Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints: Full Report Card Grades for Atlanta
The Atlanta Falcons just saved their season and put themselves as the front-runners for the division with a victory against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Atlanta has to win next week to put themselves in the playoffs and win the NFC South—two things that every team sets goals for at the beginning of every season.
Atlanta has the talent on the roster to make a run if everyone can get healthy at the right time. They need to win next week to potentially save Mike Smith's job. If Atlanta can play against other teams the way they played against the Saints, they could make a playoff run.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Matt Ryan played arguably the best game he has ever played against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. His 30-of-40 passing for 322 yards and one touchdown line shows just how dialed in he was this week. He was able to avoid the mistakes that have plagued him in the past against the Saints and played turnover-free ball.
He was also able to elude the minimal pressure that the Saints were able to put on him, and even scrambled for seven yards on a pair of runs. On third down, he was even more efficient than usual. He was 9-of-10 on third downs and the Falcons converted six of them through the air.
Ryan was a big reason why the Falcons won Sunday. His efficacy in the offense was only enhanced by how the offensive line was able to protect him, the wide receivers and tight ends were able to catch his passes and how the running backs were able to create yardage as both runners and receivers.
Grade: A
Running Back and Fullback
2 of 10
Steven Jackson went down with an injury after four carries for nine yards and a 14-yard reception on his five touches. Atlanta didn't seem to miss him in either pass protection or run production, as they were able to gain more yardage on the ground after his injury than before it.
Devonta Freeman was all over the place Sunday with his eight touches, gaining 84 yards and scoring a touchdown. Jacquizz Rodgers had trouble gaining a ton of yardage when the defense knew it was going to be a run, but he still was able to gain 32 yards on 12 touches in crucial spots.
Freeman and Rodgers also pass protected well and were able to help Matt Ryan stay upright, even against the blitzes. Patrick DiMarco also played extremely well with solid run blocks and even contributed early with a catch out of the backfield. That's about as impactful as a fullback can be.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Julio Jones wasn't just a decoy against the Saints. He was able to catch seven of his eight targets for 107 yards. He didn't score a touchdown, but the impact Jones made on the game goes well past just targets and receptions.
He helped open the offense up to allow Roddy White nine targets that led to six catches and 55 yards. That includes a pair of misses that could have been huge gains if White and Matt Ryan were on the same page. Add in Harry Douglas and Devin Hester contributing with six catches for 72 yards out of the slot was nice to see as well.
The only real question came from Levine Toilolo's impact, but he was able to show something on all four of his targets. He caught every one of them and gained 17 yards. He's not been the tight end that many—including myself—thought he had the potential to be, but he still was solid versus the Saints.
Grade: A
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The offensive line keeps on getting better and better. Despite missing Jon Asamoah due to a back injury, the Falcons offensive line allowed zero sacks and just two quarterback hits on Ryan's 42 dropbacks. They were able to handle the blitzes well, and Ryan had more than enough time to pick apart the Saints defense.
On play-action passes specifically, they did a great job of faking the initial motion of a run before dropping back into a protection pocket. A big part of that was because of how good the offensive line was in run blocking versus the Saints' bigger front.
The Falcons only gained 3.7 yards per carry on their designed runs, but the line got stronger as they moved through the game. Great blocking on a run by Devonta Freeman helped spring him for a 31-yard touchdown on a crucial third-quarter drive.
Grade: A
Defensive Line and Edge Players
5 of 10
Atlanta's defensive front played the best game that it has all season. Not only did they play good run defense by holding the Saints to just 3.2 yards per carry on 18 runs, they were able to create enough pressure on Drew Brees to force two interceptions.
Along the line, the Falcons created pressure primarily with their interior guys. They got four sacks from their defensive linemen, and most of them came from the defensive tackles. Jonathan Babineaux, Kroy Biermann and Corey Peters all had effective sacks, but Ra'Shede Hageman's sack could have been the best of them all. He just destroyed Jahri Evans in a one-on-one to get the first sack of his career.
To close the game out, Biermann forced a fumble by Brees that Osi Umenyiora recovered and ran all the way back to the end zone for a score. Combining good run defense with four sacks and a fumble return for a touchdown is an easy way to earn an A.
