The Falcons kept living at the intersection on winning and losing.
This time there would be no Matt Ryan-led fourth-quarter comeback to bail them out as they were defeated and knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten by the struggling New Orleans Saints 31-21 before a rowdy bunch of 73,018 fans Thursday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
“It’s always tough to lose your first game,” defensive tackle Adrian Clayborn said. “They executed perfectly. The beat us on offense. They beat us on defense and they won the turnover battle. You can’t come back from that no matter how good you play.”
The Saints improved to 2-4, while the Falcons, who had four previous fourth-quarter comebacks, dropped to 5-1.
“For us to finish minus-three (in turnovers) was hard on us,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “We weren’t able to create any defensively. We had a blocked punt and the turnovers really told the story of the game. It’s hard to overcome those mistakes.”
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had a rough day handling the football.
“It was just ball security,” Ryan said. “We moved the ball pretty efficiently the entire night. We had a couple of scoring chances were we ended up turning the football over.
“When you do that in this building going against this team, it’s extremely difficult to overcome that. We weren’t able to do that. We’ve got to take better care of the football than we did tonight.”
Here are the five things we learned:
1. Ball movement. With center Mike Person out, the Falcons had troubling handling the football against the Saints. When the Falcons were trying to go for it it on fourth down, Ryan bumped into fullback Pat DiMarco and fumbled the ball.
Later on a key third-and-8 at the Saints 14, center James Stone snapped the ball as if Ryan was under center. Unfortunately for Stone, Ryan was in the gun and the Saints recovered, killing a potential game-tying drive.
The two mishandles of the football killed two promising drives in the first half. There was also a red-zone fumble by rookie running back Tevin Coleman.
The Saints got another fumble recovery in the final minute of the game when Cameron Jordan stripped Ryan.
2. Special teams were wretched. The Saints were able to open a quick 14-0 lead after linebacker Michael Mauti sliced through the middle of the Falcons' punt protection and blocked a Matt Bosher punt. He recovered it for the score.
Saints fans immediately flashed back to the post-Hurricane Katrina punt block by Steve Gleason against the Falcons in 2006.
3. The pass rush was nonexistent. Falcons coach Dan Quinn and defensive line coach Bryan Cox have been working with the defensive linemen with a goal of improving the pass rush. Through six games, it has been anemic.
It’s perhaps time for defensive coordinator Richard Smith to start dialing up some blitzes.
4. Rhythm and the running backs. Both running backs, Devonta Freeman and Coleman, were productive.
Coleman, who’s recovering from a fractured rib, killed a drive with a fumble after rumbling for 17 yards in the second quarter. Saints cornerback Brandon Browner recovered at the Saints’ 9.
With the Falcons trying to work Coleman and Freeman into the attack, the offense may have had some rhythm issues.
Freeman had 13 rushes for 100 total yards and caught eight pass for 56 yards. He had a touchdown run of 25 yards and a 13-yard touchdown reception.
5. Jones didn't dominate. It might be time to sit down wide receiver Julio Jones and let his hamstring heal.
He clearly doesn’t have the explosion that he displayed early in the season. The Falcons will get some time as they have a 10-day break before facing the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 25.
Jones caught six passes for 93 yards.
