The Atlanta Falcons don’t know how to play the New Orleans Saints without creating a dramatic, nerve-wracking, heart-stopping contest, and that’s to our collective detriment. In this one, Atlanta had repeated opportunities to salt the game away that they could not take advantage of, owing to plays that came up short, defensive stops that didn’t materialize, and calls that didn’t go their way. That left them down a point with Younghoe Koo needing to make a 58 yard field goal attempt to win, the kind of outcome that only happens when you make far too many mistakes.
But because life can be beautiful and Younghoe Koo is capable of greatness, we got to be happy on this Sunday afternoon. Koo hit his 58 yard field goal try against the odds and the Falcons walked out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a 26-24 win over the hated Saints, the kind of gut punch that not only broke the career wins tie between these two franchises, but also evened their records in 2024. It was a frequently dumb, often frustrating game, but it ended in glory. Against the Saints, that’s all that matters, and I was almost in tears of joy when I saw that one go through.
Here’s the full drive-by-drive recap of the game you just watched.
1st Quarter
The Falcons began the game with the ball, and it was a touchback. We kicked things off with a two yard gain up the middle for Bijan Robinson, and then a quick swing pass to Bijan picked up a first down, with a picked up holding flag on the play. Kirk Cousins then took a deep shot to Drake London that was a little , but Alontae Taylor was draped all over him and he couldn’t bring it in. On second down, a bullet pass to Kyle Pitts was dropped as he was hit, but Cousins came back to London over the middle on third down for a first down. Robinson then picked up a yard on first down, and then Cousins zipped one over the middle for a first down to Ray-Ray McCloud, but it was called back owing to a 15 yard penalty on Matthew Bergeron. A quick pass to McCloud then got about five yards, and then another quick pass to Bijan picked up eight yards, setting up a 4th and 11. The Falcons punted, but the fair catch was bobbled and fell into the end zone, and KhaDarel Hodge fell on it for a touchdown. 7-0 Falcons.
After a touchback, Derek Carr swung out a quick pass to Chris Olave, who zoomed for about 15 yards. Alvin Kamara then took it about four yards, and then Carr once again threw a quick one to Olave that Mike Hughes stopped short of a first down. Taysom Hill then took it for a first down. A quick swing pass to Kamara picked up three yards, and then Kamara was able to cut back into the middle of the field for a first down, and a holding call on Kentavius Street did not help matters. Hill then picked up three yards. A quick swing pass to Shaheed got the Saints close to the end zone, but Jessie Bates threw a hurdling Shaheed out of bounds. Hill then ran it in for an easy touchdown as the Saints tied things up. 7-7 game.
A quick swing pass to McCloud went for four yards. A second down pass to London was in his hands but jarred loose by a big hit, and on third down Cousins found McCloud on the sideline for a 14 yard pickup. A pass interference penalty was declined. Tyler Allgeier then rumbled for seven yards, and then Cousins threw an interception to Paulson Adebo over the middle after McCloud fell on the route. Turnover, and a big yargh from me.
Olave was taken down after an eight yard catch, and then Kamara picked up about eight on the carry. Shaheed then picked up six before Hughes took him down. Hill then took a toss for about two yards, and Kamara was taken down after a yard, coming up just short of a first down. Carr then handed it off to Hill for a first down on the fourth down try, and then Carr hit Shaheed for about five yards. Kamara then picked up a yard.
2nd Quarter
A short pass to Mason Tipton (?) got the first down. Jamaal Williams then took it five yards up the middle, and then Taysom Hill went into the end zone basically untouched with great blocking up front. 14-7, Saints, yarrrrgh.
McCloud took the return to about the 23 yard line. Bijan then took it seven yards on first down, and then got it up the middle to pick up six yards. Cousins then took a sideline shot to Darnell Mooney for 25 yards. A quick throw to Kyle Pitts picked up a few yards before he got rocked, but an offensive pass interference call on Drake London backed it up. The pass over the middle to London gained 14 yards back, and under pressure, Cousins lofted it to London but too high for the catch to be made. A quick out to London then saw him dive and come up just short of a first down—it certainly looked like a first on replay, but there was no challenge—setting up a fourth down try near the Saints 30. A false start on Ryan Neuzil moved it back from 4th and 1 to 4th and 6. Younghoe Koo came on for the 53 yard try, and of course he nailed it. 14-10 Saints.
