It was a victory the Atlanta Falcons needed. This triumph had to happen for them. After a 4-6 start and plenty of ugly play, a win sent them to the top of the NFC South and preserved their chances of making the playoffs, while a loss effectively ended their season.
The Falcons secured the much-needed victory, winning by a comfortable nine points, in a sloppy game that included many late-game misses and mistakes by both sides. The Falcons finally put this one right with two touchdowns from Bijan Robinson, a shutout pick-six from Jessie Bates, and a defense that limited New Orleans to field goals. They’re leading the NFC South once again, thriving, and suddenly brimming with the post-bye potential we thought they would exhibit.
You shouldn’t focus on that just yet, not with a victory against the despised Saints in the books and the Falcons back in first place. There is still so much to work on, and we’ll discuss it this week. Cheers to a victory we were eager to witness, and let’s see where the remainder of the season takes us.
A drive-by-drive summary of the match you just saw is provided below.
First Quarter
After a touchback, New Orleans gained possession of the ball first. However, a quick tackle by Kaden Elliss cost Alvin Kamara two yards on his first run. On second down, Kamara gained five yards, but Jessie Bates stopped a short throw intended for Chris Olave. Punt, and it was recovered around 10 yards by Dee Alford.
Bijan Robinson received Desmond Ridder’s first pass, but he was unable to contain it. Robinson gained around five yards on the ground on second down. Drake London was a little behind Ridder when he made his third down pass, and London failed to halt in time, leaving the play incomplete. Make a pun.
Derek Carr had a lot of time on first down and found a leaping Chris Olave downfield for a massive gain. Next, on first down, Taysom Hill carried it for around five yards before Carr connected with Rashid Shaheed for another first down. Elliss then took Kamara down for a defeat. After that, Carr connected with Olave for around six yards. Kamara then completed a pass play for another six yards and a first down. Jamaal Williams gained three yards on first down after that, and a ball to Williams popped out of the mud. Carr sort of gave it away on third down, allowing a field goal attempt to be made. Unavoidably, the Saints’ 25-yard attempt was successful. Saints 3, 3-0.
Two runs by Robinson resulted in a first down. Drake London made an excellent grab after Ridder threw a pass downfield and over the center. Robinson subsequently gained two yards on first down, but Ridder rolled out on second down after failing to see anything he liked and threw it away. Then, on third down, Cordarrelle Patterson gained five yards, creating a fourth and two. Although Ridder maintained the pretend handoff, he was stopped far short of the first down marker. turnover during a downturn.
On first down, Juwan Johnson made the catch to get the Saints moving quickly downfield. Then, Hill went for a first down, but they were thwarted by a holding call. Then Arnold Ebiketie came dangerously close to home as Dee Alford stole the ball from Olave during a pass. After a short swing for two yards on first down to Juwan Johnson, Carr completed a 35-yard ball to Hill. Three yards short of a first down, Kamara was stopped after catching a swing throw. Carr tossed it directly into Jessie Bates’s waiting hands on third down, and Bates returned it the whole distance for a score. Falcons 7-3.
After Hill ran for eight yards on a draw after DeMarcco Hellams was flagged for taunting to give the Saints some yards (I do like trash talking, even if it wasn’t the ideal timing with an injured New Orleans player). After a five-yard run by Kamara resulted in a first down, Carr’s second-down ball was incomplete. Nevertheless, Alford was signaled for unauthorized contact on Olave, and the ticky-tack call gave New Orleans a first down. Tre Flowers made sure Hill didn’t go far, but he kept it once again.
Quarter Two
Shaheed gained three yards on the play after catching the second down pass while Carr was under pressure. Carr tossed it into the mud on third down as the pressure increased once again. But the 52-yard field goal attempt was successful, and the Falcons won 7–6.
Once again, Ridder found London across the middle for around 15 yards and a first down. Tyler Allgeier may have gained a yard on first down, but Ridder sprinted for almost 15 yards to get the first down after failing to see anything. On second down, Patterson went nowhere after a swing throw to Robinson went a yard or two. Then, Kyle Pitts scored a first down after catching the Ridder throw. Robinson was quickly hit with a pass that gained three yards on the first down. Ridder then held the ball and ran for a further fifteen yards, earning another first down. After a short swing to Scotty Miller for around four yards, Bijan Robinson successfully blocked a run to go all the way to the end zone for a score. 14-6, Falcons.
Derek Carr threw a short, high ball that was dropped by Juwan Johnson on first down. Next, on second down, Kamara gained around seven yards, and Carr connected with Olave for a first down. Then, Kaden Elliss tackled the back for a second tackle for loss. Carr quickly got rid of it to Olave on second down, and he was able to juke his way to a (dubious) first down. After that, Bud Dupree caught on to Hill’s rush and stopped him for a yard loss. Shaheed then came up hobbling after an incomplete throw to him. Regretfully, Olave was wide open on third down and gained more than just the first down. Hill then gained maybe three yards, but the play was ruled invalid due to a holding call that favored the Saints. After Olave received it for around 10 yards, Elliss pushed him down while playing through the second down ball to Kamara, which wasn’t near. Then, Carr completely missed Johnson to create a chance for a field goal. Grupe scored to make the score 14–9, Falcons.
