Saints defense comes up big in revenge win over Falcons

NEW ORLEANS – It was the most important game for the New Orleans Saints since 2013. It had that feel all week long and that feel was palpable in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

With fans urged to bring the noise for 60 minutes, they did not disappoint. Neither did the home team.

With a playoff feel and fervor in the air, the Saints went about their business in workmanlike fashion, never trailing in a 23-13 victory over the Falcons.

It was important on so many fronts.

First, it put the Saints in the playoffs. Second, it snapped a three-game losing streak against Dan Quinn and the Falcons, proving the Saints could beat them. Third, it provided New Orleans with a chance to clinch a division title and first-round home game next week.

The game looked a lot like a game between two teams that know each other extremely well. Nothing comes easy when two good teams who are that familiar with each other hook up for a second time.

In the end, the Saints were the better team, as they thought they were the first time.

Here are my Quick Takes from the 23-13 win over Atlanta.

**After an initial first down, Jake Matthews was flagged for holding Manti Te’o to negate a huge run by Devonta Freeman for 22 yards. That killed the drive. Te’o then hit Tevin Coleman for a four-yard loss on a blitz before Marshon Lattimore came up with a big pass defensed on Julio Jones on third down to force a punt.

**Te’o had an outstanding game for New Orleans.

**The Saints and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen came out aggressive, blitzing frequently in the opening quarter.

**Ted Ginn and Michael Thomas started for New Orleans after being questionable to play.

**Brees connected with Alvin Kamara for 25 yards on Keanu Neal on a rub route to the Atlanta 32-yard line.

**The drive stalled big time when Vic Beasley hit Kamara for a huge eight-yard loss on third down. Wil Lutz came on to kick a 40-yard field goal to make it 3-0 with 7:31 to play in the opening quarter. The drive covered eight plays and 40 yards, taking 4:04 off the clock.

**Freeman then incurred a personal foul on the Falcons’ second possession. Atlanta got to fourth-and-one from their own 40-yard line and elected to go for it. Freeman ran three yards for a first down but fullback Derrick Coleman was flagged for a false start, forcing the Falcons to punt.

**Brees became only the third quarterback in NFL history with over 70,000 passing yards with a 13-yard completion to Mark Ingram late in the first quarter. He joined Peyton Manning and Brett Favre with the distinction. Early in the second half, Brees amassed 4,000 yards passing for the 12th straight season.

**Upshaw killed the drive, sacking Brees as he beat Terron Armstead for a 10-yard loss, forcing a punt.

**Freeman killed another Atlanta possession with a 15-yard facemask penalty before Muhamed Sanu was flagged for offensive pass interference. Then, Cameron Jordan came through with his 11th sack of the season, forcing a punt.

**On fourth-and-one from the Atlanta 12, Sean Payton went for it. Drew Brees bobbled the snap, collided with Ingram but Ingram still got the first down. It did not lead to a touchdown. New Orleans was unable to take advantage and Lutz kicked a 28-yard field goal to make it 6-0 with 1:19 to play in the half.

**The field goal was a big win for Atlanta, as the Saints had the ball for 16 plays and took 8:21 off the clock, going 68 yards and did not score a touchdown. It was the most plays for the Saints in a scoring drive this season.

**On the next Atlanta possession, Ryan hit Marvin Hall in stride. He dropped it, the ball landed on Marshon Lattimore’s back and it stayed there after hitting his backside. Lattimore grabbed it for an amazing interception, his fifth of the season.

**That proved to be perhaps a 10-point game changer. Brees made a perfect throw to Ginn on a 54-yard touchdown pass to make it 13-0 by halftime. Ginn whipped Marcus Trufant on the play.

**If you are looking for balance, you got it in the first half. The Saints rushed it 16 times and passed it 15 times. Kamara had 12 touches for 74 yards in the half. Brees completed 12-of-15 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown in the half.

**In the first half, Atlanta was penalized six times for 59 yards, killing their drives. New Orleans was not penalized.

**Payton put Kamara back to receive the second half kickoff. The move paid off handsomely. Kamara returned the kickoff 49 yards to the Saints’ 48-line.

**The last time the Saints pitched a shutout in the first half against the Falcons was on Dec. 17, 2000. New Orleans won that game 23-7 and clinched a playoff berth.

