With not much cause for optimism following a Week 5 blowout loss in Philadelphia, the New Orleans Saints returned to the Superdome to host their first ever game on Thursday Night Football. Not only were things going poorly for those in black and gold, but on the other side of the field were the undefeated, 5-0 Atlanta Falcons who have looked like one of the best teams in the NFL. The Sean Payton and Drew Brees era Saints have always had the Falcons number, but even that was not enough to have much confidence considering how bad New Orleans looked against the Eagles. They proved myself, and presumably many others, wrong, not only beating Atlanta, but doing so in dominating fashion. The win bumped the Saints to 2-4, so although they showed promise, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Recap

The Saints got off to a hot start, taking the opening possession of the game and going 80 yards in 12 plays to take a 7-0 lead. After a 26 yard pass from Drew Brees to Willie Snead set them up with a 1st and goal from the 2 yard line, Mark Ingram pushed his way in to the end zone to get things going. Josh Hill was big on the drive, catching passes of 12 and 19 yards to convert two different third down conversions.

Atlanta took their first possession and got down to the Saints 34 yard line. They faced a 4th and 1, deciding to roll the dice early. Matt Ryan fumbled the snap and despite the Falcons recovering, the Saints were on top of them to force a turnover on downs. Unfortunately, New Orleans could not do anything with their great field position, going three and out and punting the ball away.

The Falcons next possession resulted in a three and out, as well, but what happened on 4th down sent the Superdome and Saints fans everywhere in to a frenzy that brought back great memories. Matt Bosher had his punt blocked by Mandeville native Michael Mauti, who also picked up the ball and scampered in to the end zone. The play looked eerily similar to Steve Gleason’s blocked punt way back in 2006. What made the play even more special was that Gleason was in attendance and beaming with excitement. The score put the Saints up 14-0.

The two score lead would not last long, though, as Ryan and his offense marched right down the field to answer with a 7 yard touchdown pass to Roddy White, cutting the score to 14-7. The Saints offense continued to struggle, punting the ball away after only picking up 23 yards on the following drive. The Falcons looked primed to tie the game up, as they quickly moved the ball down field, but a Tevin Coleman fumble at the Saints 9 yard line stopped them in their tracks. Dannell Ellerbe made a fantastic play, knocking chasing Coleman down and punching the ball from his arm, forcing a huge turnover for the Saints defense.

Once again, Brees and the offense went three and out, giving the ball right back to Atlanta. The Falcons, once again, marched the ball right down the field on the Saints defense, but again saw their drive end in a fumble lost. On a 3rd and 8 from the Saints 14 yard line, center James Stone’s errant snap was recovered by Ellerbe.

The Saints appeared primed to re-extend their lead, as a 28 yard pass from Brees to Watson set them up with a 1st down at the Falcons 28 yard line. On the following play, Adrian Clayborn recorded the only sack for Atlanta’s defense, setting New Orleans back for a loss of eight. Brees and the offense were only able to gain three yards on the next two plays, setting up a 51 yard field goal attempt from Zach Hocker with :16 left on the clock. Hocker’s struggles continued, as he pushed his attempt wide right. Atlanta took over and attempted to get in to field goal range, but could not, sending the game to halftime with the score 14-7.

The Falcons could not get much going to open the second half, punting the ball away after just one first down. The Saints went 56 yards in 11 plays, settling for a 31 yard Hocker field goal after stalling at the Atlanta 13 yard line, making the score 17-7. Ryan and his offense’s struggles continued, as they went three and out on their next possession, unable to do much of anything.

With under seven minutes left in the third quarter, Brees and the offense finally found their way back in to the end zone after Payton rolled the dice himself on a 4th and goal from the 2 yard line. Brees hit Watson, who was wide open in the back of the end zone thanks to a play action fake, extending the lead to 24-7. Atlanta was not ready to lay over just yet, though, as they went on a 10 play, 80 yard drive to get the game back within two scores. Devonta Freeman bursted through a big hole on his way to a 25 yard touchdown run, shrinking the New Orleans lead to 24-14.

The Saints were determined, though, wasting no time and answering with a touchdown of their own. They went 80 yards in 11 plays, with Ingram bulling his way in to the end zone for his second touchdown of the game to make it 31-14. Atlanta again went three and out, punting the ball right back to the hot Saints offense. Hocker’s struggles got even worse as he badly missed on a 48 yard field goal attempt, possibly sealing his fate as the Saints kicker.

Taking over with under four minute left, the Falcons did what they could to give themselves a chance, as Freeman took a 13 yard reception in to the end zone for his second score of the game and closing their deficit to 31-21. Their onside kick attempt failed and New Orleans took over as they started milking the rest of the clock. They were unable to pick up a first down, being forced to punt the ball away. With just :24 left on the clock, Ryan was sacked and stripped by Cam Jordan, who recovered the ball, closing out the game. It was an impressive victory for the Saints, as they gave the Falcons their first loss with a 31-21 victory.

