ATLANTA – Matt Ryan gave the football one last heave Sunday afternoon, hoping Julio Jones would be able to make a miracle play for the Atlanta Falcons.
It didn’t happen.
Ryan and Jones couldn’t connect on a 39-yard Hail Mary pass as the football fell to the end zone turf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and Atlanta lost 21-16 to the New Orleans Saints, who clinched a playoff berth with their ninth straight victory and the Chicago Bears’ loss to the Detroit Lions.
The Falcons’ possession that preceded the desperate drive, however, was hard to figure, with Todd Gurley getting stopped for no gain on one run and stuffed for a 7-yard loss on the next. That series ended with Ryan and Jones unable to connect on a 20-yarder in the end zone on fourth down.
It was that kind of day for the Falcons (4-8), who have lost six of seven to the Saints (10-2), who strengthened their position in the rivalry and on top of the NFC South standings. New Orleans coach Sean Payton’s record against Atlanta is now 20-8.
“They’re a good defense, that’s for sure,” Ryan said after completing 19 of 39 passes for 273 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. “We needed to be in more third-and-shorts to give us better opportunities. We needed to play better. It makes for a tough situation against them.”
About the only good development for the Falcons was kicker Younghoe Koo making three field goals. He improved to 7-for-7 from 50 yards or more this season and stretching his streak of attempts without a miss to 24 in a row overall.
On New Orleans’ second possession, Grady Jarrett’s seemingly innocuous roughing-the-passer penalty on third down gave the visitors new life. Taysom Hill followed with a 43-yard scramble, evading linebacker Mykal Walker at the sideline to keep the long run alive. The Falcons were guilty of blown coverage on the next snap as Hill and wide-open Tre’Quan Smith hooked up for a 15-yard touchdown pass and the game’s first points.
Hill, a versatile threat who is starting at quarterback with prolific veteran Drew Brees on injured reserve, threw his first touchdown pass since his senior season at BYU in 2016. The second touchdown pass of his NFL career was nearly as easy as the first, an 11-yarder to tight end Jared Cook for a 14-6 lead.
After Alvin Kamara scored on an 11-yard run to stretch the Saints’ lead to 21-9 in the third quarter, the Falcons were nearly undone early in the fourth when Ryan lost a fumble at the Atlanta 18. However, Steven Means then forced Hill to lose the football, and Deion Jones recovered it for Atlanta at the 15.
That gave the Falcons their last chance to get in the game, and Ryan responded by driving the offense 85 yards for a touchdown pass to Russell Gage, cutting the deficit to 21-16. Atlanta’s offense fell short, however, on the ensuing possession when Ryan and Jones couldn’t connect in the end zone and the Falcons turned it over on downs.
The final pass came as time expired.
“We knew we had an opportunity to win the football game,” interim coach Raheem Morris said. “Matt threw a nice throw to give Julio a chance. The ball fell to the ground, and it just didn’t work out. You’ve got to give the Saints credit. They fought through and won an ugly game.”
The offense looked nothing like the unit that could do little wrong in a 43-6 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders just seven days earlier, but the Saints have a stingier defense, one that hadn’t allowed a touchdown in 14 consecutive quarters before Ryan and Gage connected.
Ryan was sacked three times and hit eight in all. It was a marked improvement from the eight sacks he sustained two weeks earlier in a 24-9 loss in New Orleans, but he still was victimized by the Saints playing such tight coverage through most of the game.
“We needed to be more productive in the first half this week,” Ryan said. “We walked away with too many field goals and hope we can do better next week.”
Jones never got his hands on the last prayer of a pass.
“I got hit when the ball was coming down,” Jones said. “If I would’ve have touched the ball, I would’ve come down with it and it would’ve been a different story.”