NEW ORLEANS – Matt Ryan’s last and longest of several deep completions Sunday afternoon spared the Atlanta Falcons from another infamous collapse.
Ryan hit Cordarrelle Patterson for a 64-yard gain with a minute left to set up Younghoe Koo’s 29-yard field goal as time expired, and Atlanta defeated the mistake-prone New Orleans Saints after allowing the home team to wipe out an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit.
“We just like to give our fans a heart attack, just keep them on their toes to make sure they’re paying attention,” Patterson joked. “We wanted to put them away early, but it’s the Saints; they’ve got a great team over there. They fought till the end. We did a better job. We got the win – that’s all that matters.”
Ryan passed for 343 yards, connecting twice with Olamide Zaccheaus for touchdowns, and the veteran quarterback also ran for a score on a bootleg as the Falcons (4-4) snapped the Saints’ three-game winning streak and prevented New Orleans (5-3) from moving into a tie with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2) atop the NFC South standings. The Carolina Panthers are at the bottom of the division at 4-5.
“I felt good after that one,” said Ryan, who helped the Falcons halt a three-game series losing streak against their longtime division rivals. “I was excited. We needed to make a play. We needed to win that game. I’m proud of the guys for getting the job done.”