Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints: Full Report Card Grades for New Orleans
The New Orleans Saints entered Sunday’s contest sitting in first place in the NFC South, but after they were humbled by the Atlanta Falcons, 30-14, the Saints are out of playoff contention.
With the loss, New Orleans dropped its fifth consecutive home game. This is quite difficult to fathom, especially when considering the Saints’ success in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome under coach Sean Payton. The home-field advantage simply wasn’t there for New Orleans on Sunday, however, as the Falcons had their way with Payton’s squad in a crucial divisional contest.
The Saints, who would’ve won the NFC South with wins in their last two contests, got off to a blazing start. Jalen Saunders took the opening kickoff and raced 99 yards to the Atlanta 1-yard-line, before Mark Ingram punched it across for a New Orleans touchdown 20 seconds into the game.
Unfortunately for the Saints, things were all downhill after that.
After a sluggish start, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan began to heat up against the New Orleans defense, and Atlanta scored its first touchdown just before halftime to take a 13-7 lead into the locker room.
The Falcons scored again on their second possession of the second half, and they led 20-7 as the fourth quarter began.
That’s when things took an interesting turn. Jimmy Graham appeared to cross the goal line after hauling in a reception from Drew Brees, but as the New Orleans tight end wrestled with Atlanta defenders, he coughed up the football. The Falcons promptly recovered, and after a lengthy review, the call was upheld as a fumble and not a touchdown.
New Orleans drew closer later on in the fourth quarter with a touchdown grab by Graham, but with just under three minutes to go, Brees tossed his second interception of the afternoon.
Atlanta led 23-14 when, in the closing seconds, Brees fumbled on a sack. Atlanta defensive end Osi Umenyiora then picked up the loose ball and rumbled 86 yards for a Falcons touchdown on the game’s final play.
The New Orleans loss, coupled with the Carolina Panthers' win over the Cleveland Browns, ended the Saints' postseason hopes, and it dropped the Saints' record to 6-9 on the season.
Continue reading for report card grades for each New Orleans position unit from the Saints' Week 16 defeat.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Drew Brees passed for 300 yards and a touchdown in the contest. He also directed a beautiful 87-yard scoring drive early in the fourth quarter, when he hit on seven of eight throws.
Other than that, he was awful.
The Saints signal-caller committed three turnovers on the day, and he failed to generate more than 14 points against a Falcons defense that entered the game ranked dead last in the NFL.
When New Orleans took over with just under three minutes to go and trailing by six, Brees tossed a crucial interception right into the waiting arms of Robert McClain. The Falcons corner jumped in front of a pass intended for Nick Toon on an out route, and the resulting interception was Brees’ second pick of the afternoon.
He also coughed up two fumbles. One was scooped up and returned for a touchdown, while the first one was recovered by Saints tackle Zach Strief.
In addition to the turnovers, Brees was surprisingly inaccurate on a good number of his throws. Yes, the Falcons’ relentless pass rush played a big role in that, but the New Orleans signal-caller is a future Hall of Famer, and it isn’t unrealistic to expect him to be able to handle a pass rush better than he did on Sunday.
In addition to his miscues, he often moved awkwardly in the pocket, and his timing was off with his receivers for much of the game.
Three turnovers are really all the justification needed to give Brees his grade for this performance, however, which helped cost the Saints a spot in the playoffs.
Grade: F
Running Back
2 of 10
The running game was a huge letdown for the Saints on Sunday, although it wasn’t necessarily due to bad running back play.
New Orleans managed just 57 yards on the ground, with Mark Ingram leading all rushers with 38 yards on 13 carries. Ingram waltzed into the end zone for an easy one-yard touchdown run on the Saints’ first play from scrimmage, but the going was extremely tough after that.
On most running plays, the Saints’ offensive linemen failed to win their battles against the Falcons' active front seven, and as a result, Ingram continually found himself with little room to operate.
