Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints: Score, Grades and Analysis

On an afternoon where the New Orleans Saints welcomed back offensive guru Sean Payton, the head coach got help from an old friend: his defense 

Rob Ryan's resurgent unit stopped Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons offense four straight downs inside the New Orleans 10-yard line as the Saints held on for a thrilling 23-17 win at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome Sunday afternoon.

For that stop, the Saints can thank two miscues from one guaranteed Hall of Famer and another guy who could be headed there. Steven Jackson took his eye off an easy score from Ryan on 3rd-and-goal from the New Orleans 3-yard line, and Tony Gonzalez did the same on fourth down. The fourth-down pass landed in Roman Harper's hands, clinching a Saints victory.  

Linebacker Curtis Lofton spoke after the game what it meant for the defense to lead the charge in a win:

Drew Brees took the offense out for victory formation to close it out. Brees, who went 26-of-35 for 357 yards and two touchdowns against one interception, also set a record Sunday for the most passes ever completed against the Falcons. He broke a record previously held by Joe Montana.

The contest—from beginning to end—was as a special day for those at the Superdome. Perhaps the only time the crowd was louder than after the interception was during the pregame ceremony. 

Payton, who was coaching in his first game since the 2012 playoffs after serving a one-year suspension over the Bountygate scandal, was joined by local hero and former Saints safety Steve Gleason for the pregame cheer. 

The atmosphere afterword was electric. 

The game started with Brees and Co. looking like they had forgotten where they ranked on the NFL's offensive food chain. The Saints trudged through two short drives on their opening possessions, stumbling and costing themselves points en route to falling behind 10-0.

Ryan led Atlanta down the field for a touchdown on its second drive thanks to a 50-yard connection with Harry Douglas, which set up a seven-yard score to Gonzalez. The catch marked Gonzalez's 17th straight season with a reception, joining Jerry Rice and Irving Fryar as the only two to do so.

The Falcons went ahead two scores on a 23-yard Matt Bryant field goal after Mark Ingram failed a fourth-down conversion that set them up inside New Orleans territory.

But by the time the second quarter got underway, the Saints offense got humming. Brees marched them down the field on a 12-play, 50-yard drive to open the quarter, finishing with a 48-yard Garrett Hartley field goal. Then the Falcons proved that turnabout is fair play, gifting their opponents the ball deep in their own territory after a Julio Jones fumble. 

It was just the push they needed. Brees capped off the short drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Marques Colston, giving the veteran wideout the team's all-time receptions record.

And then Brees went deep into Atlanta territory again on the Saints' subsequent possession before Hartley booted another through the uprights. Suddenly, a 10-0 deficit had become a 13-10 lead heading into half.

But as the Falcons would attempt to do so many times Sunday, they marched right back up the field. Jackson burst through a hole in the middle of the Saints defense for 50 yards, with Ryan putting a bow on the drive with a four-yard score to Julio Jones. 

Brees lead New Orleans right back, though, going on a 10-play, 80-yard drive. At the time, the New Orleans quarterback's seven-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham seemed to be sparking the beginning of a shootout. These teams typically go through a slow-burn period before lighting up the scoreboard en route to a thrilling finish.

That finish would come; little did anyone know it would be from the defense. Ryan's game-ending pick concluded a series of frustrating events in the second half. The Saints defense did an excellent job or forcing pressure and keeping long plays to a minimum, though Ryan did finish with 304 yards and two touchdowns thanks to the torrid late finish. 

But it wasn't enough. A league-worst unit eight months ago, the New Orleans defense came back with new personnel and a new coordinator. That helped them strike an early blow in what should be a hotly contested NFC South race the rest of the season.

Matt Ryan (QB, Atlanta Falcons): B

There's not much else Ryan could do. He threw strikes on each of the game's last two possessions—the latter of which under duress—and his receiving options didn't pick him up. Had Jackson not looked back to see whether a hit was coming or Gonzalez not known he was going to get converged on, the narrative coming out of this game would have been about Matty Ice pulling one out.

Instead, it's back to the drawing board.

Ryan will unquestionably expect more from his offensive line next week as well, which failed to pick up sometimes elementary blitzes heading his way. However, this won't do anything to hurt his early MVP case. 

Julio Jones (WR, Atlanta Falcons): B-

On a day where Roddy White merely served as a decoy, the Falcons were relying on Jones to come through with a huge performance. 

Unfortunately for Atlanta, that didn't happen. Jones finished his outing with seven catches for 76 yards and a touchdown—good numbers in a vacuum—but couldn't get past the Saints secondary to make a big play. 

Much credit goes to defensive coordinator Ryan in that respect. He had the Saints corners playing deep coverage at the snap, allowing underneath completions with the expectation that his corners would wrap up and make the play. For the most part, they did. Douglas' 50-yard grab early in the contest was the one exception.

But couple his fumble with the lack of big plays, and you get a rather average day when the Falcons needed exemplary. 

Drew Brees (QB, New Orleans Saints): B+

Ho-hum, Drew Brees had another 300-yard game. It's become almost mundane at this point. Yet again, he finished well over the former threshold for incredible quarterback performances, leading the Saints to a nail-biter of a finish. Rinse, wash, repeat. 

Even as the Saints offense got off to a slow start, Brees was able to have a wholly typical game. He zipped passes over the middle to Marques Colston, dumped off screen passes to his stable of running backs and unleashed his big arm once or twice down the field when needed. 

He even had a couple of his patented cringe-inducing throws, one of which resulted in a dropped pick. In a world where so little is certain, credit Brees for always being reliable. 

Rob Ryan (Defensive Coordinator, New Orleans Saints): A

This is a space usually reserved for people on the field, but there may have been no bigger winner Sunday than Ryan. The controversial defensive coordinator has bounced around since leaving the Raiders in 2008, with New Orleans being his third job in five seasons. 

Because of his boisterous nature he shares with his brother (Rex) and his father (Buddy), Rob Ryan gets more notoriety and criticism than your average defensive coordinator.

But Ryan can coach a defense, and Sunday's performance proved it. This was a unit that looked lost in the wilderness at the end of last season and just held one of the league's most explosive offenses to 17 points.

Kudos. 

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