The Falcons held Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees to a 87.4 passer rating, his lowest of the season in a full game, in their recent meeting Nov. 10. He had a 44.2 passer rating against the Rams early in the season, but left after just five passing attempts with a broken thumb.
The Falcons built a lead while playing keep-away from Brees and then unleashed a pass rush that netted six sacks, including three in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons' defense will be on the hot seat at 8:20 p.m. Thursday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium to recreate that masterpiece against the Brees.
“Drew Brees is one of the best in the business,” Falcons linebacker coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “It doesn’t matter what you are playing, man, cover-2, cover-3, quarters or whatever it is, he knows how to beat every coverage.”
The Falcons put together three drives of 10 plays or more — including a 17-play gem — to keep Brees and his array of offensive weapons off the field last month. The Falcons won the time of possession battle, 33.46 to 26:14.
“He has receivers that are adept at taking advantage of every coverage,” Ulbrich said. “… We’re going to have to execute and play, really, really well. That’s every week, but when you are playing the Saints, it feels heightened because of the talent that they have.”
Wide receiver Michael Thomas, running backs Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray and tight end Jared Cook are all dangerous.
“Drew is the type of player he’s not going to let you ... if you got him with a disguise or a coverage the first time you can’t just try to bring that out there and do it again,” Falcons safety Ricardo Allen said. “He’s the kind of guy that’s going to be at home studying. He’s going to know the ins and outs of the look. He’s not going to be fooled too many times.”
The Falcons aren’t putting much stock in their recent win over the Saints.
“Yeah, we’ve had some success, but that means nothing,” Allen said. “They can come out with another game plan. They understand that, too.
“We’ve played them plenty of times. One time it goes a certain way and the next time you just never know with these rivalry games.”
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