**On the first offensive play of the half, Senio Kelemete was flagged for holding after he came in for the injured Armstead with Andrus Peat moving to left tackle. This time, it was a thigh injury sidelining Armstead.

**On the second play, Brees hit Ginn right in the hands. He missed it and Debo Jones did it to his hometown team again, picking it off and returned it to the New Orleans two-yard line.

**The momentum did not last long. On second-and-goal from the New Orleans one-yard line, Freeman ran into the back of center Alex Mack, fumbled, and Te’o recovered at the four-yard line.

**Atlanta forced a three-and-out, got a short field, and capitalized with a 37-yard field goal by Matt Bryan to make it 13-3 with 9:34 to play in the third quarter. Freeman ran 18 yards for a first down to set up the field goal.

**Jordan got his second sack of the game in the third quarter to stop an Atlanta drive.

**New Orleans then used a short field to build on its lead, driving 54 yards in four plays with Mark Ingram racing 26 yards for a touchdown to make it 20-3 with 2:52 to play in the third quarter. It was the 12th rushing touchdown of the season for Ingram.

**Atlanta answered, driving 74 yards to the New Orleans one-yard line. Julio Jones made a catch from Ryan that was ruled just short of the goal line. On fourth and less than a yard for a touchdown, Hau’oli Kikaha stuffed Freeman for no gain. Previously, Kikaha batted down a pass on the drive to prevent a touchdown.

**Unfortunately, Kikaha left the game injured.

**The Falcons got a stop and a short field but the Saints held and Bryant booted a 48-yard field goal to make it 20-6 New Orleans with 10:18 to play in the game.

**George Johnson and Sheldon Rankins then had sacks on consecutive plays afte Thomas Morstead pinned Atlanta back to its own 10-yard line with a good punt. Rankins later got another sack.

**New Orleans took advantage of the short field after Atlanta punted and Lutz kicked a 45-yard field goal to put the game away at 23-6 with 3:38 to play in the game.

**The Falcons finally found the end zone, driving 75 yards in eight plays, taking just 58 seconds to do so with Tevin Coleman hauling in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ryan to make it 23-13 with 2:40 to play.

**Ginn recovered the ensuing onside kick to clinch the victory.

The Saints finished with just three penalties for 30 yards while the Falcons had 10 for 91 yards, a virtual reversal of the first meeting in Atlanta.

Interestingly, New Orleans was held to 315 net yards. The Saints had just 306 yards in the first meeting against the Falcons. Those are the two lowest yardage outputs of the season for New Orleans. Kamara accounted for 162 total yards.

New Orleans flipped the script on Atlanta, coming up with big plays when needed and keeping the Falcons out of the end zone. The Falcons held the Saints to 17 points to win in Atlanta. The Saints held the Falcons to 13 points in New Orleans to post the win.

This game displayed everything that has made the Saints a very good team this season. Kamara was brilliant again. Ingram ran for another touchdown. Thomas made plays, despite being hurt. The offensive line withstood another key injury and survived. Brees was efficient. The defense was simply outstanding overall.

Jordan has enjoyed his best season. The dependable ironman has now made 96 straight starts. Lattimore looks like the best defensive rookie in the NFL. Kamara looks like the best offensive rookie in the league.

New Orleans is in the playoffs with the victory for the first time since 2013. Unfortunately, Carolina rallied to beat Tampa Bay, clinching a playoff spot and that extends the division championship decision until next weekend. Carolina plays at Atlanta while the Saints are at Tampa Bay.

The Saints must win to clinch the division title unless Carolina loses. New Orleans no longer needs monster games from Brees to win. That said, come playoff time, having Brees may prove vital against less experienced quarterbacks.

Watching the Buccaneers play Atlanta and Carolina to the wire in consecutive weeks, winning at Tampa Bay next Sunday will not come easily.

Finally, it is truly amazing that this New Orleans squad is 11-4 when you consider the incredible number of injuries this team has dealt with. From Nick Fairley to Delvin Breaux. From Alex Anzalone to A.J. Klein. From Kenny Vaccaro to Alex Okafor. From Coby Fleener to Michael Hoomanawanui. Then, there is the matter of all of the offensive line woes all season long with Zack Strief, Armstead, Peat, Kelemete and Warford. Only Max Unger and Ryan Ramczyk have managed to stay healthy.

Good teams have good depth. The Saints are a good team with good coaching and good depth. Simply put, that is why they are in the position they are in.