Here was a chance for the Falcons to seize a victory instead of hoping to hang on at the end. They were driving for a score to put them up two touchdowns on the Saints and they got the ball first after halftime. The Falcons could surge far in front and prove that they are a good team, not just the best of the downtrodden NFC South.
Instead, Desmond Ridder threw another interception.
Here was a chance for the Saints to steal a victory despite their many mistakes. They’d intercepted Ridder for the second time. Taysom Hill was running for a touchdown that give them the lead for the first time. The Saints could leave town with a win and a two-game lead in the division with six to play.
Instead, Jessie Bates III punched the ball away from Hill and the Falcons recovered.
That’s how it went on Sunday at Mercedez-Benz Stadium. The Falcons and Saints took turns giving the ball away, missing tackles, and committing ill-timed penalties. In the end, the Falcons won because they made fewer mistakes and finally executed a game-winning play.
Desmond Ridder’s 26-yard touchdown pass to Bijan Robinson was a thing of beauty in this ugly game. The score didn’t just send the Falcons on their way to a 24-15 victory. It also ended their three-game losing streak, vindicated Ridder in his return to the starting job and put the Falcons in control of the division.
No wonder the Falcons broke into a wild celebration on the sideline when the Saints’ last gasp ended with Brandon Grupe’s 54-yard field goal try falling short.
“I think it was kind of cathartic for a lot of those guys because they know they put a lot of work in,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “Guys were frustrated and felt like there was a play or two here.”
A win is a win in the NFL. For the Falcons, a win over the Saints is always sweet. The Falcons (5-6) lead the NFC South by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker over Saints (5-6). The Falcons will go to the playoffs if they are still in first place at season’s end. The Saints will get another shot at the Falcons, at their place for the final game of the regular season.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if the teams still have identical records then. The Saints have tougher opponents over the final six weeks. The Falcons have four road games compared to two for New Orleans.
Said Smith: “This thing has got to play out. We’ve got six games to go, right? It will feel like six lifetimes. That’s just the National Football League. It ebbs and flows.”
It finally flowed in favor of the Falcons. They lost three games in a row by a total margin of 10 points before their bye last weekend. Smith had benched Ridder in favor of Taylor Heinicke, who was at best marginally better. The defense was showing signs of slippage.
The Falcons responded with a rugged week of practice leading to a hard-fought victory over their archrivals.
“I keep saying it, it’s not just coach talk: This is a different group, and I mean that in a great way,” Smith said. “These guys work so damn hard. I know everybody works hard, it’s pro sports. But if you’d seen our Wednesday practice, it felt like training camp. It was a damn battle.
“These guys wanted to win, and I’d argue that it paid off.”
The Falcons still have major issues, especially on offense.
The two interceptions increased Ridder’s giveaway count to 14 in nine starts. The Falcons scored just two touchdowns on eight full possessions. The other TD was a 92-yard interception return by safety Bates, who continues to prove he’s worth the big contract he signed during the offseason. The Falcons rushed for 228 yards on 41 carries (5.6 average) but Ridder had nearly as many interceptions as completions longer than 20 yards (three).
Those problems became footnotes for the Falcons because of how they finished the game. Ridder’s touchdown pass to Robinson gave them the breathing room they needed. Then the Falcons closed out the Saints on the ground.
The Falcons’ 14-12 lead late in the third quarter did not feel at all safe. Ridder had thrown his second interception on their previous possession. The Saints were driving to score after that takeaway when Bates forced the fumble by Hill that the Falcons recovered five yards from the end zone.
At that point, it seemed that the first team to score another touchdown would win. That’s not asking a lot from professional football teams, but the Falcons and Saints made it look hard. Ridder broke the impasse with his pretty, 26-yard TD toss to Robinson.
Robinson was lined up wide left against Saints linebacker Demario Davis. Ridder and Robinson immediately recognized the mismatch, and Ridder lofted a pass that Robinson caught in stride. That play helped to offset Ridder’s red-zone interception in the second quarter and another pick on a forced pass in the third.
“He doesn’t flinch,” Smith said of Ridder. “Obviously, you don’t want the turnovers. Thankfully, today we were at (even margin).”
The Saints were down 21-12 but there were still 10 minutes left to play. They quickly moved into scoring position on long receptions by Lynn Bowden and Alvin Kamara. A Saints holding penalty in the red zone stalled the drive. Grupe made a 39-yard field goal to make the margin six points with 6:24 left.
Here was another chance for the Falcons to go win the game instead of hanging on at the end. This time, they took the game from the Saints. The Falcons bullied their way down the field with nine runs in a row for 54 yards before Younghoe Koo kicked a 39-yard field goal that put the visitors away.
“It feels good to take a win like this, but teams are coming for us,” Robinson said. “We’ve got to understand that every game that we play these last six games need to be our best games and our best football that we’ve ever played.”
The Falcons didn’t play good football on Sunday. They played winning football in spite of their flaws. That was good enough to beat the Saints. It might be good enough to win the South.
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