Pierre Thomas pulled off a 16-yard gain on one of his patented catch-and-runs off a screen pass from Brees, but he didn’t receive a single carry in the running game.
While the blocking was subpar, the New Orleans running backs struggled to produce on Sunday, and poor production results in a poor grade.
Grade: D
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
The Saints wide receivers and tight ends racked up some big yards against Atlanta’s defense, but the overall performance from this group was underwhelming.
Jimmy Graham snagged a touchdown and hauled in six balls for 53 yards, but he failed to come up with a catchable ball on a crucial third-down play on the Saints’ first possession of the second half. Fox commentator John Lynch accused Graham of having “alligator arms” on the play, and he wasn’t wrong.
Marques Colston didn’t exactly fight for the football, either, on Brees’ first interception, although he did come down with some nice catches during his six-reception, 80-yard effort.
Wideouts Kenny Stills and Nick Toon combined for another 100-plus receiving yards on nine catches, while Robert Meachem contributed to the Saints’ fourth-quarter scoring drive with a 13-yard reception for a first down.
Meanwhile, tight end Josh Hill, who found the end zone twice just a week ago, performed an impressive disappearing act against Atlanta Sunday, while fellow tight end Benjamin Watson dropped a fourth-quarter pass near the goal line that hit him right in the numbers.
There were some nice catches made by New Orleans receivers on Sunday, but there was also a glaring lack of intensity from this position group as a whole, and it often yielded unfavorable results for the home team.
Grade: D
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The Falcons entered the game with a struggling defense, yet the New Orleans offensive line made sure that Atlanta was able to work out some of its kinks.
Simply put, the Saints offensive line was owned on Sunday. For three hours, Brees was constantly hurried, regularly hit and repeatedly thrown to the Superdome carpet by Atlanta's pass-rushers, who had accumulated just 16 total sacks entering the contest. Against New Orleans, however, the Falcons were stellar, as Brees was sacked a season-high five times.
None of the members of this Saints position group played well. Even Pro Bowler Jahri Evans was embarrassed in the second quarter, as Atlanta rookie Ra'shede Hageman dominated him for a big sack.
The unit's run blocking was hardly acceptable, either, as New Orleans averaged just 3.2 yards per carry on 18 attempts.
All things considered, the Saints may have delivered their worst performance of the season on the offensive line, and the scoreboard echoed this sentiment.
Grade: F
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The Falcons don’t particularly run the ball well. It hasn’t been their strong point all season long, and it wasn’t on Sunday in New Orleans.
Atlanta’s true strength as a football team lies with its passing game, and the Saints knew that full well heading into the contest.
Matt Ryan handles pressure as well as any quarterback in the league, and New Orleans needed not only to hurry him but to hit him with regularity. It did neither, and Ryan was never sacked in the game.
The Saints defensive line's lack of a pass rush was particularly puzzling, and it played a heavy hand in New Orleans' defeat.
Sure, there were some solid individual moments up front, such as Akiem Hicks' outstanding play in the first quarter. The big defensive end blew up a Falcons offensive lineman, thus allowing linebacker David Hawthorne to fly in and clean up with a big hit on the running back.
But there was also the uninspired play of defensive end Cam Jordan, who recorded just a single tackle on the day.
The Saints’ inability to generate a pass rush was unquestionably their most glaring weakness on the defensive side, as it allowed Ryan to shred their defense for the second time this season.
Grade: F
Linebacker
6 of 10
The Saints limited the Falcons to 81 rushing yards on the day, as Atlanta averaged just 3.7 yards per carry.
Devonta Freeman got outside on the Saints defense for a 31-yard touchdown run, but other than that, Atlanta wasn't especially tough to corral on the ground.
Partial credit for this is due to the New Orleans linebackers, who didn't appear to lack any competitive fire against their hated rivals.
On the inside, David Hawthorne and Curtis Lofton were on their toes on the majority of snaps, and they pursued the Falcons ball-carriers relentlessly.
