cousins target. Woerner then caught another one, broke a tackle, and picked up five yards on a flea flicker where Cousins had nothing downfield. A few yards to Allgeier on a quick pass followed. Bijan then made a stellar cutback to pick up 12 yards, with a nice block from Pitts. Another couple of yards to Pitts followed. Bijan got three yards with forward progress. A missed sack on Cousins saw him try to escape but he didn’t get far. Gonzalez hit it from 41 yards out to make it 13-7 Falcons.
A quick pass to Shough went out of bounds after six yards. Shough then hit Olave for seven yards and a first down. Juwan Johnson then reeled it in working against Jessie Bates and was able to step out of bounds. A quick pass to Tipton for six followed. Shough got away from pressure on second down and threw it away. Shough under pressure then tried to throw an awful shovel pass. Grupe missed again on his field goal try.
Cousins threw it away with nothing downfield and pressure close. A quick pass to Dylan Drummond over the middle picked up six yards. Drummond then took another pass just shy of the sticks and ran sideways a long time trying to get around, but looked to be a little shy. Feleipe Franks then powered through as the quarterback for an easy first down on fourth down. A quick pass to Bijan picked up five yards and he got out of bounds. Cousins then scrambled for four yards. Wilkinson then had another false start yet again. Cousins then rolled out a little and tried Sills, but it was too low. A quick pass to Drummond over the middle went for nine yards and set up a Gonzalez field goal try, and he hit it from 54 to make it 16-7.
3rd Quarter
Tyler Shough hit Devin Neal for 18 yards. Neal then picked up four yards on a first down, picked up another four yards, and you guessed it, picked up another four yards. Neal then got six before Taysom Hill plunged for three. Shough sneaked for a couple of yards and a first. A deep shot to Chris Olave was nearly picked off by Mike Hughes. A quick hitter to Devaughn Vele got nine yards. Hill then picked up a first down. Jalon Walker then grabbed a scrambling Shough and sacked him. Xavier Watts was then hit with a pass interference call working against Juwan Johnson. Shough was taken down on a designed run after a couple of yards by David Onyemata. Hill was stopped after a couple yards, too. Shough stumbled a bit on a fake handoff and was brought down after a yard. Shough’s fourth down pass was batted down, turnover on downs.
Allgeier took it out of the end zone after three yards. Allgeier was stopped for a small loss on second down. Robinson got six yards on the next play. Mike Ford made another instant stop on the punt, which put the Saints just past their own 40.
Devin Neal got a yard on first down before Mike Hughes got him. Neal got a short pass, broke a tackle, and got six yards. Alford then spun Olave short of the first down. Hill then snuck for a first down on fourth down. A quick handoff to Hill followed for three yards. Neal then caught a short pass and Elliss couldn’t catch him, resulting in an 18 yard pickup. Divine Deablo then took Neal down for no gain. Shough tried Olave against Terrell on the sideline, but Terrell was hit with a pass interference call. Hill got destroyed by David Onyemata on the next play. A false start backed the Saints up five yards. Shough hit Olave over the middle for a big gain just shy of a first down.
4th Quarter
Another Hill handoff was stopped cold by Leonard Floyd and company at the line for no gain. Hill just got a first down on the next play. Shough then kept it and ran, coming up just short of a touchdown before Watts hit him. A Shough sneak came up just short again. The snap went over Taysom Hill’s head and he picked it up and threw it away. Blake Grupe then finally hit a field goal to make it 16-10 Falcons.
Agnew brought it past the 45 yard line. Feleipe Franks was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and that backed things up. Cousins couldn’t find anybody and threw it away, and then was hit with an intentional grounding penalty. On second down, a short pass to Bijan got 33 yards thanks to nice blocking and Bijanness. Cousins then made his best throw in a long time, 49 yards downfield to Darnell Mooney (!) to extend Atlanta’s lead to 22-10. The Falcons then got Bijan in for a two point conversion to make it 24-10.
Shough tried Neal on first down under pressure, and Neal bobbled and dropped it. Shough threw a screen to Neal for seven yards. On third down, James Pearce Jr. blew into the backfield and got Shough by the ankle for his second sack of the day. The punt was aided by a holding call on Cobee Bryant to push the Falcons back.
Bijan picked up six yards on first down. He got three yards on his next carry. Allgeier powered through for a yard and a first down. Allgeier then picked up three yards. Bijan then tried to cut it outside, but was taken down for a loss. Allgeier picked up six yards. Atlanta tried to draw the Saints offsides, but called a timeout. The punt had the Saints fairly deep in their own territory.
A quick pass to Olave picked up a first down. Shough then scrambled for a first down, getting away from pressure. Under pressure, Shough threw an incompletion. A panicked checkdown under pressure to Neal then lost five yards thanks to Kaden Elliss. Shough tried a pass over the middle and Bates knocked it down and out of Juwan Johnson’s hands. Shough did find Pettis and almost got the first down, but Alford got the tackle shy of the sticks.
Allgeier picked up five yards. Then he got nothing and then maybe a yard or two on third down. The Falcons then got hit with a delay of game, pushing them out of field goal range. Punt, and the Saints were stuck inside their own 20.
Shough then got his arm hit and the ball was knocked into the air, falling incomplete. Vele then caught one through Watts’ hands for a first down. Shough then find Olave again for eight yards. Shough then threw it out of bounds looking for a sideline shot. A quick screen to Olave picked up a first down. Alford got Olave after eight yards. Johnson then reeled one in for a first down. A shovel pass got the Saints seven yards. Shough then hit Tipton for a first down. Shough then missed badly deep on a shot to the end zone. Ruke Orhorhoro then got Shough for yet another sack, and then Shough found Johnson for eight yards. Shough then tried the fourth down end zone shot and Xavier Watts picked it off, sealing the game.
