The 11-1 Falcons leave their nemesis with egg on its face
Christopher Owens plays a little pass defense. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
The plot for this one was, er, delicious. Would the Falcons lay another egg against their nemesis? Or would they put game away early – render it over easy, so to speak – and exit sunny side up?
The hated Saints arrived in town Wednesday to an airport egging of the team bus. This became national news, and it only added to the curious history of this strangest of rivalries. (Or non-rivalry, as the Falcon-turned-Saint Curtis Lofton averred this week.) From Big Ben Right to The Yolk’s On You — let’s see Cowboys-Redskins top THAT.
No matter the buildup, Falcons-Saints is always a frenzied affair. The way Thursday’s game began, you’d have sworn the Georgia Bulldogs had donned a different red-and-black uniform and showed up two days early. The Falcons ran so fast and hit so hard and gesticulated with such force that they appeared to be wide-eyed collegians, not jaded pros.
The trouble with working with such early fervor in an NFL game is that fervor tends to flame out after a quarter or so, which is precisely what happened here. The Falcons led 17-0 after 21 minutes but were outrageously lucky to escape the first half with a 10-point lead.
Drew Brees, who lives to beat the Falcons, had stopped — at least for the moment — throwing the ball to the other team, as you figured he would. (Say what you will about the Saints, but they do have a world-class quarterback.) But New Orleans called its final timeout of the half with 2:24 remaining, and then Jimmy Graham was called for offensive interference to negate a Darren Spoles touchdown. The half ended before the Saints could array themselves for a field goal, and that was the first of several let-offs for the Falcons.
“That was huge,” Mike Smith said afterward. “We got off the field with no points, and we were reeling a bit.”
The unsteadiness continued. Brees kept driving his team in the third quarter, but the Falcons’ defense kept forcing field goals. Finally Brees did it again: His pass was intercepted by strong safety William Moore, and the Falcons moved, if only slightly, to the field goal that pushed the lead back to seven points.
It’s hard to say where the Falcons’ offense went. It pounded the league’s worst defense for 140 first-quarter yards, but over the final three periods the Saints – who cannot, we must emphasize, play a lick of D — stopped almost everything the Falcons tried. Key stat: Through three quarters, the Falcons were 0-for-7 on third-down conversions. But the offense roused itself late, and Matt Bryant’s 55-yard field goal with 4 1/2 minutes left was the clincher.
This wasn’t the first time the Falcons had authored such a halting prime-time performance. They started fast against Denver but were reduced to holding on at the end, and against Dallas they’d relied on an unassuming defense to keep the game in place long enough for the offense to wake up and win it. Toss those two games into a blender and you wound up with this one: Fast start, sluggish middle, better on D than on O.
Once again, the Falcons failed to deliver the kind of comprehensive thrashing of a brand-name opponent that would have quelled some of that they-aren’t-as-good-as-their-record chatter. And yet: Once again, the Falcons won. They fought off the Saints and moved within a Tampa Bay loss on Sunday of clinching the NFC South with a month to spare. They won their second heated game in a five-day span, and the more they win the more we need to stop asking just how they do it.
Because here’s how they do it: By being a team. Sometimes the offense bails out the defense, and sometimes vice versa. (Who would have dreamed William Moore would catch more passes in this game that Roddy White?) But every week except one the result, as Mike Smith is wont to say, has been to his team’s liking. No matter how you fry or poach or scramble it, 11-1 is 11-1.
And beating the Saints would feel good even if this team were 1-11. This marked only the third victory over New Orleans in 10 tries for the Dimitroff/Smith/Ryan troika. Better still, it reclassified the Saints’ playoff chances – they’re 5-7 – as a forlorn hope. Take that, non-rivals!
So maybe the game itself was only half as dominating as Falcons fans would have hoped. Big deal. They beat the Saints. They intercepted FIVE Brees passes. They broke the record streak for games with a touchdown pass by the quarterback who’d kept throwing late in the Superdome blowout last year to set another record. Only one team left the field with egg on its face, and it wasn’t the 11-1 Falcons.
Further reading: The powerful Falcons, Brees’ INTS and the Saints’ botch.
By Mark Bradley
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212 comments Add your comment
meme
November 30th, 2012
12:21 am
hey 4bb4 I gotta massive W for ya ta shine up! get busy girlfriend!! n plenty mo for hiriamtaint!
bowfan
November 30th, 2012
12:21 am
If 49r’s defense didn’t score two pick sixes again Brees, NO would have won 21-17. SF and the wonderkid’s offense didn’t score as many points against the Saints as the Falcons did.