Jamaal Williams took the return to about the 30. Carr then scrambled for five yards after pressure came into the pocket. Kamara then rolled for a first down, picking up about seven yards. A fake to Kamara that was flipped to Shaheed got only about three yards, thanks in part to good instincts and pursuit from James Smith-Williams. On the next play, Matthew Judon got his hands up and tipped the Carr pass into the air, and Troy Andersen settled under it, picked it off, and then turned on the jets to return it for a touchdown, leaving multiple Saints in the dirt. 17-14 Falcons!!
Shaheed took it to the 36, with Antonio Hamilton suffering what looked like a mild injury on the return. Kamara then took it about 15 yards. Williams then picked up about three, and then another four yards on second down. On third down, Kamara tried to get outside and was met by Andersen and multiple defenders then cleaned it up, leading to the end of the drive. Punt.
Robinson took it a yard or two on first down, and then Matthew Bergeron was flagged again to back Atlanta up. Robinson then took it for a yard or two again, and Cousins got rid of it under pressure to McCloud for about a ten yard gain and a 3rd and 5. A quick pass to Robinson saw him leave a defender in the dirt and keep going for almost 30 yards. A low pass to London was dug out of the dirt by the receiver for a catch (or that was the call on the field), but the Saints challenged and it was reversed. A quick pass to London went for just four yards, with Alontae Taylor once again doing a nice job of bringing down the big receiver. The Falcons then wound the clock down to the two minute warning without running a play. Cousins then tried to force one in on third down that thankfully fell incomplete, given there were two defenders nearby. Punt, with Shaheed taking a fair catch without fumbling it this time just past the 10 yard line.
Kamara took it about seven yards before Andersen tackled him. On second down, Carr fired one to Olave for a first down, but New Orleans finally had their first called penalty with an illegal formation that backed them up five yards. Judon came in hot but wasn’t quite able to get to Carr, who got it to Kamara for a first down. Another pass to Kamara fell incomplete, with Andersen flying in to try to pick it off. On the next play, pressure came in and Carr threw a short one to Kamara, with Andersen tackling him after a few yards. A Matthew Judon penalty gave the Saints a 15 yard surplus. Carr was able to hit Shaheed for seven yards despite Richie Grant trying to break it up, and then pressure got home and Carr threw it incomplete to Juwan Johnson, who had a foot out of bounds when he caught it. Carr then threw it over the middle all wibbly-wobbly and it was nearly picked off by Justin Simmons. Punt.
Nine yards for Bijan on the first carry, and then the Falcons let it run down to halftime.
3rd Quarter
Shaheed’s kickoff return went to about the 30 yard line. Kamara then went zero yards as the Falcons defense swarmed him. On second down, a slant to Kamara went for a first down. A false start backed the Saints up a few yards, and under considerable pressure, Carr threw it downfield for 29 yards. He only got that throw off thanks to a hold on Trevor Penning, however, so that backed up New Orleans ten yards. A quick five yard pass to Shaheed after a Dee Alford tackle brought it to 2nd and 20, and then under pressure Carr dealt it to Kamara for another six yards. Mike Hughes then took out Juwan Johnson after maybe five yards to ensure the Saints had to punt.
Avery Williams caught the fair catch at the 10 yard line. Cousins didn’t find an open man, tried to scramble, and eventually threw it away. On second down, he took a deep sideline shot to Darnell Mooney, who made an unreal catch despite being interfered with most of the way through his route. On the next play, Cousins was able to just get rid of it under pressure to Robinson, but it only got a yard. He then fired one in to Kyle Pitts, but it was Marshon Lattimore knocking the ball out on the play. On third down, Cousins threw a short one to Allgeier that seemed like it was doomed to be short of a first down, but Allgeier displayed impressive balance and effort to bully his way to a new set of downs. Allgeier then took the handoff for 11 yards and another first down, followed by another six yards. Then Cousins tried Mooney but couldn’t get him owing to tight coverage from Adebo. A screen to Mooney was blown up immediately for a loss. Younghoe Koo was able to salvage the drive with a field goal, and it was 20-14 Falcons.
