The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WHERE LOSS PUTS FALCONS
Team can still make playoffs with win next week against Carolina
The playoffs begin now for the Falcons.
After a slovenly performance by the offense, the Falcons (9-6) lost to the Saints 23-13 before 73,188 rabid fans on Sunday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
With a chance to earn a playoff berth and stay in the race for the NFC South title, the offense, which carried the Falcons to the Super Bowl and Matt Ryan to the MVP award last season, imploded.
Ryan and his crew had six firsthalf penalties, three failed redzone trips — two of them inside the 5-yard line — and a key fumble by running back Devonta Freeman at the Saints’ 2-yard line early in the third quarter.
The Saints (11-4)leaned on running backs Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram, who easily outpaced the output of the Falcons’ running back duo of Freeman and Tevin Coleman: 156 total yards from scrimmage to 108.
The Falcons didn’t score a touchdown until Ryan connected with Coleman for a 14-yard touchdown pass with 2:40 left.
The Falcons can clinch the NFC’s final playoff berth with
Offense couldn’t get into a rhythm as penalties mounted.
a win over Carolina in the regular-season finale Sunday. The game likely will be moved to prime time by the NFL.
Carolina can still win the division with a victory, combined with a Saints loss to Tampa Bay in a season finale. New Orleans has the tiebreaker with Carolina by virtue of sweeping the season series.
A loss to the Panthers would drop the Falcons to 9-7 and could leave them out of the playoffs.
It’s likely they would face either the Saints or the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs. If the Falcons finish tied with Sunday’s Dallas-Seattle winner, the Falcons have the head-to-head tiebreaker because they defeated both teams in the regular season.
Seattle hosts Arizona and Dallas plays at Philadelphia in their regular-season finales. Even with a loss by the Falcons against Carolina, they could still wiggle into the playoffs if Sunday’s Seattle-Dallas winner also ends up at 9-7.
But if the Seattle-Dallas winner wins its season finale and the Falcons lose, Atlanta would be out.
The Saints, who lost 20-17 to the Falcons on Dec. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, methodically pulled away for the victory.
Saints running back Mark Ingram scored on a 26-yard touchdown run to put them up 20-3 in the third quarter.
The Saints put their stamp on this game early as they broke open a tight game just before halftime, intercepting a pass with less than a minute to go and turning it into a 54-yard touchdown pass and 13-0 lead.
The Falcons’ offense couldn’t get into a rhythm as penalties mounted. Then momentum shifted quickly in the third quarter.
On the Saints first possession of the second half, linebacker Deion Jones intercepted a Drew Brees pass
and returned it 41 yards to the Saints’ 2 yard line. But two plays later Freeman’s fumble was recovered by Manti Te’o and the momentum shift died.
Later in the fourth quarter, Freeman was stuffed on fourth-and-goal from the 1 after an apparent touchdown catch by Julio Jones was ruled to be short of the end zone.
Jones caught a pass for 9 yards on the first play of the game against the Saints to move past Terance Mathis into second place on the franchise’s all-time time receptions list.
Falcons left guard Andy Levitre, who’s fighting back from a triceps injury, was declared inactive. Ben Garland
started in his place. Coach Dan Quinn and offensive line coach Chris Morgan must have decided that Levitre couldn’t play with a weakened left arm.
Falcons tight end Levine Toilolo, a key player in the rushing attack, suffered a knee injury in the first half and did not return. With Toilolo out, the Falcons played the rest of the game with one tight end, Austin Hooper, because Eric Saubert was inactive.