One yard. One loss.
In a game of inches, the Falcons couldn’t shove the Saints around for one measly yard at a critical juncture on Sunday and went down in a dramatic 31-27 defeat to the arch-rival New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
“We just came up short,” quarterback Matt Ryan said.
The NFL’s last undefeated team, the Falcons’ dreams of an undefeated season are over as they dropped to 8-1. The Saints, who have fought through a bounty scandal, improved to 4-5 and appear poised to make a playoff run.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins are free to uncork their champagne bottles as the league’s last team to complete an undefeated season.
After trailing 28-17 early in the fourth quarter, it was looking like the Falcons would scratch out another victory with some late magical play. But things didn’t work out this time.
Ryan, as he has in so many other contests, had the Falcons positioned to take the lead with under two minutes to play. He drove the team from its 20-yard line to the New Orleans’ 1 on the first play after the two-minute warning.
On second-and-goal from the 1, Ryan’s pass for tight end Tony Gonzalez, who had a super game (11 catches for 122 yards and two scores), was batted down by Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins.
On third-and-goal, running back Michael Turner, who did not have a super game (13 carries for 15 yards), was stuffed for a yard loss.
On fourth-and-goal from the 2, Saints cornerback Jabari Greer batted down a pass intended for wide receiver Roddy White.
The Falcons inability to run the ball against the league’s worst rushing defense was a major problem. The Saints entered the day giving up 176.5 yards per game, but they manhandled the Falcons so harshly (46 rushing yards on 18 tries) that the coaching staff felt the best way to score was to pass on two of those three key plays.
“We are not getting the surge that we need to on the run plays,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “We’ve got to be able to move the line of scrimmage in those third-down-and-1 situations. Those are to the advantage of the offense. We are not getting that done right now. We didn’t get that done today.”
The Falcons had similar problems in short yardage situations last season. They were stopped by the Saints on a key fourth down play last year at the Georgia Dome and were repeatedly manhandled in the playoffs by the New York Giants.
While they did draft linemen with their top two draft picks, they opened the season with the same line from last year. Rookie Peter Konz, the team’s top draft pick, has taken over for the injured Garrett Reynolds at right guard. Over the offseason, the team turned the line over to new offensive line coach Pat Hill and promoted assistant offensive line coach Paul Dunn.
However, problems with the short yardage run offense persist.
“It’s very frustrating, whether if it’s 1 yard or 10 yards, when you don’t win,” Smith said. “It’s frustrating because that’s why we are playing the games. We want to get the win.”
The Falcons’ game plan called for a heavy dose of running, but Ryan ended up passing for a career-high 411 yards. Two failed trips to the red zone — they drove to the New Orleans 2 earlier in the fourth quarter but were forced to settle for a field goal — were costly.
“We’ve got to not have those empty yards, in terms of not getting touchdowns,” Smith said.
The Saints have dominated the Falcons recently. The victory was their fourth straight and they have won 11 of the last 13 meetings. The Falcons lead the series 45-41.
White, who is outspoken in his contempt of the Saints, didn’t want to gave them any credit for the victory.
“It doesn’t say much about us about us,” he said. “I think we had opportunities today. It’s not like they came out here and just … I feel like we kind of gave it away. We just gave it to them.”
The Falcons had jumped out to a 10-0 lead, only to watch the Saints recover for a 21-17 lead at the half.
“We definitely pulled off the gas,” defensive end John Abraham said. “This is a game I definitely think we should have won.”
The offensive line will go back to the drawing board.
“I felt like the guys up front, we gave it everything we had,” center Todd McClure said. “We just didn’t get the job done.”
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