I’d say the Falcons are looking pretty good right now.
Whether or not ESPN / FOX / NBC experts will admit it yet, you 2012 Falcons have EARNED respect!
aint hater
November 30th, 2012
12:23 am
hiriamtaint where are you??????????? where are you seeeeeennnnnn?????? no shows when they suc……..
I Threw the Egg
November 30th, 2012
12:28 am
Turned the 100 million dollar into Brett Favre.. Hahahahahahahah.. int’s ….int’s
jaz
November 30th, 2012
12:29 am
Give the “D” the game ball! After watching the game I expected to see the game stats all in favor of the Saints, but after viewing the ajc posting I was surprised to see how well the Birds did. It is amazing that at 11-1 we can’t get any respect..just look at the rest of the records. The O & D played their hearts out. Great game!
meme
November 30th, 2012
12:29 am
all I got for techduck is a schooling HAHAHAHA DUMBASS!!
I Threw the Egg
November 30th, 2012
12:31 am
100 MILLION DOLLAR MAN CAN’T MANAGE THE CLOCK… HAHAHAHAHAH…
I WANT WINNERS!
November 30th, 2012
12:31 am
Great win….but Houston…..we have a problem…….when the entire secondary including the Nickle back has more individual tackles than any one of your three linebackers……..WE HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ENTER OAKLAND……….Thank you Dennis Allen………If the rumors are correct, ROLANDO McClain should hit waivers tomorrow……..And we desperately need him! We haven’t stopped a power runner since Jimmy Carter was president! PLEASE GET THIS GUY!!!!!!!!! Stopping the Run is McClain’s bread and butter…..He won a National title at Bama and can win a Superbowl in Atlanta. The Akeem Dent experiment hasn’t worked….6′3″ and 255….he can plug the middle…..We have a long week to get him on board and ready to play……and for those of you worried about his propensity for firearms, I have two defenses for that: 1 He’s an Alabama boy in LA (I think he also saw the Rodney King tape on CNN) and 2 Ray Lewis likes guns too and if he can be half as good as Ray……..It’s SUPERBOWL BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1lovefalcons20
November 30th, 2012
12:32 am
THE AINTS MISERY IS MY PLEASURE!!!WERE CELEBRATING AND DANCING THE PEACHTREE SHUFFLE….AINTS GOT EGGED AND A && WHIPPING ALL IN THE SAME DAY..ALL IS GOOD IN ATLANTA
gtmike
November 30th, 2012
12:33 am
Lofton is going to enjoy the playoffs…at least in Madden.
I WANT WINNERS!
November 30th, 2012
12:34 am
Great win….but Houston…..we have a problem…….when the entire secondary including the Nickle back has more individual tackles than any one of your three linebackers……..WE HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ENTER OAKLAND……….Thank you Dennis Allen………If the rumors are correct, ROLANDO McClain should hit waivers tomorrow……..And we desperately need him! We haven’t stopped a power runner since Jimmy Carter was president! PLEASE GET THIS GUY!!!!!!!!! Stopping the Run is McClain’s bread and butter…..He won a National title at Bama and can win a Superbowl in Atlanta. The Akeem Dent experiment hasn’t worked….6′3″ and 255….he can plug the middle…..We have a long week to get him on board and ready to play……and for those of you worried about his propensity for firearms, I have two defenses for that: 1 He’s an Alabama boy in LA (I think he also saw the Rodney King tape on CNN) and 2 Ray Lewis likes guns too and if he can be half as good as Ray……..It’s SUPERBOWL BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh and you never look a gift horse in the mouth! Even if he played at Bama! SUPER BOWL!
Peter
November 30th, 2012
12:35 am
Defense wins championships……… This may be the start of something BIG !
playmeortrademe
November 30th, 2012
12:36 am
Falcons have the goods, they just have to play (and coach) for all four quarters instead of first and fourth. If they do I don’t think any other team in the NFL could hang with them except New England.
reality
November 30th, 2012
12:36 am
Bama 41
Dwags 17
David Smith
November 30th, 2012
12:37 am
Aint fans only come out when their team wins so it’s no surprise they are in hiding tonight.
spoon
November 30th, 2012
12:37 am
Great Falcons W!!!!! Broke Brees streak! Poor Alex at SF!
