Graham and the Saints offense’s efforts were not enough to overcome poor defensive play against Atlanta.
Well, you can’t deny that today’s contest was one hell of a game. Sadly, though, the end result was a loss for the New Orleans Saints. The Atlanta Falcons defeated the black and gold 37-34 in overtime after trailing by two scores for much of the first half. The Saints offense carried the team for most of the day and the defense couldn’t help pitch in when it counted the most. A Marques Colston fumble on the second play of overtime was the dagger for New Orleans, as Matt Bryant hit his second 50+ yard field goal within just a few minutes to close out a thrilling victory for the home crowd.
The Saints got out to a hot start, moving the ball with ease. Two Shane Graham field goals gave New Orleans a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. Mark Ingram started slow, so Coach Sean Payton inserted Khiry Robinson in to the game, who provided a spark to the running game. An 18 yard run in to the red zone, followed by a 2 yard touchdown run a couple plays later extended the Saints’ lead to 13-0. For a short amount of time, it looked like New Orleans could possibly run away with this one. Not for anyone who knows this rivalry, though, as these games routinely stay close. That was the case again as Matt Ryan answered with a nice 14 play, 80 drive capped off with a 2 yard touchdown pass to Roddy White to put the Falcons on the board.
Having their lead cut to 13-7, Drew Brees and his offense answered right back. The Saints went 80 yards in 9 plays, finishing off the drive on a 3 yard touchdown pass to rookie Brandin Cooks for his first score of his career. That touchdown seemed likely to be it for the first half, but after a touchback, Ryan picked up 58 yards on just two plays to Devin Hester and Roddy White, setting up Matt Bryant with a 40 yard field goal which he converted. The last second kick shrunk the Saints lead to 20-10 at halftime.
The third quarter was completely owned by Atlanta. The Falcons took the opening drive of the second half 80 yards in 12 plays, cutting the Saints lead down to 20-17 on a 1 yard touchdown pass to tight end Levine Toilolo. Both teams trades punts on the next two series. New Orleans again seemed poised to answer Atlanta’s touchdown, until Robert McClain picked off a Brees pass intended for Cooks in the end zone. The Falcons capitalized on the takeaway, quickly taking their first lead of the day. A 5 play, 80 drive was cashed in on an impressive catch and run from running back Antone Smith for a 54 yard touchdown. The score gave Atlanta a 24-20 lead.
Their lead didn’t last for long, as the back and forth scoring battle truly began. New Orleans went 80 yards in 12 plays, capped off by the first of Mark Ingram’s two touchdown runs, re-taking the lead 27-24. The Saints had a chance to extend their lead after forcing just the second three and out from the Falcons offense, but they responded with a three and out of their own. Coach Payton stressed being able to close out games after giving up two games in the final moments last season from not being able to hold on to the ball, but the trend continued. A beautifully downed punt from Thomas Morstead pinned Atlanta deep in their own territory at the 6 yard line. The Falcons seemed unfazed, going 94 yards in 8 plays to take the 31-27 lead late in the 4th quarter. The touchdown came on a great run from Jacquizz Rodgers, who spun out of a Kenny Vaccaro tackle, then juked two more defenders inside the 5 yard line to find his way in to the end zone.
Taking over with 2:50 left on the clock and three timeouts, Brees went back to work. It’s tough to get too greedy, but the Saints actually scored too quick. They went 71 yards in 8 plays to re-take the lead, but only took 1:30 off of the clock and allowed the Falcons to save one of their timeouts. The quick score came on Ingram’s second touchdown run, which was an impressive 3 yard carry to will his way in to the end zone, giving New Orleans a 34-31 lead.
With one timeout and 1:20 left on the clock, Ryan quickly went to work. He hit three different receivers on three straight plays to pick up 46 yards and get in to field goal range. Just a few plays later, Matt Bryant lined up a 51 yard field goal to send the game in to overtime and drilled it right down the middle to tie it up at 34-34.
