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| Other Week 14 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL at NO | CIN at IND | CLE at TEN | DAL at PIT | HOU at GB | JAX at CHI | KC at DEN | MIA at BUF |
| MIN at DET | NE at SEA | NYJ at SF | OAK at SD | PHI at NYG | STL at ARI | TB at CAR | WAS at BAL |
Week 14 Game Recap: Atlanta Falcons 25, New Orleans Saints 29
What you need to know
| Atlanta Falcons |
Matt Ryan was outstanding in throwing the ball for a season high 315 yards and only one interception. He showed poise in the pocket and moved around when necessary to buy time for his receivers to get open.
Roddy White benefited from Ryan's outstanding game by having a career game himself. He hauled in ten passes for 156 yards, but failed to find the end zone on a day where each team seemed to be exchanging scoring drives in the final quarter.
Michael Turner led all Falcons rushers with 61 yards, but found the going tough in the second half. He contributed a nifty touchdown run in the second quarter to put the Falcons on the board but was unable to find any significant running room most of the game.
| New Orleans Saints |
The Saints have no chance at making the playoffs, but could play the role of spoiler for potential playoff teams as three of their final four games are coming against teams that are fighting for the playoffs. They put forth a solid effort in coming from behind against a good Falcons defense.
Pierre Thomas was outstanding as the lead running back in the offense as the Saints worked to establish a running game instead of just airing the ball out. Thomas saw the bulk of his work in the second half as the Saints wore down the run defense and took the lead for good with a solid drive late in the fourth quarter.
Drew Brees did not have an outstanding day statistically, but was effective in leading the offense on successive scoring drives in the fourth quarter to take the lead twice. He did not turn the ball over and was not under pressure for most of the game.
Jeremy Shockey was a big part of the passing game during the first half. He was able to find open spots deep down the field while being isolated against linebackers and the Saints took advantage of the mismatches early.
What you ought to know
| QB Matt Ryan, Pass: 24 - 33 - 315 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 4 - 13 - 1 |
Matt Ryan showed the poise of a veteran quarterback in trying to lead the Falcons to victory in a venue that they have not won in since 2002. His coaches are showing faith in him by letting him run a no huddle offense during certain situations. He rarely faced pressure from the Saints defense, but when he did he was able to scramble around outside the pocket and would pull up just a yard or two from the line of scrimmage and connect with a receiver downfield. That ability played a hand in his touchdown run as the defenders were expecting him to pull up and throw the ball instead of continuing to run downfield. On two occasions he made plays that most quarterbacks would not make by rifling passes to receivers who were well covered, and somehow getting the ball past the defender. He has a nice touch on short passes, as seen on his lone touchdown pass that was thrown high and to a spot where only his receiver could catch it. Ryan was only victimized by two dropped passes, but each of them had the potential for long gains. His only bad pass came on his interception, the pass was bad and the defensive back was able to jump the route and intercept the pass to give the Saints excellent field position for their only touchdown drive in the first half.
| RB Michael Turner, Rush: 18 - 61 - 1 (1 targets) |
Turner was the Falcons leading rusher with 61 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown run came during the second quarter on a run where there was not hole in the left side of the line and he cut back to the right and made it easily into the end zone. Most of his carries occurred between the tackles, which limited his production. On most plays he appeared to be tentative in plunging into the line of scrimmage if there was not a hole available, almost giving up on the play and allowing himself to be tackled. If there was a hole, no matter how small, he was able to slip through for a decent gain. His only target was on the opening play of the game where he was wide open in the left flat. However, he dropped the pass as it appeared that he was trying to run before he secured the ball.
| RB Jerious Norwood, Rush: 5 - 18 - 0, Rec: 4 - 20 - 0 (4 targets) |
Norwood saw significant playing time rotating in with Michael Turner, and contributing in the passing game. He has good hands, bringing down a pass with one hand while moving on a screen play. Norwood has better speed to the corners than Michael Turner and is more valuable on sweep and misdirection plays. Norwood had to leave the game limping in the fourth quarter and did not return.
| RB Jason Snelling, Rush: 2 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) |
Jason Snelling's value came as a part of the Falcons short yardage package. He dropped the only pass thrown his way, and it was a costly drop on a third down play that could have gone for close to first down yardage.
| RB Ovie Mughelli, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 |
Mughelli's action was limited to blocking for the running backs and short yardage work. His only carry came on a second and one play on the opening drive of the game.
| WR Roddy White, Rec: 10 - 164 - 0 (14 targets) |
Roddy White had a career day receiving with 164 yards. He was able to catch balls regardless of coverage, and even wrestled the ball away from a defender on one occasion. His numbers could have been even greater if not for two mistakes made in the first quarter. He was the target on the Ryan interception when the defensive back jumped the route and White did not have an opportunity to catch the ball. On another play, with the team backed up on their own two yard line, he made an excellent grab along the right sideline and appeared to get both feet down inbounds. However, he was called for a push off on the defensive back, negating a long play. In the second half he had an 18 yard reception negated by a holding penalty, but Ryan came right back to him on the next play for a 26 yard completion.
| WR Michael Jenkins, Rec: 5 - 69 - 0 (5 targets) |
Michael Jenkins had a quiet game, seeing his targets spread out almost evenly by quarter. All of his receptions were valuable, with four of them resulting in first downs. Jenkins made a valuable grab on a two point conversion attempt that put the Falcons up by three points in the fourth quarter.
