New Orleans Saints 27-26 Atlanta Falcons: Falcons choke away 16 point fourth quarter lead

The Atlanta Falcons suffered an embarrassing week one loss to their arch rivals the New Orleans Saints. Atlanta inexcusably blew a 16 point fourth quarter lead to break their fans hearts once again. It is the 8th time since Superbowl 51, the Falcons have blown a double digit lead. The team can change quarterbacks, players and coaches, but the club's inability to put games away seems ingrained in their DNA. Atlanta has lost 10 of their last 16 games, in which they have led after 3 quarters of play. The Falcons are 5-3 in games they have held a 15 point lead after three quarters over the last 3 seasons, compared to the rest of the NFL, who are 245-2-1 in said games.

The Game

Atlanta opened the game with a 10 play drive that ended with a Younghoe Koo 54 yard field goal. Taysom Hill scored the opening touchdown of the game with an 11 yard rush, Hill had set up the Saints in the redzone with a 57 yard power run two plays earlier. 7-3 Saints. Olamide Zaccheaus gifted possession to New Orleans, after he fumbled at midfield on the Falcons next drive. Fortunately for Zaccheaus, Dean Pees defense held firm and Will Lutz missed his 44 yard field goal attempt. Atlanta's first touchdown drive was the Cordarelle Patterson show, Patterson accounted for 53 of the Falcons 66 yards, including the 5 yard scamper for the score. Atlanta's achilles heel last season, was there inability to rush the pass. There were signs of improvement on Sunday in this area. Grady Jarrett and Arnold Ebiketie both sacked Jameis Winston to force a Saints punt. The Falcons offensive line began to take over the game, opening holes for Patterson and Mariota on the ground. Arthur Smith done a good job of utilizing Mariota's rushing ability. Atlanta extended their lead to 6 points with a second Younghoe Koo field goal. A second consecutive Saints drive ended with a 3rd down sack of Jameis Winston, this time Lorenzo Carter and Grady Jarrett combined to take him down. A 3rd field goal for the Falcons left the score at 16-7 in their favour at half time. A fourth Falcons sack was the main play in forcing the Saints to kick a 49 yard field on New Orleans first drive after half time. Dean Pees was doing a heck of a job disguising his coverages and blitzes leaving Winston and co completely confused. As a result, Winston and his receivers couldn't get in sync. A big defensive pass interference penalty on Marcus Maye gave the Falcons a 1st and goal from the 2 yard line. Mariota QB Sneaked it in for Atlanta's second touchdown of the game, It extended their lead to 23-10. Following a Mark Ingram fumble, Atlanta had the chance to put the final nail in the Saints coffin, but Mariota inexcusably fumbled at the Saints 5 yard line. He had already picked up the first down, so the decision not to slide was mind boggling. Veteran quarterbacks cannot be making those mistakes. With 12 minutes remaining, Atlanta led 26-10, it had been the most fun I had watching the team since 2016, but then disaster struck; Dean Pees decided to play scared. He put back up defensive lineman on the field and called soft zone coverage, a recipe for disaster. Jameis Winston orchestrated a 4 play 75 yard touchdown drive that took less than 90 seconds. Jameis touchdown pass to Michael Thomas was a phenomenal play by both men. A successful two point conversion to Chris Olave made it a one score game. Falcons fans knew what was coming, PTSD begun to kick in. Conservative playcalling from Arthur Smith gave the Saints the ball back at their own 14 yard line. Winston found his groove, passes to Olave, Landry, Kamara and Thomas had them back in the redzone; Jameis found Thomas for his second touchdown of the game with a excellent back shoulder throw. Thomas looked like his old self, beating AJ Terrell for both touchdowns. Atlanta's defense stopped the Saints two point conversion attempt. The Falcons led 26-24, just needing three first downs for the win. Another Mariota fumble, left Smith with a decision to make on 4th and 1 at the Saints 42 yard line. A first down would ice the game, but Smith went with the gutless call of punting. On a day, we saw Brian Daboll coach to win, Arthur Smith showed he coaches not to lose. The decision backfired, New Orleans got into field goal range with ease and a Will Lutz 51 yarder gave the Saints a 27-26 lead. On the final play of the game, Younghoe Koo had a 63 yard attempt blocked. This result will leave a bitter taste in the fanbases mouth for a long time. 

Falcons MVP

The Offensive Line: Atlanta allowed zero sacks and just one quarterback hit against a defensive line that has clowned them in recent years. On the ground, the Falcons had 201 yards rushing which will delight Arthur Smith, despite the loss.

