Saints Edge Out Falcons to Sweep Season Series
It's the culmination of the second Falcons Hate Week of the season, and both the Saints and the Dirty Birds are in deep trouble. With the chaos that is the NFC South, both teams are technically still alive for the playoffs, but it is extremely unlikely that either team makes it.
That doesn't really matter to anyone on either team. The rivalry comes first, and both squads willl be playing their hardest to beat their hated enemies.
The Saints would start with the ball. Andy Dalton would lead the drive with surprising efficiency and Juwan Johnson would extend out on an impressive touchdown catch and run.
The Saints defense started off well, forcing a 3-and-out for Atlanta's rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder.
And on the ensuing drive, we got another dose of Taysom Touchdown to the lightning quick Rashid Shaheed.
The teams traded punts back and forth before the quarter ended.
To start the second quarter, the Falcons drove all the way down into the Saints redzone. But a near interception from Alontae Taylor and a huge sack from Kentavius Street forced a short field goal.
On the next Saints drive, a very efficient drive was stopped in its tracks by a David Johnson fumble. Fortunately, the Saints defense held up and forced a 3-and-out.
The teams traded punts a bit more, and the Saints forced a half-ending punt.
The Falcons came out of the half looking like a different team, moving the ball well aside from an overturned interception, and scoring a touchdown to get within one score of the lead..
The Saints offense finally woke back up after Andy Dalton found Juwan Johnson for their second scoring connection on the day.
The Falcons started to drive as the third quarter ends.
Out of the quarter break, the Saints defense forced a punt. The Saints unfortunately couldn't get anything going on offense, and gave the ball back to the Falcons in great field position.
It didn't take long for Cordarelle Patterson to score, and the Falcons completed the two-point conversion to bring the point spread to 4.
The Saints didn't get anything on offense, meaning the Falcons would have a chance to take the lead late in the game.
However, Justin Evans would force a Drake London fumble and Bradley Roby would recover, giving the Saints the ball in position to run the clock and secure the game.
Taysom Hill and Alvin Kamara secured key first downs, and despite a scary Falcons possession at the end of the game, the Saints managed to pull it off.
The Saints climb to 5-9, and the Falcons fall to 5-9. The Saints travel to Cleveland next week to take on the Browns.