Dianne
November 30th, 2012
12:38 am
NFL Network once again are saying it’s not about the Falcons winning but how bad the Saints played…. did it even occur to them THE FALCONS DEFENSE caused the Saints to look so bad?
rlm
November 30th, 2012
12:38 am
As he says the Falcons are a team. Razzle Dazzle they ain’t. Winners they are. Do you want Hollywood players out for theirselves or real men playing together. Each week each man knows that he can be the hero. It is not just one man. The Saints lose by depending on Brees and not each one of them doing their job.
kingdaddy
November 30th, 2012
12:38 am
I think paperbags are coming back in fashion…for the 5-7 Aint’$…
realitydude
November 30th, 2012
12:39 am
This is a Falcons victory site..Go o bama talk w ur weak predictions.
KingDawg!
November 30th, 2012
12:41 am
Agree KingDaddy! Get ya sum 11-1!
kingdaddy
November 30th, 2012
12:41 am
Was that gash on the right side of Bree’s face new or old???
Whiznot
November 30th, 2012
12:42 am
I am the Eggman–Koo Koo Ka Choo, Koo Koo Ka Choo
Crawl back under a rock Brees.
78dawg
November 30th, 2012
12:43 am
I swear I could hear Munson calling this game. I respect Brees but his post-game gave no credit to the Falcons D. He said it was his fault, bad luck, yadda yadda but not a word about the Falcons D playing well. Well get on the egg bus Saints and go back to your sesspool puke and unrine city and suffer a while.
Panic fan
November 30th, 2012
12:43 am
With this win the falcons broke the chicken blood curse that has been 3 of only 4 losses at the dome the level of play gets better in different areas every week Think i read about OUR defense wanted to get more takeaways this week and no td for breezus GREAT TEAM WIN
kingdaddy
November 30th, 2012
12:44 am
There was a run on eggs in Atl. this evening…There will be a “paperbag” shortage in New Orleans tomorrow, lol…
Fan since 66
November 30th, 2012
12:44 am
Great win, even though I couldn’t watch it. Thanks NFL network for not allowing me to watch it over the net since I live in GA! A win is a win…but yet there are the ” yeah, it was a win but…” crowd. They wouldn’t be happy if you gave them a Superbowl ring wrapped up in a hundred dollar bill. I am happy that the Falcons can put together a record like this, winning the way they do. I don’t care how bad they beat the opponents, just that they do. These are my Falcons and I, for one, am darn proud of them!
Go Falcons!
Falcons Pick off Brees 5 Times, Beat Saints 23-13 – ABC News | Rss News Desk | Daily News Magazine
November 30th, 2012
12:45 am
[...] Reaction: Falcons 23, Saints 13ESPN (blog)Not-so-warm welcome for Saints in AtlantaThe Seattle TimesThe 11-1 Falcons leave their nemesis with egg on its faceAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog)Yahoo! Sports -NewsOK.com -NFL Newsall 1,387 news [...]
63dawgj
November 30th, 2012
12:49 am
Falcons = Rodney Dangerfield
Falcons are 11-1 and still don’t get no respect
drew
November 30th, 2012
12:50 am
Sweet win! We dat!
New Orleans should have thrown a challenge flag on that late fumble recovery/touchdown, then the refs wouldn’t have been able to review the play, giving the Saints the TD. Yeah, they’d be penalized on the kickoff, but they TD would have stood. Right?
archie
November 30th, 2012
12:50 am
11 0f 14 SAINT too shabby! You ATL fans need a win when it counts! in playoffs…LMAO
billybob
November 30th, 2012
12:50 am
Five picks, (most Brees has ever thrown) breaking his stings of games with tds and eliminating the saints from the playoffs. Pretty Good Night even if it was ugly at times.
5BrickBrees
November 30th, 2012
12:51 am
Good thing it’s not a rivalry. Broke Brees record for consecutive games throwing a touchdown. 5 almost 6 interceptions. PRETTY GOOD GAME!
Lesa
November 30th, 2012
12:52 am
So happy we won, but I was really afraid we’d throw this one away when our offense decided to take the 2nd half of the game off. The defense definitely won this one for us. So glad the Falcons were the team to break #9s “consecutive games with a TD pass” record. That’s what he gets for running his mouth so loudly before the game, bragging “we own this division and they know it.” Go home and take some Nyquil, Drew, and maybe you won’t have nightmares about all the interceptions you threw tonight, LOL.
welikebaseball2
November 30th, 2012
12:54 am
I am officially done with the “experts.” ALL I hear on NFL Network & ESPN is how the Falcons should’ve won by more…how the Falcons looked unimpressive. We can’t win for losing with these guys. First of all, had we lost they would have had a lots to say. But we won (by 10)…and they still have nothing but criticism. Second of all, there is NO team in the league without issues & things that need to be fixed. It’s getting to the point of outright, unprofessional, disrespect. I can’t watch this crap.
welikebaseball2
November 30th, 2012
12:56 am
Wait, are there actually Ain’ts trolls on the board…after we beat them by double digits & likely end their hopes of making the playoffs? LOL!!!