Observations

  • Drew Brees threw the ball down field with pretty good success. They did not take many deep shots, but he hung around in the mid-distance range and looked good. The one pass to Brandin Cooks during the fourth quarter was especially impressive. Brees was under pressure and dropped the ball in to a very tiny hole for Cooks to catch it on the run. He still appeared to be in some pain, as he was seen shrugging his shoulder a decent amount. If was bothering him a good bit, he certainly did not let it affect his game, so credit him for his toughness.
  • The Saints came in to the game as one of the worst rushing offenses in the NFL and the Falcons came in as the #1 run defense. Both of those trends continued, as New Orleans struggled to do anything on the ground, aside from Mark Ingram’s two touchdown runs on the goal line. Between Ingram, Khiry Robinson, and C.J. Spiller combined for 2.6 yards per carry. Not that much more could be expected from an offensive line that was missing their starting left tackle and left guard, then lost their backup left tackle early in the game.
  • C.J. Spiller only had three carries for the second straight week. It still appears as if Sean Payton has not found the best way to utilize him, but hopefully his role continues to grow as the season goes on.
  • The Ben Watson that we saw and heard so much about during training camp was present last night. Brees was looking his way throughout the night and he delivered. A few of his ten receptions were tough catches, too.
  • While Brees was only sacked once, he was still hit much more than what we’d like to see. He was under a decent amount of pressure throughout the game, but did a great job of moving in the pocket to allow himself to make clean throws.
  • Andrus Peat suffered a grade two MCL sprain in his knee last night and will miss roughly four weeks. That emphasizes the importance of Terron Armstead’s ability to get healthy as soon as possible. With 10 days until the next game, hopefully he can be ready for Week 7.
  • The front four did a much better job of getting pressure, led by Cam Jordan. Jordan had three sacks last night after recording just one through the first five games. He looked like the player we saw two years ago when he led the team with 12.5 sacks in 2013. Hau’oli Kikaha and Kasim Edabali also each recorded a sack, which means all five of the team’s sacks came from the front four.
  • Dannell Ellerbe played by far his best game as a Saint, leading the way with 14 tackles. He also chased down Tevin Coleman and forced a big fumble following an 17 yard run that was about to set up the Falcons inside of the the Saints 10 yard line when New Orleans was up 14-7.
  • The three takeaways and lack of turnovers by the Saints played a key role in being able to keep a nice cushioned lead over the Falcons. Atlanta averaged 5.9 yards per play and recorded 405 yards of total offense, which is just four less than New Orleans’ season average and the worst in the NFL.
  • Unfortunately, the offense was not able to take advantage of the takeaways, scoring zero points off of them. They just took a knee after the last one, but you would definitely like to see some points off of the big plays from the defense. Thankfully, Brees and the offense were efficient enough on their other drives to put points on the board throughout the game.
  • Despite them being from 51 and 48 yards, Zach Hocker’s two missed field goals very well may have lost his kicking job. His struggles have been very prevalent so far and with 10 days between games, the Sean Payton may use the extra time to take a look at a few other kickers.

Game Stats

Saints

  • Drew Brees – 30-39 / 312 yards / 1 TD / 0 INTs / 76.9% / 108.1 QB rating / 1 time sacked
  • Mark Ingram – 20 carries / 46 yards / 2 TDs / 2.3 yards per carry / 3 receptions / 10 yards
  • Khiry Robinson – 7 carries / 23 yards / 3.3 yards per carry / 2 receptions / 24 yards
  • C.J. Spiller – 3 carries / 10 yards / 3.3 yards per carry / 4 receptions / 17 yards
  • Ben Watson – 10 receptions / 127 yards / 1 TD
  • Willie Snead – 4 receptions / 55 yards
  • Brandin Cooks – 4 receptions / 41 yards
  • Josh Hill – 3 receptions / 38 yards
  • Dannell Ellerbe – 14 tackles / 1 forced fumble / 1 fumble recovery
  • Hau’oli Kikaha – 7 tackles / 1 sack / 1 forced fumble
  • Cam Jordan – 6 tackles / 3 sacks / 3 tackles for loss / 1 fumble recovery
  • Stephone Anthony – 6 tackles / 2 passes defended
  • Kasim Edabali – 1 tackle / 1 sack / 1 tackle for loss / 1 pass defended
  • Delvin Breaux – 3 tackles / 2 passes defended
  • Michael Mauti – 2 tackles / 1 punt blocked / 1 block recovered for touchdown
  • Zach Hocker – 1/3 FGs (51, 31, 48), 4/4 XPs

Falcons

  • Matt Ryan – 30-44 / 295 yards / 2 TDs / 0 INTs / 68.2% completions / 102.0 QB rating / 5 times sacked / 3 fumbles (1 lost)
  • Devonta Freeman – 13 carries / 100 yards / 1 TD / 7.7 yards per carry / 8 receptions / 56 yards / 1 TD
  • Tevin Coleman – 4 carries / 40 yards / 10.0 yards per carry / 1 fumble lost
  • Julio Jones – 6 receptions / 93 yards
  • Leonard Hankerson – 4 receptions / 37 yards
  • Jacob Tamme – 3 receptions / 32 yards
  • Roddy White – 3 receptions / 23 yards / 1 TD
  • Paul Worrilow – 9 tackles
  • Robenson Therezie – 7 tackles
  • William Moore/Kroy Biermann – 6 tackles
  • Adrian Clayborn – 2 tackles / 1 sack / 1 tackle for loss
  • Matt Bryant – 3/3 XPs

Team Stats

  • Total yards: Saints-385, Falcons-413
  • Pass yards: Saints-304, Falcons-263
  • Rush yards: Saints-81, Falcons-150
  • 1st downs: Saints-25, Falcons-23
  • 3rd down conversions: Saints-8/16 (50%), Falcons-3/12 (25%)
  • Red zone TD conversions: Saints-3/5, Falcons-2/3
  • Turnovers: Saints-0, Falcons-3
  • Points off turnovers: Saints-0, Falcons-0
  • Penalties: Saints-3/15, Falcons-7/41
  • Possession: Saints-32:30, Falcons-27:30

Week 7

After improving to 2-4 with the victory over the Falcons, the Saints will travel to Indianapolis to face the 3-2 Colts, who face off with the New England Patriots this Sunday. The game will be on Sunday, October 25th at 12:00 on Fox. Tune in for Grading the Saints and Sinners, then we will move on to coverage of the Colts game next week.

Who Dat?!