After winning the coin toss, New Orleans received to start overtime. Marques Colston dropped his second pass of the game on 1st down, but that’s only where his nightmare began. On 2nd and 10, Brees threw a perfect strike on a slant route to Colston that would’ve been a first down, but William Moore stripped the ball away, allowing the Falcons to recover the ball at the Saints 38 yard line. New Orleans only allowed four yards, but that was good enough to set up Bryant for a 52 yard game winner, sealing the comeback victory for Atlanta, 37-34.
Observations
– I’ll start with the most obvious, the defense has a lot of adjustments to make this week. First, Atlanta was already without their starting left tackle Sam Baker, then late in the 1st half, they lost Jake Matthews for the rest of the game with an ankle injury, but the Saints still could not create any pressure. Tyrunn Walker recorded the only sack of the game for either side, while Junior Galette and Cam Jordan were non-existent.
– Rob Ryan likes to play a zone defense, so the pressure is crucial. When facing any decent quarterback, he will pick apart zone coverage all day if he has time to throw.
– In a tight game such as this one, every point matters. The Saints allowed the Falcons to get a cheap field goal after taking over at their own 20 yard line with :20 left in the 1st half. You can also factor in Brees’ interception in the end zone, which could have been at least three points. The Falcons turned that turnover in to a touchdown, essentially making it a 10 point swing.
– Tackling was very poor for the entire defensive unit. Kenny Vaccaro, Keenan Lewis, Patrick Robinson, and Jairus Byrd all missed at least one easy tackle. They looked more like the defense of 2012, than the defense of 2013.
– On a positive not, the running game looked very good. Ingram, Thomas, and Robinson combined for 119 yards rushing for a 4.6 yards per carry average.
– Brandin Cooks looks as far from a rookie as possible. Coach Payton immediately showed how much he loves his young star after giving up a 3rd round pick to move up and get him back in May’s NFL draft. Cooks was used in plenty of different ways and caught everything that came his way. Brees also showed that he already trusts the rookie, looking for him numerous times on 3rd downs.
– I honestly feel bad for Marques Colston. He is surely in a very lonely place right now, blaming himself completely for the loss. His fumble was nothing but the nail in the coffin. He’s one of the quietest, least emotional players in the NFL, so to see him show so much emotion on the sideline after that play speaks volumes.
– Shane Graham was quiet after two first quarter field goals, but one of them was a 50 yarder, showing why the team chose to bring him back over Derrick Dimke or any other outsider.
Stats
Saints
Drew Brees – 29-42 / 333 yards / 1 TD / 1 INT
Mark Ingram – 13 carries / 60 yards / 2 TDs
Pierre Thomas – 7 carries / 31 yards / 6 receptions / 58 yards
Khiry Robinson – 6 carries / 28 yards / 1 TD
Marques Colston – 5 receptions / 110 yards
Brandin Cooks – 7 receptions / 77 yards / 1 TD
Jimmy Graham – 8 receptions / 82 yards
Curtis Lofton – 10 tackles
Jairus Byrd – 5 tackles / 1 forced fumble
Junior Galette/Cam Jordan – 0 sacks
Falcons
Matt Ryan – 31-43 / 448 yards / 3 TDs
Stevan Jackson – 12 carries / 52 yards
Jacquizz Rodgers – carries / 34 yards / 1 TD
Antone Smith – 2 carries / 7 yards / 1 reception / 54 yards / 1 TD
Julio Jones – 7 receptions / 116 yards
Devin Hester – 5 receptions / 99 yards
Roddy White – 5 receptions / 72 yards / 1 TD
Harry Douglas – 6 receptions / 69 yards
Paul Worrilow – 15 tackles
Robert McClain – 5 tackles / 1 INT
William Moore – 6 tackles / 1 forced fumble
Next Week
The Saints will travel to Cleveland to face the Browns next Sunday at 12:00 PM local time. The Browns are also 0-1 after 30-27 loss in their opener at Pittsburgh today.
It’s just Week 1, Saints fans, so keep faith and as always, Who Dat?!
Follow David on Twitter @DCBilliotJr6