Brew Deess
November 30th, 2012
12:56 am
Eggciting!
Creaky
November 30th, 2012
12:59 am
The talking Dunderheads on the NFL network are already talking about how bad the Saints played. It’s like the Falcons defense wasn’t even on the field.It must have been phantoms intercepting those passes. I say if you could pull one of those Saints players to the side they would tell you that they just went through aNutcracker and it wasn’t very Suite.
archie
November 30th, 2012
1:05 am
Funny–wellike! u watchin Manchester United? Yahoo..Yall beat us by double digits? Great….you actin like a dog! 11 0f 14 brother.
Voice of Reason
November 30th, 2012
1:06 am
JOKE??? I suspect you are still reeling from Monday night …
ZACK
November 30th, 2012
1:19 am
WAY TO SCRAMBLE DAT AZZ DIRTY BIRDS! GOTTA WIN IT ALL GUYS! AND SALUTE TO TURNER FOR WAKING HIS AZZ UP. WE GOTTA HAVE IT!!!
gary32
November 30th, 2012
1:21 am
This season is mirroring the 1980 season….Falcons won some exciting games and had a prolific offense and the Bulldogs with Herschel won the National Championship against Notre Dame no less….this would be something except the Falcons need to finish the drill….what a glorious football season this is turning out to be….GO FALCONS…GO DAWGS!!!!!!
welikebaseball2
November 30th, 2012
1:28 am
So, let me get this straight…if we win the next 6, you’ll say “11 of 20 brother.” LOL…I get it…when the present looks bleak, talk about the past. Yep, that’s the stuff losers are made of!
rev jess
November 30th, 2012
1:28 am
hey milk-toast…get off our wagaon we bought for the Braves and Falcon si 1966, pay for you ride by shutting up and eating your popcorn
Great Falconi
November 30th, 2012
1:30 am
Willie McGinest sounded like a total *** on NFL Network tonight. I remember the Pats scabbing by in a couple of their title seasons. There’s no shame in winning games like that. Better to be winning them than losing them. Besides, you’d think a defensive player would enjoy watching a defense pick off a Hall of Famer five times in one game. Instead, it’s “oh, the Saints are a bad team.” Funny how everybody was picking the Saints to beat us in New Orleans AND in Atlanta tonight. If they own us, how did we win?
I prefer more diversity of opinion. I don’t need to hear about how great the Falcons are, but I also don’t need to hear about how they aren’t any good. Maybe Atlanta is the Blanche Dubois of the NFL, but give me an unimpressive W (in some aspects) over an impressive L any day of the week.
rev jess
November 30th, 2012
1:31 am
Enter your comments here
rick day
November 30th, 2012
1:33 am
Interesting, the Dome was largely bereft of Saint’s fans. Typically our loudest rivals in the Dome, most of them, being blue collar types, had to be a work in the morning. They had to stay home. Uh huh.
It must really suck being a Saint’s fan…
Thank you Falcons D. Thank you Asanti!!!!
November 30th, 2012
1:34 am
After Smitty addressed the team in the locker room. Did anyone notice what Moore (who played his butt off tonight along with the entire Defense) said at the end? He said family on 3. That’s the difference – these guys play for each other. Did anyone notice when Asanti was hurt how they all came up to him and patted him on the back – basically saying “We’ll pick you up – we’ve got your back”. These guys lay it out there. They play for each other. They pick each other up. That is why football is the ultimate TEAM sport. Thanks to Asanti for giving all he had – the man has basically been playing with only one good shoulder for many games now! Thanks to this TEAM that plays together with one goal – keep winning football games.
falco1
November 30th, 2012
1:35 am
the falcons are on fire—mark this down—aTL will beat SF and win the NFC and play NE in the super bowl!!!
Dr. Warren
November 30th, 2012
1:54 am
3 attempts at one yard on the goal line away from 12-0. Had Turner punched it through at New Orleans, there’d be serious talk of going undefeated right now.