| WR Brian Finneran, Rec: 2 - 8 - 1 (4 targets) |
Finneran is a good fit for the role that he plays in the Falcons receiving corps. He is the third receiver, and at times the most reliable pass catcher. His first reception was a fantastic grab along the right sideline in the end zone. Matt Ryan threw the ball high, where he would have the best chance to come down with it, and he barely came down with both feet inbounds. His second reception came on a bullet pass that split two defenders.
| WR Harry Douglas, Rec: 2 - 45 - 0 (3 targets) |
Harry Douglas provides the Falcons passing offense with a deep downfield threat that is able to stretch the defense and keep them from rotating coverage toward Roddy White. His first reception came on a deep fade route where he just outhustled the defensive back for the ball. The final pass thrown in his direction was on a wide receiver screen that he weaved his way through traffic for a key 17 yard gain on their final scoring drive.
| TE Justin Peelle, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
Justin Peelle had an uneventful game serving as an extra blocker. His only reception gave the Falcons a second and one situation on their final touchdown drive.
| PK Jason Elam 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points |
Elam made his only field goal and did not get to attempt an extra point on one touchdown when the Falcons decided to go for two points.
| ATL Rush Defense |
The Falcons rush defense was gashed by draw plays during the first half. Reggie Bush took one handoff deep into the secondary and would have scored on the play but he cut back into a blocker instead of cutting outside. During the fourth quarter they were unable to stop Pierre Thomas from gaining first downs and running out the clock.
| ATL Pass Defense |
Drew Brees was held to a low 230 yards passing, but the low totals were by design of the Saint offense and not due to any pressure applied by the linemen or great coverage by the defensive backs. The defensive backs did a good job of covering the receivers, but the defense could not overcome the mismatches gained by the Saints lining up their tight end and running backs outside.
| QB Drew Brees, Pass: 18 - 32 - 230 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 0 - 0 |
Drew Brees only threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns as he rarely took any deep shots downfield. The game plan was for Brees to take what the defense gave him and to use formations that would take advantage of mismatches with Jeremy Shockey and Reggie Bush. Brees was able to move the ball downfield by mixing in short and medium range passes with an occasional deep pass to keep the defense honest. He made no mistakes and did not face much pressure as the Saints would keep an extra blocker in to help out on deep passing plays.
| RB Pierre Thomas, Rush: 16 - 102 - 1, Rec: 1 - 7 - 1 (1 targets) |
Pierre Thomas got the start as the Saints opened up in a one back offensive set with three receivers. Thomas ran hard and failed to go down easily, having to gain yards sometimes when there was little to no room to run. His long runs early in the game came on draw plays that caught the defense off guard. Later, when the defense began to tire, he was used on running plays between the tackles and the occasional outside run. His receiving touchdown came on a play where he was not the intended target but was the recipient of a dump off pass. On the next drive he scored the game winning touchdown when he picked his way through a small hole in the left side of the line and fell into the end zone.
| RB Reggie Bush, Rush: 10 - 80 - 0, Rec: 3 - 26 - 1 (6 targets) |
The Saints lined Reggie Bush up in different spots to try and take advantage of mismatches. He was used as a traditional running back during the first half and took a handoff up the middle for 43 yards on a designed draw play on their second offensive series. Two plays later he scored the game's first touchdown by catching a quick slant out of the receiver position. Bush struggled between the tackles and when given the ball on outside runs he would seek out the sidelines if he was going to run into a group of defenders.
| RB Deuce McAllister, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0 |
McAllister only received one carry, in a third and one situation in the first half and failed to convert the third down.
| WR Devery Henderson, Rec: 3 - 72 - 0 (3 targets) |
Henderson did not have a big game but each of his receptions played an important role in the Saint victory. His first two receptions were during the two minute drill at the end of the first half as they were driving for a score just before halftime. His final reception was a 36 yard quick slant route where he put some moves on the defender and worked his way into the open field.
| WR Lance Moore, Rec: 3 - 35 - 0 (7 targets) |
Despite not starting it appears that Moore may be one of Drew Brees' favorite receivers. They were unable to connect on the majority of their intended plays, but it did not stop Brees from looking to him for a big play. Brees attempted to connect with him three times during the first half, but was unable to due to Moore either running the wrong route or the ball being thrown to high.
| WR Marques Colston, Rec: 3 - 26 - 0 (9 targets) |
Getting the start, Colston was the most targeted receiver on offense. However, he was not able to convert the high number of targets into a good game statically due to excellent coverage by the defense. He came close to having a big day as two passes were knocked away and he came down out of bounds on a deep ball in the third quarter. In addition to the good defensive play he had one pass that was dropped and a 20 yard reception that was overturned by a holding penalty.
| TE Jeremy Shockey, Rec: 5 - 64 - 0 (6 targets) |
Jeremy Shockey made an impact by lining up as a wide out and creating mismatches with defensive personnel. His excellent route running ability allowed him to get into the open part of the defense for deep gains. The holes in the defense were there due to the safeties having to play deep against the threat of the deep ball. Shockey was almost able to connect with Brees on a touchdown pass when he was isolated on a linebacker along the right sideline, but the ball was thrown just a little too high.
| PK Garrett Hartley 3 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 11 points |
Hartley connected on all three field goal attempts and both of his extra points.
| NO Rush Defense |
The Saints rush defense did an excellent job of controlling the line of scrimmage and stopping the inside running game. They did this by putting seven and eight players in the box on downs where they felt like the Falcons were more than liable to run the ball.
| NO Pass Defense |
The Saints were not able to generate much of a pass rush on Matt Ryan and he made them pay by constantly hitting his receivers and moving the ball down the field easily using the passing game. The lack of pass rush was due to a lack of depth along the defensive line due to injuries.