Almighty Saints: Atlanta Falcons can't come back against New Orleans, go down 35-27

November 3, 10:51 AMAtlanta Falcons ExaminerDaniel Cox

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(AP Photo/Bill Feig)

It's been a wild two weeks for the New Orleans Saints.

First, a victory over the Dolphins that saw them come back from 21 down, scoring 22 in the fourth quarter. 

Then on Monday night came the wildest game of all in the Saints' 7-0 season, a dramatic 35-27 win over the Atlanta Falcons. 

Atlanta did nearly everything in the textbook to beat the Saints: pressure quarterback Drew Brees, run the ball effectively, and make something positive happen on defense. 

Atlanta was credited with two sacks on Brees, one from safety Thomas DeCoud and defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux, but they pressured him on a variety of blitz schemes all night. 

The sack from DeCoud was a big play on defense that led to a score and an Atlanta lead. 

On a late blitz from the safety, Brees was sacked and fumbled on the New Orleans four-yard line. Defensive end Kroy Biermann recovered the fumble and took it into the end zone for the score and the 14-7 lead.

"Actually I was untouched on the play," DeCoud said. "As I was getting up I saw the ball come loose and Kroy (Biermann) took it in for the score. At that time it was a big play in the ball game.”
 

Running back Michael Turner came up big for the Falcons as well, carrying 20 times for 151 yards and one score. His 37-yard run in the second quarter led to a missed field goal attempt by kicker Jason Elam, one of two on the night, and was the longest of the season for the Pro Bowler.

"We wanted to get Michael and our running game going," Head Coach Mike Smith said. "I thought that Michael ran extremely hard. It’s an emphasis point that we’ve been working on. I thought that Michael was effective in running the football. We’re blocking better with our offensive line, our receivers, and our tight ends.”

But Atlanta couldn't overcome some uncharacteristic mistakes by their second-year quarterback Matt Ryan. Ryan, who struggled in his second straight game made a handful of bad decisions in the face of pressure. Coming in to Monday night's game, the Falcons offensive line had allowed a second-best six sacks on the season, although four came in Week 7's loss to Dallas.

Ryan was sacked three times by New Orleans, twice by defensive end Will Smith. He also threw three interceptions, including one to cornerback Jabari Greer just before halftime that was returned for a touchdown, putting the Saints up 28-14.

But Atlanta never backed down from the NFC South leaders, despite appearing out of the game as the second half opened.

On Atlanta's first possession of the second half, Ryan connected with receiver Roddy White for a 68-yard touchdown, drawing the Falcons to within a touchdown.

The Falcons defense stayed strong, holding New Orleans scoreless on two straight possessions and an Elam 25-yard field goal narrowed the Saints lead to four. Then the night got even more interesting.

Following a Pierre Thomas forced fumble by Erik Coleman, Ryan threw his second interception of the night, giving New Orleans back the ball. Brees and the Saints scored on the possession, their first in the second half, upping the lead to 35-24.

But Atlanta showed a fight that was epitomized by a fourth-quarter run from Turner. On a 24-yard gain, Turner initially appeared to be tackled by three or four Saints at the line of scrimmage, but he kept his legs moving and emerged from the pile to pick up the remaining yardage.

It was the kind of gutsy play that many believed had been missing from Turner's game all season, earning only his second 100-plus yard game in 2009. It was also the kind of gutsy play that Atlanta showed all night.

A field goal with under two minutes to go brought Atlanta to within eight and a recovered onside kick by linebacker and special teams ace Coy Wire gave the Falcons the ball with 28 seconds remaining and one final shot to tie the game.

But Ryan's final pass on the night, a deep pass up the middle of the field, intended for White, fell into the hands of safety Darren Sharper. Atlanta's night was over, despite a valiant effort to get back into the game.

For the first time in the Mike Smith era in Atlanta, the Falcons have lost back-to-back games, dropping to 4-3 on the season. After eight days of preparation for Monday night's game, the Falcons now have a short week in which to prepare for Sunday's game against the Washington Redskins.

"You have to hand it to them (Saints), they have a lot of talent on their squad," center Todd McClure said. "Every matchup in this league is tough. But all we can do now is regroup and get ready for Washington next week. The good news is that we will face the Saints again soon and we’ll be ready for them.”

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