Missed tackles continued to be a problem for this defense, however, and both Hawthorne and Lofton were guilty parties on Sunday.
Pass coverage wasn't great either, as Lofton was beaten by Freeman for a 36-yard completion on a go route.
On the outside, Junior Galette was as quiet as a mouse, while Parys Haralson made a minimal contribution with four tackles.
Overall, the Saints linebackers weren't terrible, but they were hardly deserving of praise.
Grade: C-
Secondary
7 of 10
Ryan lit up the Saints secondary for 322 yards, and Julio Jones was his favorite target. Jones finished with 107 yards on seven catches, and although he didn't reach the end zone, his presence was still a thorn in New Orleans' side.
Keenan Lewis began the game in man coverage on Jones, but that experiment was short-lived after the latter came down with a big catch on Lewis in the first quarter.
Terrence Frederick was also beaten in coverage by Jones, while Brian Dixon was able to come up and make a big tackle on the wideout in the fourth quarter.
New Orleans went to a two-deep zone for a majority of the game, but the Saints' lack of a pass rush basically turned the secondary into ducks on a pond.
Safeties Kenny Vaccaro, Pierre Warren and Marcus Ball each contributed with some solid tackles, but none of the group was able to come through with a big play.
It wasn't all Jones for Atlanta, either. Wideouts Roddy White and Harry Douglas also got in on the action for big gains through the air, although New Orleans cornerback Patrick Robinson held his own against White on a couple of occasions.
This group wasn't given much help from the Saints defensive front, but it had no answer for Jones, who often appeared unstoppable.
Grade: D
Special Teams
8 of 10
The Saints' special teams units got off to a roaring start, as Jalen Saunders took the opening kickoff 99 yards to the Atlanta 1-yard line.
Saunders, who replaced Brandin Cooks when the rookie went down with an injury, has handled punt-return duties for several weeks, but Sunday marked his first attempt at returning kickoffs. With 120 yards on two returns, it's safe to say he handled it rather well.
New Orleans held Atlanta kick returner Devin Hester in check, while the strong-legged Thomas Morstead boomed two punts inside the Falcons' 20-yard-line.
The Saints were respectable on the special teams front, and Saunders' big kickoff return was easily the most crowd-pleasing moment of an otherwise-disappointing afternoon in the Superdome.
Grade: B
Coaching
9 of 10
The Saints came in with one of the NFL's top-rated offenses, but the unit looked to be severely outcoached against a bottom-feeding Falcons defense that's been gashed all season.
While Rob Ryan's defense has undeniably been decimated by injuries over the course of the season, the New Orleans offense should have posted far better numbers than what it did against Atlanta.
Offense is Sean Payton's area of expertise, yet New Orleans was able to manage just 14 points, with seven of them coming courtesy of a huge special teams play.
The Saints simply couldn't get their offense rolling, and they often looked as though they hadn't practiced in weeks. New Orleans' passing game was out of rhythm and out of sync from the get-go, while the running game was shut down by a substandard defense.
In a game of such magnitude, such an uncharacteristically poor showing falls directly at the feet of the head coach.
Grade: F
Final Grade
10 of 10
The New Orleans Saints began their season with extremely high expectations. They were tabbed as potential Super Bowl contenders by numerous NFL analysts, as they appeared to be a solid, all-around football team. Those wild ideas have all been put quietly to bed now, as New Orleans has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Just as the Saints opened their 2014 season with a disappointing loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1, they ended their run at the playoffs in the same way in Week 16.
The Falcons stymied the potent New Orleans offense in stunning fashion, while on the other side of the ball, the Saints were unable to put any type of pressure on Matt Ryan.
New Orleans will now assuredly end its season not having won a home game since October. Such a notion would've been unheard of before the year began, but it's now a reality.
The Saints were once again horrendous at home with a four-turnover performance against the Falcons, and due to their abysmal showing, they'll have to watch the playoffs from their living room couches.
Final Grade: F
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