In a season that has been reduced to team die-hards and spin doctors searching for any hint of progress, the Falcons managed two modest achievements Thursday night. They played hard and they didn’t get blown out.
There were seasons when that counted for something. This isn’t one of them.
They still lost a game, this one to New Orleans at the Georgia Dome. That makes nine losses in 11 games this season (or 13 of 15 if you want to include the preseason, which you probably don’t). But at least losing 17-13 to the 8-2 Saints is more aesthetically appealing than 41-28 to 1-8 Tampa Bay, the late-game “Who Dat” chants notwithstanding.
“When you’re not getting the results that you like and you’re used to getting, it’s very frustrating,” Roddy White said. “We’re just not finding ways to win games.”
To the contrary, they are constantly finding new ways to lose. Or borderline submit.
This season started circling the drain weeks ago. So there’s no reason to waste time dissecting the impact of one more defeat, even if it ensures the Falcons will have their first losing record since 2007 (and they’ll struggle to even equal that team’s 4-12 mark).
But each game brings up new doubts, new questions, new things that make you go, “Huh?”
Here’s one from Thursday. Trailing 17-13, the 2-8 Falcons faced a third-and-15 from the Saints’ 34. Quarterback Matt Ryan, under pressure, then threw incomplete to make it fourth down with 2:24 left. The Saints called consecutive timeouts, suspecting the Falcons would go for it and possibly score a go-ahead touchdown. They would need the ball back with a much time as possible.
But what did Mike Smith, coach of a 2-8 team, do? He sent in the field-goal unit, counting on: 1) Matt Bryant to hit a 52-yard attempt and; 2) The defense to quickly stop a Saints offense that went three-and-out only twice in the game and once in the previous nine possessions.
Rise up?
On cue, Matt Bryant missed the field goal try.
The Saints got the ball back. They ran nine plays and 2:19 off the clock. The Falcons got the ball back with five seconds left at their own 38.
There’s a memory to carry into the offseason.
Smith said he would’ve gone for it on fourth down if the offense had gained yardage on the previous play. He defended the decision, saying: “You always go through the (decision-making) process. But there’s not a lot of fourth-and-15 (plays). We felt like the field goal [was best].”
Asked later of Smith’s decision, Ryan said, “It didn’t pan out the way we wanted it to, but we all trust in what he’s doing.”
Smith hasn’t had a lot of success against the Falcons’ chief rival. After being swept in two meetings this year, he is 3-9 against the Saints and 2-8 against coach Sean Payton. Results like that are discomforting.
At least the effort was there Thursday. After losing the previous four games by an average of 18.5 points, the Falcons at least made this one competitive. They led early and they had a chance to lead late.
They marched to a touchdown on the opening possession. An impressive 76-yard drive was heavy on runs by Steven Jackson and ended with the running back going in from the Saints’ 1-yard line.
Here is all you need to know about what kind of season this has been. It was game No. 11, and that was Jackson’s first touchdown run.
The celebration was short-lived. The Saints drove to touchdowns on their next two possessions. The run defense showed cracks and pass coverage left gaps. On the first scoring drive, New Orleans converted five times on third down, including Drew Brees’ 1-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Watson. On the second score, tight end Jimmy Graham just blew past Falcons safety William Moore on a 44-yard play.
The Falcons trailed only 14-13 at halftime, driving for two more field goals. But Ryan heard some boos from the home crowd late in the half when, on third-and-goal from the 10, he scrambled up the middle and slid to the turf at the 6, seemingly prematurely, when the closest Saints’ defender was at least a couple of yards away.
It’s doubtful Ryan would’ve made it to the end zone had he kept running. But when a team is 2-8, fans aren’t real keen on witnessing an easy escape, especially when it comes a few days after many of those in attendance watched Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray play the final minutes at Auburn like a kamikaze.
This has been the kind of season when even nice underdog stories fizzle. Wide receiver Darius Johnson, signed off the practice squad in October, was having a breakout game with six catches and drawing an interference penalty. But he dropped a pass for a potential long gain in the third quarter, and in the fourth, with the Falcons trailing 17-13, fumbled following a catch at the Saints’ 13.
It has been one of those seasons when nothing seems to end well.
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