Falcons Positives

Cordarelle Patterson: The Falcons player of the season from 2021, was their best player again on Sunday. An early injury to Damien Williams meant Patterson had to be a bell cow back. The threat of Marcus Mariota's rushing ability opened up several holes for Patterson, which he made the most of, finishing the game with 120 yards rushing at 5.5 yards per carry and one touchdown. It was the most rushing yards Patterson has ever had in a single game.

Falcons Negatives 

Arthur Smith: Where do I start with this guy? His utter distain for the media is already growing tiresome. His inability to use Kyle Pitts is a major red flag. When the game was on the line, Smith didn't dial up a play for either of the Falcons receivers (Pitts and London), who were taken with top 8 draft picks in recent years.

Game management: Dean Pees called a stellar game for three quarters, but he undone all his good work by going to a soft zone defense in the 4th quarter. Putting in reserve defensive linemen when there was 12 minutes left on the clock was a dumb decision. Punting on 4th and 1 when a first down ices the game was a cowardly call.

Box Score 

New Orleans Saints

Passing: Jameis Winston: 23/34 for 269 yards and two touchdowns, 111.0 passer rating.
Rushing: Taysom Hill: 4 carries for 81 yards and one touchdown. 
Receiving: Michael Thomas: 5 receptions for 57 yards and two touchdowns.

Atlanta Falcons

Passing: Marcus Mariota: 20/33 for 215 yards, 79.7 passer rating.
Rushing: Cordarelle Patterson: 22 carries for 120 yards and one touchdown. 
Receiving: Drake London: 5 receptions for 74 yards.

Highlights

The highlights of the game are available on youtube here.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

4 Wide Receiver Free Agents the Atlanta Falcons should consider signing

Image
The Atlanta Falcons leading wide receiver last season was Russell Gage, who averaged just 45 yards per game. This is simply unacceptable for a team who want to have playoff aspirations in 2022. Gage, Olamide Zaccheaus and Tajae Sharpe are all impending free agents. Calvin Ridley's future is uncertain with some speculation suggesting he might be traded. Atlanta's wide receivers as a group are one of the least talented units in the whole league. Falcons wide receivers ranked last in the NFL for % of a teams pass attempts thrown to their wideouts. I think Terry Fontenot should look to sign one receiver in free agency and add a second through the draft. I compiled a list of four wide receivers I think the Falcons should consider signing in free agency to bolster this skill group. Obviously, I avoided the likes of Davonte Adams and Chris Godwin, as they aren't affordable given our limited cap space. Christian Kirk: If the Falcons are looking to make a splash signing. Christian ...
Read more

Atlanta Falcons 15-29 Buffalo Bills: Bills eliminate Falcons from playoff contention

Image
The Atlanta Falcons were eliminated from the NFC playoff race after a 29-15 loss to the Buffalo Bills in freezing snowy conditions. The Falcons elevated five players from the practice squad to the roster before the game. Atlanta surprisingly led at half time 15-14, but a scoreless second half doomed them to a ninth defeat of the season. The Game The Falcons took a rare 2-0 lead, thanks to a safety. A forced fumble by Avery Williams on a Buffalo punt return, resulted in the ball ending up in the Bills endzone. The ball was recovered by Bills wideout Jake Kumerow. A quick Falcons three and out, gave Buffalo the ball at their own 31 yard line. The Bills moved the ball down the field with ease utilising their impressive set of wide receivers. Completions to Cole Beasley, Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis got the Bills to the Falcons redzone. A pass interference on AJ Terrell on 4th and goal gave Buffalo a new set of downs from the Atlanta 1. Josh Allen scored on a designed quarterback run to ...
Read more

New Orleans Saints 30-20 Atlanta Falcons: Dreadful Falcons fold like a cheap suit

Image
The Atlanta Falcons season ended in a pitiful manner. An embarrassing home loss to their most hated divisional rivals New Orleans Saints, who were forced to play the majority of the game with their third string quarterback. Losing is acceptable when your team fights hard and leaves everything on the field; but this was a gutless showing, that emphasizes just how much work there is to be done to fix this team. Arthur Smiths men won three more games, then the 2020 Atlanta Falcons, but they were assisted by having the second easiest schedule in the NFL. The Game Taysom Hill started at quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. They opened the game on offense and orchestrated a dream drive. A run heavy approach saw Alvin Kamara pop off a 27 yard run to get the Saints in to Falcons territory. On a playaction pass, Hill found Adam Trautman, who lost Deion Jones in coverage; Trautman scampered into the endzone for an 18 yard score to give the Saints a 7-0 lead. They'd hold the lead for the r...
Read more