Whoa! What a game! Before starting this recap I’ll give everyone a second to catch their breath and pull themselves out of cardiac arrest…Everyone ok now? Good!
Today was just another chapter in the ever-growing book of thrilling games vs. the Falcons. It all started with the Gleason blocked punt and now after today the Saints are 11-2 against Atlanta since Drew Brees has come to town. Last year provided two exciting games when playing the Falcons, courtesy of a 4th and 1 stop in overtime and Drew Brees’ record breaking performance in a Monday night blowout on the day after Christmas. Now, most recently, a goal line stand when it seemed inevitable that Atlanta was set to take a late lead and force Drew Brees to make a comeback effort of his own. That wasn’t the case, thanks to a few great plays, highlighted by a diving swat by Jabari Greer on 4th down.
Things started off looking very bad early in the game. On Atlanta’s opening drive, a 49 yard reception by Roddy White got Atlanta to the Saints 1 yard line. The Falcons struck for a touchdown to cap off a 7 play 80 yard drive. Things got even worse when Drew Brees threw an interception on New Orleans’ very first offensive play of the game. Thankfully, the defense forced a three and out and a 37 yard Matt Bryant field goal to extend the lead to 10-0.
Essentially, that quick defensive stop changed the game and allowed New Orleans to climb back. The Saints quickly answered to grab some momentum, as Chris Ivory rumbled 56 yards for a Marshawn Lynch-esq touchdown run. In a game filled with numerous highlight plays, that was certainly near the top. The run started as a stretch to the right, when Ivory made a move on the first defender, bouncing outside to easily pick up 10 initial yards. He then continued up the sideline and made a big cut to his left, breaking a tackle and somehow keeping his balance. He finished off the amazing run with a vicious stiff arm on Dunta Robinson to spring himself for the final 15 yards and the score. Yes, the run was that good that it deserved an in-depth description.
New Orleans took their first lead of the game early in the 2nd quarter on a 29 yard touchdown reception by the game’s offensive MVP, Jimmy Graham.
“Jimmy Freaking Graham! He cannot be covered!”
That phrase has become my patent saying anytime Jimmy makes huge play this season, as he has many of times. His touchdown gave New Orleans a 14-10 lead.
Atlanta answered with a huge drive of their own. Matt Ryan took the Falcons 80 yards in 14 plays, capping off a 7+ minute drive with a 2 yard touchdown pass to Tony Gonzales…and so the battle of the tight ends was on.
The Saints regained the lead with under a minute left in the first half, as Jimmy Graham snagged his second touchdown of the game, coming from 14 yards out.
“Jimmy Freaking Graham! He cannot be covered!”
New Orleans took a 21-17 lead in to halftime.
As they always seem to do, the Saints came out of the locker room with a lazy three and out to begin the second half. Fortunately, Atlanta didn’t do much of their own either. Matt Ryan’s deep pass on 3rd down was intercepted by Corey White on a phenomenal play by the rookie.
New Orleans took over and extended their lead when Drew Brees found Marques Colston for a 7 yard touchdown pass. The touchdown reception by Colston not only extended the Saints’ lead to 28-17, but it also tied him with Deuce McAllister for the franchise’s all-time lead in touchdowns with 55.
It’s not very often that a team has an offensive drive that goes for more than 99 yards, but Atlanta did just that early in the 4th. They went 12 plays for 110 yards to close the Saints’ lead to 28-24 on Tony Gonzales’ second touchdown reception of the day, coming from 6 yards out.
The Saints offensive struggles with a lead in the second half continued yet again today, as their inability to hold on to the ball for more than a few plays allowed the Falcons to continue climbing back in to the game. Atlanta drove down to the New Orleans 2 yard line, but was held to a short field goal after great defensive coverage by Malcolm Jenkins on Julio Jones, to close their deficit a little more to 28-27.
A 31 yard field goal by Garrett Hartley extended the Saints lead back to 4 and the madness began. The Saints then led 31-27 with 5:54 as Matt Ryan and the Falcons took the field to begin their comeback effort.
After 9 plays, 78 yards, and two huge 3rd down conversions, the Falcons sat with a 2nd and goal from the 1 yard line at the 2:00 warning. Again, at that point, it seemed inevitable that the Falcons would take the lead and force Drew Brees to make his comeback effort of his own.
2nd and goal. Matt Ryan looks for an open Tony Gonzales in the end zone for potentially their 3rd touchdown hookup of the day. Not so fast my friend! Malcolm Jenkins made a diving swat to knock the ball away from Gonzales’ hands.
3rd and goal. Michael Turner was stuffed yet again and taken down in the backfield for a loss of 1.
4th and goal. The Saints sent the blitz, forcing Matt Ryan to throw a weak pass for Roddy White, but Jabari Greer was right there to swat the ball down and cap off an amazing goal line stand.
It seemed as if the game was over at that point, but being backed up at their own 2 yard line, the Saints could only run the ball three straight times and force Atlanta to use their final two timeouts. Atlanta got the ball back with :37 seconds left at their own 31. Disaster almost struck on their 3rd and 1 play, as Roddy White somehow got behind Isa Abdul-Quddus, but the pass sailed over White’s head and fell harmlessly to the turf. Atlanta then faced a 4th and 1, when Tony Gonzales dropped an easy first down pass that was right in his hands to turn the ball over on downs and close out the Saints’ upset.
It was a wild game, one which will go down as one of the best in the history of this rivalry. There was close call after close call, but things worked out in the Saints’ favor and they showed the entire league that they are still in the playoff fight. New Orleans improved to 4-5 overall and 2-1 in the NFC South, while Atlanta’s dreams of a perfect season are crushed. They dropped to 8-1 overall and 1-1 in the NFC South.
Game Notes
-Drew Brees extended his record streak of consecutive games with a passing touchdown to 52, on a 1st quarter touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham.
-Saints running backs had 28 carries for 149 yards and a touchdown.
-After an impressive 7 sacks last week, New Orleans was only able to sack Matt Ryan one time today. Ryan actually tripped over his own feet, but all in all, the Saints did a decent job of forcing pressure and getting Matt Ryan uncomfortable and off balance. Pressure was the key to Ryan’s pass being weak on the 4th and goal attempt late in the game.
-The Saints defense struggled to get off of the field just about all day. The Falcons were an impressive 8-14 on 3rd, until going 0-2 on their final two possessions.
-Contrarily, New Orleans was worse than normal, finishing 4-10 in 3rd down efficiency.
-An interesting stat that I noticed at halftime: Although being dominated in 1st half time of possession 17:39-12:21, New Orleans still found a way to run the ball for 116 yards and hold the halftime lead.
-Mark Ingram seems to have found his stride. Not only does he seem to be running with confidence, but the Saints seem to have tons of faith in him as well. He received 16 carries today.
-Finally, coming in to today’s game, New Orleans was last in the league in rushing defense, giving up a whopping 176.5 yards per game. Today they only allowed 46 yards rushing to the Falcons.
Stats
Drew Brees – 21-32 / 298 yards / 3 TDs / 1 INT
Chris Ivory – 7 carries / 72 yards / 1 TD
Mark Ingram – 16 carries / 67 yards
Pierre Thomas – 5 carries / 10 yards
Jimmy Graham – 7 receptions / 146 yards (career high) / 2 TDs
Lance Moore – 7 receptions / 91 yards
Marques Colston – 3 receptions / 26 yards / 1 TD
Week 11
New Orleans (4-5) will travel to Oakland (3-6) to play the Raiders on Sunday, November 18th, at 3:05 CT.
Who Dat?!
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