Falcons film review: Inside 3 key plays from dominant win over Saints

FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski watched film of the team’s 45-24 win over the New Orleans Saints on the plane ride home Monday night.

Stefanski’s assessment?

“Pleased in a bunch of different areas,” he said Tuesday. “I thought execution was at a high level across the board.”

Here’s an in-depth look at three key plays that powered the Falcons (2-2) to their biggest win over the Saints (1-3) since 1999.

Bijan Robinson’s 59-yard rushing touchdown

The Falcons brought receiver Olamide Zaccheaus in motion from left to right, which caused a minor shift from the Saints’ linebackers and safeties, and tight end Charlie Woerner pulled to the right as well, adding another layer of eye candy.

But this play stems from four key pieces: center Ryan Neuzil, left guard Matthew Bergeron, receiver Drake London and, of course, running back Bijan Robinson.

Bergeron latched onto Saints defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd, and with the help of a brief shove from Neuzil, Bergeron uprooted Shepherd and created a sizable hole for Robinson to hit. And after aiding Bergeron, Neuzil caught just enough of Saints linebacker Danny Stutsman to prevent him from getting to Robinson.

London, meanwhile, froze cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, who was out of position and didn’t identify the running play fast enough to recover.

Robinson saw his crease and took off. He hit 21.78 miles per hour, the fastest speed by a ball-carrier this season, according to ESPN, and ran untouched into the end zone.

“It was just me trusting my eyes, trusting my angle I was trying to attack, and I just stayed in it,” Robinson said postgame. “They made the hole right there on that backside, and I just took it, and there it was, man. I was just like, ‘I can’t get caught.’”

Bergeron said he and Neuzil “got pretty good movement,” and Robinson did the rest.

“Bijan just did what Bijan does,” Bergeron said. “Took off and scored.”

The touchdown came on the third play from scrimmage, a crowd-silencing run that set the tone for the remainder of the night — and accomplished a significant goal for the Falcons’ offense. Robinson and running backs coach Michael Pitre spoke all week about the significance of silencing the crowd early and making a “pin drop” play in the first quarter.

Robinson did exactly that.

“For it to come after that third play, it was pretty special,” Robinson said. “We just went back to the sideline and said, ‘That’s what we talked about.’ Make sure that we put it on them early and just make sure we execute the right way so the crowd doesn’t become an issue for us.”

C.J. Henderson’s takeaway

The Falcons’ defensive line largely blew up the Saints’ run play. Defensive end Zach Harrison created immediate knock-back, and as Saints running back Kendre Miller attacked the left side of the line of scrimmage, defensive tackle LaCale London grabbed his legs.

Miller would’ve gained a minuscule three yards. For a moment, he did. Then, cornerback C.J. Henderson reached in and ripped the ball away. He didn’t punch it out. He quite literally took it from Miller’s arms right before his knee hit the ground.

Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski preaches turnover margin, and the team emphasizes fumbles each day in practice. Henderson’s play — while uncommon in nature — follows principles the Falcons taught all summer and continue to emphasize each week.

“Oh, yeah, we worked on that throughout the week,” Henderson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after the game. “Our turnover circuits and stuff is gonna ball out, and coach talked about getting some turnovers, so try to find a way just to get the ball.”

The officials initially ruled Miller down, but Stefanski threw his challenge flag for the first time as the Falcons’ head coach. Henderson was confident it was a fumble, but he was relatively unsure the call would be overturned.

“I felt like I’d tell you from the jump,” Henderson said, “but I don’t know which way it was gonna go, so.”

After review, Stefanski’s challenge proved successful. The Falcons took over with great field position and scored a touchdown to take a 14-0 lead. They never looked back, and for the first time this season, they won the turnover battle.

Jahan Dotson’s 31-yard receiving touchdown

The Falcons spent the first 50 minutes of game action setting this up. They hammered under-center runs and complemented them with play-action bootlegs, and this appeared to be the latter for the first two seconds of the play.

Then, the route tree quickly showed otherwise. Chris Blair, perhaps the team’s best blocking receiver, didn’t release. He ran to the backfield to chip Saints star defensive end Chase Young, who quickly disposed of Blair but was a split second late to hit quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Meanwhile, tight end Kyle Pitts was entirely uncovered on the right sideline. Penix never looked that far, and he didn’t need to, because receiver Jahan Dotson created significant separation against Saints corner Quincy Riley.

At the top of his crossing route, Dotson pressed to the outside, which forced Riley to flip his hips toward the sideline. Then Dotson broke back inside. Riley never recovered. Penix hit Dotson in stride, and the Falcons extended their lead from two touchdowns to three.