After evading pressure, Ridder eventually found Van Jefferson for a first down down the sideline. On the toss, Robinson was tripped up, but he managed to get about a yard, and Patterson battled through contact to gain a first down. After receiving the handoff, Robinson was substituted out for a loss. On second down, a short pass to Keith Smith gained five or six yards; after eluding pressure, Ridder held on and ran for a first down. The target to Robbinson on second down was too low, and he failed to catch it, after Robinson had taken the handoff and maybe gained a yard. After that, Patterson broke through to get a first down. After almost gaining another first down with another handoff to Patterson, Robinson gained two yards to give Atlanta another set of downs. Regretfully, Ridder mishandled the ball on the subsequent play, missing Robinson’s outstretched arm with an interception. The error may have been complicated by route confusion, as the opposing teams’ arguing calls neutralized each other.
New Orleans acquiesced.
Quarter Three
The Falcons got things started with a short handoff to Patterson, who gained about a yard before being scooped up and suplexed without a call. Luckily, Pitts held on despite contact as Ridder subsequently found Kyle Pitts across the middle for a first down. Then Robinson grabbed it and gained the upper hand. He ran for a first down and five more yards before he stumbled and lost what would have been a score. Allgeier then scooped up roughly four yards on first down, and then a Ridder keeper on an option play went absolutely nowhere and lost three yards. The throw was then tipped and Atlanta forced to punt.
Jamaal Williams had the initial rush for a handful of yards on first down, and then Kamara picked up four yards on second down. Carr scrambled for a first down and fumbled it away terribly, but A.T. Perry scooped it up in a fortuitous break. After Hill carried it for roughly two yards, Olave attempted a leaping sideline grab, but A.J. Terrell forced him out of bounds before he could put his feet down. It seemed that Olave was injured during the play. The following play, Carr struck Johnson for a first down. Another Hill run was only good for a few yards before Nate Landman hammered him, but Elliss’s mishandled tackle caused a fast throw to Kamara to go much further than it should have. Then Kamara gained three yards on first down, and after a very short gain by Alford, Hill was dropped. The Saints received a first down after a holding call on Okudah by the defense. After a first down run, Bates threw Lynn Bowden Jr. out of the game before he could score. The Saints gave up five yards after a false start, but they quickly gained a first down on a throw that was called back for offensive pass interference on Juwan Johnson. A short ball to Kamara garnered nine yards or so, putting New Orleans in position for a third and 14. After that, on a third down for a sack, Arnold Ebiketie made it home, setting up a fourth and 22, on which Grupe successfully attempted a field goal to make the score 14–12 Falcons.
Patterson didn’t make it back until after the 25 or 27. Robinson took Ridder’s first ball approximately 13 yards on second down to start the drive after it was just tipped again and fell to the ground. Subsequently, Ridder found Robinson, who caught a short throw and ran around eight yards before taking it again. The drive was subsequently stopped by another interception by Ridder.
Hill sprinted for a first down and more after catching the sideline throw. The following play, Kamara took it for 17 yards, and Hill held onto it for a first down run before fumbling it away, which allowed the Falcons to recover. Change of command!
Fourth Segment
First down was gained by Robinson with five yards, and Allgeier with six yards. A short sideline ball to London was followed by a 13-yarder across the middle to London. Allgeier then received it again to pick up seven yards. Patterson gained roughly four yards, and on the next play, Allgeier could have gained a yard. Ridder hit London on a crucial third down, and London skated a defender to take up a first down and many more. The following play, Bijan Robinson received a great pass from Ridder when he was under pressure, slid into the end zone, and scored an easy touchdown. 21-12 Falocni.
Regretfully, a brief Bowden carry gained just 20 yards. Following a brief gain, Kamara picked up 16 yards after taking a screen, then on first down, Kamara gained around seven yards. The Saints were backed up ten yards on the next play when Ryan Ramcyzk was called for holding, and Hellams then made a great open-field tackle to set up a third and six. The Saints were put in a difficult position by pressure on Carr, which Williams took advantage of for a few yards before Elliss quickly brought him down. Williams seemed to be hurt throughout the play as well. The field goal performed wonderfully. Falcons 21, 15, 15.
Robinson gained a couple yards on first down, and Allgeier then took it for 12 yards and another first down. On the following play, Allgeier gained a first down and additional yardage after taking it four yards on the previous one. The Falcons were backed up five yards by a false start on Jake Matthews, but it made little difference as Allgeier barreled through for a first down. Robinson then returned and gained roughly nine yards. Patterson then took it a few yards, after which Ridder held onto it for a possible one-yard gain, and Allgeier scooped up four to set up a fourth down and a field goal attempt by Younghoe Koo. Falcons 24-15.
Carr threw a terrible first down pass. On the second one, he missed once again as a Saints receiver attempted to flag Dee Alford, but he was not successful. On third down, Carr did find someone by the name of Kirkwood and zip one in for a first down before hitting him again for roughly seven yards. And then, with the time still running, Juwan Johnson scored a first down. A.T. Perry was out of bounds after a sideline ball picked up seven runs. After Richie Grant knocked it out, Carr threw it out of bounds with no one available, and Johnson missed the third down pass. Blake Grupe attempted a fourth-down field goal, but failed, ending the game.
More in Sports: https://buzzing.today/sports/
Photo Credits: https://commons.wikimedia.org/