Now, it’s decision time.
The Falcons, with their slim playoffs hopes at stake, laid an egg in their regular-season finale. The Falcons, with Desmond Ridder starting at quarterback for the injured Taylor Heinicke, were blown out by the Saints 48-17 before 70,072 fans at the Caesars Superdome.
“Nobody wants to end the season like that,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “Credit to them. They made the plays, certainly in the second half. It got out of hand.”
The Falcons needed a win and a loss by the Bucs to advance to the playoffs as the NFC South Division champs. But they were not up to the task and got steamrolled in the second half as they were outscored 31-0.
“I’m proud of my guys” defensive end Calais Campbell said. “The one thing we didn’t do is quit. Guys kept fighting. Giving everything that they had. The score looks ugly. But I know who these guys are. They just made plays. Give them their respect.”
While Campbell said he was proud of the team, he also felt they underachieved this season. Safety Jessie Bates, one of the team’s two Pro Bowlers, concurred.
“Absolutely, there were multiple times it was like, we’re going to the playoffs,” Bates said. “There were times when it wasn’t good enough at all. I’m very frustrated. I don’t want to overreact or anything. Right now, underachieve is a good word to use.”
Right guard Chris Lindstrom, the Falcons other Pro Bowler, admitted that there are issues to correct.
“I think we have great pieces here and a great culture,” Lindstrom said. “I’m super excited for what next year brings. I think we did a lot of good things. But then there is a lot of things we need to get right. If we focus and prioritize that in the offseason, who knows what next year holds.”
The Bucs claimed their third consecutive NFC South title by beating the Panthers 9-0 in Charlotte.
Saints quarterback Derek Carr completed 22 of 28 passes for 264 yards and tossed four touchdown passes. He had a passer rating of 145.5.
The Falcons got to Carr early with some pressure, but the Saints adjusted.
“After that they started doing max-pro (maximum protection) and he was able to take shots,” outside line backer Bud Dupree said. “He made great throws. As you could see, all of the touchdowns he threw were contested. No one was wide open. He was just making great throws.”
Ridder completed 22 of 30 passes for 291 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He finished with a passer rating of 111.9 before giving way to Logan Woodside in the fourth quarter.
“We came out in the second half, came out a little flat,” Ridder said. “Obviously the pick didn’t help. They trapped me into a trap corner that I never saw on the out-route to Kyle. I’ve got to be able check the ball down there.”
Woodside promptly tossed an interception to Tyrann Mathieu and the Saints tacked on another late TD with 1:10 to play. Smith was not happy with the late score and confronted Saints coach Dennis Allen.
“You can do whatever you want,” Smith said. “I just gave him my opinion about it, but it doesn’t take away the fact that they beat us. In the second half they took advantage of our turnovers and they hit some shots.”
The Falcons finish 7-10 on the season, while the Saints improved to 9-8.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank wants to go through his regular end-of-season review before he talks to the media, a team spokesman said before the game. In his most recent interview, he said he’d review coach Arthur Smith’s status after the season.
Smith completed year three of his six-year contract and has posted a 21-30 mark.
“We know the industry that we are in,” Smith said. “I love doing what I’m doing, but as I’ve told you plenty of times, this is the industry we are in. I love coaching. That wasn’t the result I wanted today or how the season ended.”
Smith was asked if he’d receive any indication that he’d be back for a fourth season.
“Look, we just finished the game,” Smith said. “I understand the questions. I appreciate them.”
The Falcons were hoping to return to respectability in Smith’s third season, but finished in third place in the division. With the easiest schedule in the league, the Falcons were hoping to end their playoff drought, which has now reached six seasons.
Ridder tossed his 12th interception of the season early in the third quarter and things went downhill from there.
“They were playing two-man trap coverage,” Smith said. “The guy was in there. We just lost sight of him and they made a play.”
The defense was torched for two touchdowns passes and then Ridder bobbled a wayward shot gun snap in the fourth quarter that the Saints recovered.
With the chance to cut the lead to seven points, the Falcons stalled on the 1-yard line. Operating from a shot gun formation on third down, running back Cordarrelle Patterson was stuffed for a yard loss by Saints defensive tackle Carl Granderson. On fourth down, Ridder’s pass for Bijan Robinson in the end zone was incomplete.
The season was basically over at that point.
The Falcons flashed some big-play capacity, but were tied 17-17 at halftime.
Ridder connected with Scotty Miller for a 56-yard gain and Robinson took a 4-yard pass and turned it into a 71-yard touchdown.
After Miller’s play, the Falcons scored when Ridder tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jonnu Smith. It was a seven-play, 79-yard drive on their first possession after the defense had forced a punt.
The Falcons overcame a personal foul penalty by tight end MyCole Pruitt that moved them from the 2-yard line to the 17.
Saints answered with a touchdown drive. Carr tossed a nice back-shoulder fade to wide receiver A.T. Perry for an 18-yard touchdown.
Robinson then made the Saints pay. On second down-and-6 from the 29, Robinson caught a pass at the 33 and took it to the end zone to make it 14-7.
The Saints wouldn’t go away.
Carr directed a 16-play, 75-yard drive. The Saints converted on two third downs and one fourth down to keep it moving. Running back Kendre Miller finished the drive with a 3-yard run as they took 8:09 off the clock.
After an exchange of punts, the Falcons were backed up at their 7 and couldn’t get a drive started. Bradley Pinion shanked his punt for 27 yards. The defense did a good job to hold the Saints to a 24-yard field goal by Blake Grupe to make it 17-14.
Ridder quickly move the Falcons into position for a 30-yard field goal by Koo for the halftime margin.
The Saints took control in the third quarter after Ridder tossed an interception to cornerback Alontae Taylor. Carr tossed touchdown passes to Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed to open up a 31-17 lead.
Cornerback Clark Phillips III was in coverage on Olave’s 26-yard score and safety Richie Grant was scrambling back to Shaheed on his 39-yard touchdown grab.
The Saints added a 24-yard field goal by Grupe and then another 6-yard touchdown pass to Perry after the bobbled snap.
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