Grade: A
Linebacker
6 of 10
One of the Falcons' best groups was their linebacker unit. They were able to create a ton of pressure when they blitzed on the interior and off the edge. They also were a big reason why the run defense did a great job against the Saints tailbacks.
Paul Worrilow had nine tackles, and almost all of them were near the line of scrimmage and impactful—that includes his tackle for loss. A pass deflection he had on a crucial second down was a clutch move that he needs to make more often.
Prince Shembo looked solid against the run, but he also created pressure when he blitzed. Joplo Bartu was extremely effective in coverage and had a tackle for loss on a screen play. Overall, the Falcons linebackers played mistake-free football that allowed the Falcons to have a shot to win.
Grade: A
Secondary
7 of 10
In the final three drives, Drew Brees went 13-of-21 (61.9 percent) for 152 yards, a touchdown and Robert McClain's interception. However, the Falcons rarely blitzed and went to a prevent-style coverage shell for those last three drives.
Using regular coverage concepts and standard coverages, Atlanta allowed Brees to complete 17-of-26 passes (65.4 percent) for 161 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. Dwight Lowery also forced a fumble and sacked Brees.
Desmond Trufant intercepted Brees and played lockdown coverage all game. Atlanta knocked away five passes—four of them from the secondary—and Kemal Ishmael played an excellent game, as he forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and was able to play solid run defense. Atlanta's secondary played its best game of the year, and a lot of that had to do with excellent the pass rush up front.
Grade: A
Special Teams
8 of 10
Atlanta's special teams units had a bit of a rough day early. They allowed a 99-yard return on the first play of the game and got pinned on their own 6-yard line on their second drive. However, outside of that, they made up for it by allowing an average starting field position at the Saints' own 17.
Unfortunately, on average, Atlanta only started at their own 19-yard line when their own special teams unit brought the ball back. Devin Hester had 49 yards on his pair of kick returns but was unable to explode on the punt returns.
In terms of kicking the ball, Matt Bosher was excellent on both kickoffs and punts, giving enough hang time on all of them—outside of the opening kickoff—to pin the Saints deep. Matt Bryant was perfect with all of his kicks, scoring 12 points on the day by hitting all three field goals and extra points.
Grade: B
Coaching
9 of 10
When a team plays as well as the Falcons did against the Saints, it speaks directly to the coaching. The Falcons did try a few different things by moving Mike Nolan back into the box and letting Mike Smith be the primary defensive guy on the field once again.
This made a huge difference, as the Falcons played their best defensive game of the season. After registering just 16 sacks all season, they sacked Drew Brees five times after calling a ton of exotic blitzes on second and third downs. The defense also created a ton of turnovers as part of it as well.
On offense, the Falcons played a solid game as well. It took a minute to really get things going, but once they did, the Falcons gained over 400 yards and scored 23 points. With the Falcons keeping the ball for 32 minutes due to excellent ball control despite an average running day, Atlanta was able to control the game.
Grade: A
Overall Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Grade |
| Quarterback | A |
| Running Back and Fullback | A |
| Wide Receiver and Tight End | A |
| Offensive Line | A |
| Defensive Line and Edge Players | A |
| Linebacker | A |
| Secondary | A |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | A |
| Overall | A |
When a coach talks about winning a game with all three phases, this is what he means. The Falcons played exceptional football all game in every single phase outside of the long return on the first play of the game. Outside of that one poor play, Atlanta won a tough, hard-fought game.
On offense, the Falcons finally showed some of the potential they had early in the year. But it was the defense that really made the biggest strides. Even before the final play got to Drew Brees and forced a sack-fumble, Atlanta was able to create pressure all day.
If the Falcons can continue to put pressure on quarterbacks, they might just be able to surprise some teams if they can make it to the playoffs. Atlanta showed in divisional games that they have the talent to beat anyone. They just have to use it.
All stats used are from Pro Football Focus' Premium Stats (subscription required), ESPN.com, CFBStats or NFL.com. All combine and pro day info is courtesy of NFLDraftScout.com. All contract information is courtesy of Spotrac and Rotoworld.
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