FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons coach Raheem Morris tried to put a positive spin on the pitiful loss to the Saints, but there’s no sugar-coating the debacle.
The Falcons had multiple opportunities to pull out the win and stumbled each time.
Take your pick: the personal foul, the false start, the interception, the blocked field goal or the two missed field goals. The Falcons found a way to lose, when good teams find a way to win.
“We lost, but we are not defeated,” Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There are a lot of games left. Our best football is ahead of us and that’s the best part about it.”
However, the Falcons (6-4) remain two games ahead of the Bucs (4-6) in the NFC South with seven games to play. The Saints (3-7) and Panthers (3-7) are tied for last place.
The loss to the Saints was the Falcons’ first loss on the road this season. The Falcons are 3-3 at home and 3-1 on the road.
The Falcons are now 6-2 against the NFC and 4-1 in the division. However, they are 0-2 against the AFC and are set to play the AFC West Broncos (5-5) at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday in Denver.
The entire NFC South is 1-11 against the AFC. The only NFC South victory over an AFC team came when the Panthers beat the Raiders, 36-33, on Sept. 22. The Falcons have losses to the Steelers (18-10, Sept. 8) and Chiefs (22-17, Sept. 22) at home.
The Falcons went through their “Tell the Truth Monday” meetings and film reviews.
“Getting better work,” Jarrett said. “Getting back to the basics. Staying encouraged. Start fast. I think that’s going to be important. Especially going on the road, going on a long trip. Knowing that what we want to accomplish is still ahead of us.”
Here are the five things we learned from the loss to the Saints:
1. Score touchdowns. Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins was not happy with the game being placed on kicker’s Younghoe Koo’s foot.
“I don’t feel great about leaving it in the field goal team’s hands,” Cousins said. “I think it’s important that we stay on the field, score touchdowns in the redzone. Avoid the penalties that backed us up in the redzone. Execute down there so that we are scoring touchdowns.”
The Falcons were 1 of 3 (33%) in the redzone against the Saints.
Cousins is not a big fan of field goals.
“I’ve always felt that when you kick field goals you tend to lose and when you score touchdowns you tend to win,” Cousins said. “So, that’s important. ... That’s kind of where I take my focus.”
The Falcons hopes died on the sack-fumble after they had moved to the Saints’ 49-yard line. Saints defensive end Chase Young got around left tackle Jake Matthews on the play. The Falcon’s loss 19 yards after Matthews scrambled to recover the football.
“They were a good defense against us the last time and they were a good defense (on Sunday),” Cousins said.
Cousins completed 23 of 38 passes for 306 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. He finished with a passer rating of 75.1.
2. Make adjustments sooner. The Falcons let Marquez Valdes-Scantling do his very best Jerry Rice impersonation for too long. After he made a 40-yard touchdown catch, the Falcons needed to adjust at that point.
By waiting until halftime to shadow Valdes-Scantling, he was allowed to add another touchdown catch and a 67-yard reception. He didn’t catch a pass in the second half as the Falcons held the Saints to three points.
Saints’ possessions in the second half: punt, field goal, punt, punt, punt and punt.
If the Falcons had started that strong, the Saints would have been blown out.
The Falcons’ run defense played it’s best game of the season, holding the Saints to 96 yard rushing.
It was the first time the Falcons held an opponent under 100 yards rushing this season.
3. Ground game was strong. Running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier combined for nearly 200 yards rushing.
Robinson, who had more than 100 scrimmages yards for the fifth consecutive game, rushed 20 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Allgeier had 11 carries for 59 yards. Robinson also caught three passes for 28 yards.
Overall, Robinson has 1,079 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns this season.
Robinson is one of three players with 100 yards from scrimmage in seven games this season, along with Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley and New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara.
4. London played through pain. On Wednesday, Drake London looked tight running his routes during the open portion of practice as he was trying to battle back from a hip pointer injury.
On one play, he couldn’t gather himself to even reach out for a pass. London was listed as questionable.
But by Sunday, London was ready to go.
He finished with eight catches for 97 yards and would have been over 100 yards receiving if he’d caught that bobbled pass on the first possession. Replay assist checked in after London had went through his whole first-down catch celebration.
It was the seventh time this season that London has had at least six catches and 50 yards receiving.
“Drake made it through the game really good,” Morris said. “Tough week for him having to deal with the injury all week. But never questioned that kid’s toughness, character and who he is as a competitor and wanting to play the game the right way.”
5. Positive vibes out of bad loss. Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell believes the team will move on to getting ready for Denver.
“He was super positive,” Terrell said of Morris. “Next game. We left stuff out there that we wish we had back in the first half. We got into our rhythm in the second half, but it was too little, too late.”
Morris could have ripped the team for the penalties.
“I think it’s a good way to approach it,” Cousins said. “I’ve learn that not much is going to get to Coach (Morris). He stays very level. Very positive. I do internalize it and it hurts.
“It hurts for him, too. You’ve got to have your process of watching it and talking through it with teammates and coaches, fixing things and you get back on the horse. You get back to work. Losses like this are always tough.”
About the Author
