Jimmy Graham dunked the football over the goal post following his big touchdown with such enthusiasm that be bent them.
Well, it wasn’t quite as dramatic as Week 1, but the end result was just as satisfying. The New Orleans Saints improved to 9-2 on the season with a 17-13 victory over the now 2-9 Atlanta Falcons. It was a victory that didn’t look the same as they usually do, but was a good win.
The game started slow for the Saints, getting the ball to start the game. After two straight runs that went for -1 yards, the Falcons held Drew Brees and the offense to a quick three and out. Atlanta then took over and took the ball down field on a 10 play 76 yard drive that ended with a one yard touchdown run from Steven Jackson.
On the ensuing drive, New Orleans would answer with a 15 play 78 yard drive, capped off with a great catch in the back of the end zone by Ben Watson on 3rd and goal. The Falcons answered with a 39 yard field goal on their next drive to retake the lead.
Following Matt Bryant’s first field goal of the night, the Saints would take the lead for good. They put up a quick 5 play 80 yard drive in just over two minutes with the big play coming from Drew Brees to Jimmy Graham. Graham ran an out and up that fooled Falcons safety William Moore, then Brees hit him in stride up the sideline. Moore caught up to Graham at the 10, but was carried in to the end zone for the touchdown. Graham had 100 yards receiving for the 6th time this season, tying Tony Gonzales’ single season record for a tight-end. After the game, Brees described Graham as “freakish”, stating that he doesn’t realize how good he is. I strongly believed that the freak tight end would break out of his mini slump tonight and he did just that against the team he was dominated in his young NFL career.
With just over two minutes left to go in the first half, Atlanta would tack on another Matt Bryant field goal, coming from 24 yards out. They cut their deficit down to one point, heading to halftime with the score 14-13, New Orleans.
After a shaky first half of defense for the Saints, the second half was complete domination. New Orleans sacked Matt Ryan four times, while forcing a fumble, and shutting Atlanta out for the second 30 minutes.
Week 11 hero, Garrett Hartley added to the Saints’ lead with a 41 yard field goal late in the third quarter, making it 17-13. Atlanta then had two chances to take the lead in the 4th quarter, but failed to do so both times. On their first try, Keyunta Dawson forced a Harry Douglas fumble that was recovered by Corey White deep in Saints territory. Atlanta’s defense did their job, holding New Orleans to a punt, but again, the Falcons offense could not break through the tough Saints defense. The Saints sacked Ryan twice on their final drive, then on 3rd and long they sent a heavy blitz that forced Ryan to throw the ball away, setting up a 52 yard field goal attempt from Bryant to cut the lead to one. As the Falcons lined up and snapped the ball, Bryant booted the ball straight through the uprights, but the play was blown dead on a timeout from Coach Sean Payton. On the second try, Bryant missed just to the left of the upright and New Orleans took over with the chance to run out the clock.
In hindsight, the game was over at that point, but the Saints weren’t actually able to hold on to the ball. After two first down conversions, New Orleans was called for holding, setting up a 1st and 20. They ran the ball once, Drew Brees took a knee twice, then on 4th down, he snapped the ball and ran around as long as he could before going down with :05 left on the clock. Atlanta took over at their own 38 yard line, but could not force a miracle.
Notes
– The Saints pass defense, especially Cam Jordan, was absolutely dominant in the second half. They sacked Matt Ryan five times with two and a half of them coming from Jordan. Akiem Hicks also played fantastic, recording a sack and a half of his own.
– New Orleans ran the ball well, once again. Their success on the ground opened up the play action, fooling the Falcons on multiple occasions.
– Pierre Thomas provided exactly what we’ve come to know from him. Hard, tough running, resulting in lots of yards after contact. Mark Ingram looked very good again, despite only having 32 yards rushing on his 9 carries. He was used in short yardage a few times, but made quick, decisive cuts for the better part of the night.
– Corey White led the team with 10 tackles, but that’s not a good thing. He was abused for most of the first half by Matt Ryan and Darius Johnson, until Rob Ryan moved him in to the nickle. The multiple tackles are not a good thing, because they mostly came after allowing the receiver to catch the ball before bringing him down. He did come up with the crucial fumble recovery in the 4th quarter.
– After watching the way White played, I strongly believe that the Saints need to sign a veteran corner-back. Undrafted rookie Rod Sweeting was active for the first time this year and they signed second year Trevin Wade this week, but it’s apparent that they will need to get someone with some experience for the playoffs. Nnamdi Asomugha is a name that has been tossed around a lot since being cut by San Francisco a few weeks ago and would make sense considering New Orleans tried hard to sign him this off-season. Asomugha played under Rob Ryan in their time in Oakland, which was his best years of his career.
– Filling in for injured Jahri Evans, Tim Lelito struggled on a few plays, but played decent for the most part. He was called for holding once and was beat by Peria Jerry for Atlanta’s only sack on Brees.
– Speaking of Brees, Drew was off on many of his throws tonight. On the Saints’ second to last possession, they faced a 3rd down in which Robert Meachem was able to beat his defender across the middle of the field, but Brees’ throw was way behind him, giving him essentially no chance of making the catch. I only mention it because there were a few throws that Brees missed with good protection last week as well, so I’m interested to see if he can get back on track with two huge games coming up.
– Keenan Lewis played fantastic once again, holding Roddy White to just 2 catches for 24 yards.
– The Saints did a great job of locking down Tony Gonzales, especially when the Falcons got deep in to New Orleans territory.
– I mentioned this on twitter, but Kenny Vaccaro single handily helped force a quick three and out in the 3rd quarter. On a play action fake, Falcon tight-end Levine Toilolo was wide open in the flat when Ryan found him for what initially looked to be an easy first down. Vaccaro came quickly flying in and made a great tackle, cutting Toilolo down two yards short of the first down. On the following play, Harry Douglas dropped a first down pass, forcing the Falcons punt.
Stats
Saints
Drew Brees – 23-33 / 278 yards / 2 TDs / 0 INT
Pierre Thomas – 10 carries / 73 yards / 5 receptions / 57 yards
Mark Ingram – 9 carries / 32 yards
Jimmy Graham – 5 receptions / 100 yards / 1 TD
Marques Colston – 4 receptions / 40 yards
Ben Watson – 1 reception / 1 yard / 1 TD
Kenny Vaccaro – 9 tackles / 1 pass defended
Akiem Hicks – 8 tackles / 1.5 sacks / 1 tackle for loss
Cam Jordan – 6 tackles / 2.5 sacks / 2 tackles for loss
Falcons
Matt Ryan – 30-39 / 292 yards / 0 TDs / 0 INTs
Steven Jackson – 16 carries / 63 yards / 1 TD / 3 receptions / 16 yards
Harry Douglas – 9 receptions / 79 yards
Darius Johnson – 6 receptions / 67 yards
Tony Gonzales – 4 receptions / 43 yards
Week 13
The Saints will now enjoy some extra rest before they head to Seattle for a battle for first place in the NFC with the Seahawks. Seattle sits on their bye-week with a 10-1 record, as they await New Orleans for a big showdown on Monday Night Football 10 days from now.
