The 2015 NFL regular season ended on a sour note for the Falcons, who were defeated, after another late-game interception quarterback Matt Ryan, by the New Orleans Saints 20-17 before 69,699 disgruntled fans at the Georgia Dome on Sunday.
“It got muddled inside and I didn’t see the defender coming on the left side,” Ryan said.
The Saints were tipped off by the Falcons’ formation. With the tight ends flanked out, Saints secondary coach Wesley McGriff gave safety Jamarca Sanford the freedom to jump the angle route to running back Devonta Freeman.
Sanford was practically waiting for Ryan’s throw.
“Coach took out the two-minute plays that they like to run, and I picked up the angle route with the tailback and I saw the formation,” Sanford said. “I knew they were going to run an angle route.”
The Falcons, who started the season 5-0, finished 8-8. The Saints, who improved to 7-9, went 2-0 against the Falcons this season.
“We had two turnovers in the fourth quarter,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “We can’t do that and expect to have good results at the end.”
Here are five things we learned from the regular-season finale:
1. Good news. With the defeat the Falcons will draft 17th overall.
2. Jones' stellar season. Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones had nine catches for 150 yards. He finished the season with 136 catches for 1,872 yards.
Jones entered the game within striking distance of the league’s single-season marks for catches and yards. He was 17 catches away from breaking the NFL single season reception mark of 143, which was set by Indianapolis’ Marvin Harrison in 2002. He needed a whopping 243 yards to break Detroit’s Calvin Johnson’s record of 1,964 yards receiving, which was set in 2012.
Jones moved passed Jerry Rice, who had the second best season with 1,848 yards receiving, which was set in 1995.
3. Freeman reaches 1,000 yards. Falcons Pro Bowl running back Devonta Freeman eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark in the first quarter.
The last Falcons’ running back to surpass 1,000 yards in a season was Michael Turner, who rushed 1,340 yards in 2011.
Freeman, who also had a late-game fumble didn’t speak to the media after the game, broke the 1,000-yard mark on a 4-yard run in the first quarter against the Saints.
With a 2-yard carry in the second quarter, Freeman reached another career milestone — recording over 1,600 total yards this season.
4. Gradkowski starts at center. Gino Gradkowski started over Mike Person at center for the Falcons.
Person lost the competition with Gradkowski for the starting spot.
Gradkowski had a bad snap on the Falcons’ second possession on a pistol snap. A 4-yard loss was credited to quarterback Matt Ryan after the errant snap on first down-and-10 from the 28.
The Falcons claimed Gradkowski off of waivers and released Joe Hawley on Sept. 7.
5. Red-zone turnovers: With the score tied at 17, the Falcons' old friend, the red-zone turnover, cropped up. Freeman fumbled after being hit by Saints defensive tackle John Jenkins, a former Georgia player. Jenkins recovered the fumble. With the Saints driving in for a score, Falcons safety Charles Godfrey forced Saints running back Tavaris Cadet to fumble. Cornerback Robert Alford recovered the ball at the 1.
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