NEW ORLEANS — Here’s what the Falcons had to say after the 21-18 loss to the Saints on Sunday:
DRAKE LONDON, wide receiver
On the game: “I don’t think that it went good at the end of the game. We are trying to get W’s, and obviously, that’s ... something that didn’t happen. Part of my play was the reason for it. Obviously, I’m not happy about it.”
On what happened on the play: “He poked out a fumble.”
On Desmond Ridder’s play: “I think they went great for the circumstances that he was put in.”
On their connection: “It was our first (actual) game. We’ll go back and watch the film and figure it out.”
On lying on the field after the fumble: “I’m not going to be all happy about it. I just sold the game. It’s hard. I’m a competitive person, and for me to let the team down, let the fans down, it just (hurts). I’m not going to sit here and be all smiles … about it. It’s a hard one to swallow. A bitter one.”
A.J. TERRELL, cornerback
On defensive coordinator Dean Pees: “We were just trying to hold it down for Coach P, do what he expects us to do, what we’re supposed to do. Coach (Frank) Bush was confident in what he was calling, making sure he had us in the right position. We just had to make more plays than we did.”
On Bush: “With Coach Bush coming in, you could hardly tell any drop-off. Throughout the game he made good calls; we just got to execute them.”
RASHAAN EVANS, linebacker
On the game: “It’s still unfortunate that you lose a game, another tight game again. All you can do right now is look forward to these next couple of games and try to finish as best as you can. It’s a short week, so we have to get back moving immediately and give ourselves and hopefully place ourselves in a good position at the end of the season.”
On the Saints: “Once we figured out how they were going and how they were moving, I think we started to get on the roll. You always want to start fast and not give them an opportunity to be able to win games. Any time that we can hold offenses to at least 21 or lower or even 14 or lower, we at least give the offense a chance to win the game. As a defense, we just have got to continue to move forward and in the direction that we are moving. Continue to keep getting turnovers and doing the little things like that to keep offenses off the field.”
On Pees: “It’s always a big blow whenever your defensive coordinator goes down. My prayers go out to him as well. He’s a guy that we depend on as a defense to make the calls and put us in position. I think Frank Bush did a heck of a job as far as moving into his place. I think, just overall, Dean is (of) the age now, to be able to do the things he’s doing at a high level. It always hurts to have a guy like that go down.”
LORENZO CARTER, outside linebacker
On Pees: “It was unfortunate. We said our prayers for him. I think the coaches did a good job of making sure things were on the same page.”
On the defense settling down: “Just being ourselves. We had to settle in and play our brand of football. Just tighten up the little things. That’s what we did. That’s all you can ask.”
On losing another one-score game: “It’s tough, but it’s our job. We have to do what we have to do to put ourselves in position to win. Accept the results and getting ready to go back and start next week.”
On the playoff situation: “I mean, right now, we just have to take it one game at a time. Playoffs, if we get in, we get in. But right now, we just have to win. That’s it.”
CHRIS LINDSTROM, offensive guard
On if he had to settle down Ridder: “No, not at all. I think it goes to the competitor and the mindset and everything that the coaches have said about Des. … He’s a steady presence. It didn’t start out the way that we wanted it to. But his mindset didn’t change. His energy didn’t change. He was communicating with us. We were doing the same thing with him. Just again, I think that’s a testament to him and his mindset. We were never really riding that roller coaster of emotions during the game. He was staying in the moment. He did a really good job with that.”
On the final drive: “He did a great job of communicating in that high-leverage, high-pressure situation.”
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
TYLER ALLGEIER, running back
On his 43-yard run: “It was good. It was a big momentum swing. It was good to get our offense in scoring position.”
On running with power: “Oh, yeah, for sure. Not just me, but I think the offensive line and wide receivers were blocking their tails off. That’s what really sprung my runs and (Cordarrelle Patterson’s) runs.”
On his touchdown run: “We just needed to score. In (the) huddle, everyone had that mindset of what we needed to do. We ended up getting the team in a position to have a chance to win.”
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Atlanta Falcons 2022 schedule
Sept. 11: Saints 27, Falcons 26
Sept. 18: Rams 31, Falcons 27
Sept. 25 Falcons 27, Seahawks 23
Oct. 2 Falcons 23, Browns 20
Oct. 9 Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
Oct. 16 Falcons 28, 49ers 14
Oct. 23 Bengals 35, Falcons 17
Oct. 30 Falcons 37, Panthers 34 OT
Nov. 6 Chargers 20, Falcons 17
Nov. 10 Panthers 25, Falcons 15
Nov. 20 Falcons 27, Bears 24
Nov. 27 Commanders 19, Falcons 13
Dec. 4 Steelers 19, Falcons 16
BYE WEEK
Dec. 18 Saints 21, Falcons 18
Dec. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD
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