The New Orleans Saints never gave up. The Atlanta Falcons took a 26-10 lead with 12:41 left in the game, with the Saints only touchdown having come early in the first half. After that touchdown, this is what the drive chart looked like for New Orleans:
* Missed field goal
* Punt
* Punt
* Punt
* Field goal
* Fumble
* Punt
Over those seven drives, the Saints managed 93 yards on 35 plays. Over the next three drives, however, the Saints gained 213 yards and scored 17 points while shutting the Falcons out to snatch the 27-26 win.
“The Falcons should have won that game by double digits,” WWL NFL analyst and co-host of Sports Talk Mike Detillier told WWL's Tommy Tucker. “They let that get away from them. The Saints were lucky to win, but I'd much rather be lucky than good sometimes.”
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The Saints had gained just 177 yards in the first three quarters, and 68 of those yards came on two early runs by Taysom Hill. The Falcons racked up 4 sacks and 8 tackles for loss while the Saints failed to record a sack and had only two tackles for loss. That discrepancy is one of the big things that caught Detillier's eye.
“For three quarters, the Falcons weren't [just] winning the game; they were dominating,” Detillier said. “They were winning up front, in the trenches. Yet, at the end, it came apart on them.”
“What shocked me was their defensive line, which is talented,” Detillier continued. “They got beat up front, manhandled for three quarters and did not play play well at all. That was the surprise.”
In the end, though, the Saints rallied; and the Falcons choked. Even after giving up the lead, Atlanta still had a chance to get the win with a 63 yard field goal attempt for their former Pro Bowl kicker Younghoe Koo. We'll never know how close Koo would have been, however.
Saints defensive lineman Payton Turner won up front and blocked the kick.