A quick pass from Carr to Chris Olave got the Saints eight yards. Kamara then tried to spin out of contact and was taken down for no gain by Ta’Quon Graham. Carr was able to roll away from pressure and find a first down to Shaheed. A desperation pass to Williams then picked up close to five yards, but A.J. Terrell was hurt on the play. Carr then found a stumbling Olave for another first down. Then Carr found a wide open Shaheed down the sideline for about 25 yards. James Smith-Williams was able to drop Kamara for a loss of three yards on the next play. Then Carr was sacked by Dee Alford on the next play. A short pass to Kamara was decisively ended by a big tackle from Hughes, setting up a field goal try. 20-17 Falcons.
McCloud returned it to the 19. Allgeier then took a toss about seven yards on first down, and then rolled out to find McCloud for a first down.
4th Quarter
Tyler Allgeier rumbled for a first down, and then another one plus about five yards. On the next carry there was contact in the backfield and he got about three yards. Cousins then fired one over the middle to get London for 12 yards and a first down. Bijan Robinson took a screen pass to the end zone for a touchdown, but unfortunately a (questionable) flag on Jake Matthews brought it back. Robinson then got a couple of yards on first down, and then Cousins was hit and fumbled, with Matthew Bergeron falling on it. He then managed to come back and find London for a pickup of about 16 yards. Koo hit the field goal try to make it 23-17 Falcons.
Touchback. Kamara picked up about eight yards on first down, and then Kamara got a first down and four yards. Carr then threw it about 20 yards to Shaheed. Williams then caught a pass for six yards, with Andersen in on the tackle. Kamara was able to pick up about a yard on the next run outside. Then Carr found Olave for a first down on third down. On first down, he tried Olave in the end zone, but Olave caught it out of bounds. Unfortunately, Kamara cut inside for 12 yards and a first down. On first down, Kamara picked up about five yards, and the Falcons got called for two separate penalties to give the Saints yet more yardage. Then Kamara was tackled for no gain by Andersen, and then Carr sailed one out of the back of the end zone under pressure from Kaden Elliss and company. Kamara was swallowed up on the third down run by the defense. The Saints stayed on the field to go for it on fourth down. It was an incomplete pass to Shaheed, working against Dee Alford, who had excellent coverage to force the incompletion. Turnover on downs.
Allgeier took the carry inside the ten on first down to pick up inches. Cousins then tried to hit Pitts, but Pitts tripped on the route. A quick pass to Allgeier got about eight yards, but he got out of bounds to stop the clock. Shaheed then took it to about the Atlanta 45 yard line, and Andersen had to be helped off the field.
A false start to start things off. Carr then fired one to Olave over the middle, but an illegal motion call on the Saints wiped that gain out. Carr then found Kamara on 1st and 20 for three yards, with Lorenzo Carter making the shoestring tackle. Shaheed then caught one and was knocked out of bounds by Terrell after 11 yards. Carr then found Olave on the sideline for a first down. Juwan Johnson then caught a pass for eight yards. The swing pass to Kamara was too low and went incomplete. Carr then found Olave over the middle as the Falcons blitzed, bringing the Saints inside the five yard line, and a Carr over the top attempt went nowhere. Carr was once again stopped just short on second down, but a Kamara handoff got in on the next play. 24-23 Saints after the extra point.
A knee in the end zone brought the Falcons out to the 30. McCloud caught it for five yards and had to hustle back, and then a false start on Atlanta backed them up five yards. Then Cousins took a sideline shot to Darnell Mooney that earned a 30 yard defensive pass interference call (and it was legitimate). Cousins then tried it downfield to London but it was overthrown and incomplete. Another shot to Mooney downfield unfortunately was not close enough for the speedy receiver to reel in. The third down throw to Mooney was then broken up, and Koo was on for the 58 yard attempt, and Koo hit it for the longest field goal in Mercedes-Benz Stadium history, and perhaps the single most clutch kick of his storied career. Falcons 26-24, and after the Saints kickoff return went nowhere fast, it stands.
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