Falcons 16, Saints 21: Another stinker against New Orleans likely dooms this coaching staff

With Drew Brees still out and Taysom Hill lined up to pretend to be a quarterback yet again, did the Falcons finally find a way to take advantage or did coaching ineptness lead to another disappointing loss against our most hated rival? Read on to find out.

First quarter

The Saints win the toss and defer. The Falcons offense starts from their 25 with a pass to Todd Gurley for 4. Brian Hill runs for 2 and and Matt Ryan’s pass to Julio Jones can’t connect. Atlanta punts.

Taysom Hill and the Saints start from their 7 yard line with a run by Alvin Kamara for a loss of a yard. Adam Trautman catches the ball for 5 and on 3rd and 6 Hill can’t connect with Tre’Quan Smith and New Orleans is forced to punt.

Brian Hill runs for 2 and Julio catches one for 2 more. On 3rd and 6 Ryan can’t find anyone and Atlanta punts again.

From their 12, Hill’s first pass falls sadly short and Kamara runs for 3. On 3rd and 7 Hill is hit low and Grady Jarrett is flagged for roughing. On 1st down, Steven Means gets the sack of Hill for a loss of 10 and his pass to Michael Thomas picks up 14. Jared Cook picks up the first on the 3rd down pass. Taysom Hill then runs for 43 on 1st down and on the next play connects with Tre’Quan Smith for the touchdown.

Falcons 0, Saints 7

After the touchback, Ryan’s pass to Julio gains 12 and the first. Ito Smith runs for 6 and Ryan finds Julio on the crosser for 20 yards and another first. Ito runs for 4 and the pass to Smith then loses a yard. On 3rd and 7 Russell Gage drops the pass and Atlanta has to go for the field goal. Younghoe Koo comes on and nails the 53-yard field goal.

Falcons 3, Saints 7

Starting on their 25, Hill hits Emmanuel Sanders for 7. Latavius Murray runs for 4 and the first and A.J. Terrell nearly picks off Hill. Kamara runs for 7 and on 3rd and 3 Michael Thomas catches the pass for 6 yards and the first. After an incompletion and Murray loses 3 yards on the quick pass, on 3rd and 13 Smith picks up 21 on the reception for another first. Kamara loses a couple on the toss and the quarter comes to an end.

Falcons 3, Saints 7

Second quarter

Hill’s pass to Trautman gains nothing and after a false start, on 3rd and 17 Hill finds Thomas for 18 and the first. Kamara runs for 7 and after offensive holding, Kamara takes the pass for just 1. On 3rd and 12 Kamara gains 8 on the pass and after trying to draw Atlanta offsides, they go for the field goal. Will Lutz comes on and can’t punch it in.

Ito runs for 2 and Ridley gets the DPI call on Lattimore but the head ref calls it back. What the hell? On 3rd and 8 Ryan can’t connect with Gage and Atlanta has to punt.

Starting from their 32, the Saints offense starts with a run by Tommylee Lewis for 16 and the first. Murray runs for 6 and Thomas picks up 8 and the first. Hill can’t connect with Lewis deep and Kamara runs for no gain. Dennard tackles Murray for just a 3 yard gain and the Saints go for it on 4th down. Jared Cook drops what would have been a first down. Turnover on downs.

Ryan hits Julio deep for a big 35 yard gain. Gage takes the pass for just 3 yards and after a throw away on 2nd down Ito Smith busts open a big run for 15 and the first. Gurley runs for no gain and Ridley drops the 2nd down pass and on 3rd and 10 Ryan has to throw it away. My god this offense is horrifying. Koo comes on and punches in the short field goal.

Falcons 6, Saints 7

Following the touchback, Kamara picks up 37 yards on the run. Murray runs for 5 and after offensive holding the pass to Sanders picks up 7. On 3rd and 8 Hill finds Sanders for a gain of 18 and the first. Please kill me. Hill runs for 6 and again on 2nd down for one. On 3rd and 3 Hill hits Jared Cook for an 11 yard touchdown.

Falcons 6, Saints 14

With 1:45 starting from their 25, Ryan throws incomplete on 1st down. A quick pass to Powell gains 9 and Ryan finds Julio for the first. Ryan then finds Ridley on the deep right for an amazing catch for a gain of 31. After pass interference on Lattimore, Ryan is sacked by David Onyemata. On 2nd and 19, Ridley makes the catch for 10. On 3rd and 9, the Saints get flagged for interference again and Atlanta has 1st and goal from the 10 with 16 seconds left. Ryan throws it away on 1st and Hurst can’t pull in the catch on 2nd down. Koo comes on and nails the 28 yarder.

Falcons 9, Saints 14

Third quarter

The Saints start the second half with a run by Kamara for 2. Hill completes the pass to Thomas for 18 and the first. Another pass to Thomas picks up 10. Sanders picks up 5 on the 1st down pass, Kamara runs for no gain on the end around and on 3rd and 5 Hill runs but is one yard short. On 4th and 1 Hill sneaks it and easily picks up the yard. Smith runs for 2 and Hill is pressured by Fowler into a throw away and on 3rd and 7 Hill connects with Cook for 10 and the first. Kamara runs for 10 and runs again for the touchdown.

Falcons 9, Saints 21

Brian Hill starts the drive with a 7 yard run and another that picks up the first. Ryan finds Ridley across the middle for 18 and the first. Ito runs for 1 and Ridley drops a pass after getting drilled. On 3rd and 9 Ryan has to throw it away. Atlanta punts.

From their 10, the Saints start with a run by Hill for 6 yards. Kamara runs for 2 more and on 3rd and 2 Thomas picks up the 1st. Kamara runs for 5 and Hill passes to Thomas for another first on a gain of 18. Kamara runs for 1, Hill runs for 6 and Hill is stopped short on the 3rd down run by Tyeler Davison. Saints punt.

Brian Hill runs for 2 and Hurst can’t hold on to the pass. On 3rd and 8 Ryan can’t connect with Julio. Punt.

Kamara runs for 3 as we head to the last quarter of pain.

Falcons 9, Saints 21

Fourth quarter

The pass to Cook is behind and incomplete and on 3rd and 7 Hill can’t connect with Thomas. Saints have to punt.

The pass to Calvin is behind him on 1st down, he’s hit while throwing on 2nd down and after a challenge it’s ruled a fumble that the Saints recovered.

Murray runs for no gain, Hill passes to Thomas for 9 yards and on 2 more runs, Hill picks up the 1st. Hill is sacked by Means and Deion Jones recovers the fumble. Falcons ball.

Ito runs for 1 yard and Hurst can’t pull in the pass but defensive holding gives Atlanta a first. Ryan finds Gage across the middle for a big gain of 24 and the first. Gage picks up 14 on the next pass. Hurst finally hauls in a catch for 9. Smith runs for no gain and Gurley comes in to run for the first. A personal foul penalty on the Saints adds 15. Ryan targets Ridley in the end zone but he can’t stay in, but a defensive penalty gifts the first and 5 yards. Gurley runs for no gain and Ryan finishes the drive with a 10 yard pass to Gage for the touchdown.

Falcons 16, Saints 21

Hill passes to Trautman for 4 and he runs for 8 and the first. Hill is nearly picked off by Isaiah Oliver, Cook takes the catch for 2 yards and Smith takes the catch for just 5 yards. Saints punt.

From their 15, the Falcons offense starts with a nice run by Ito for 7 yards. Ryan can’t connect with Hurst and on 3rd and 3 Ryan connects with Ridley for a big gain of 27 yards and the first. Gurley runs for 13 then for just 1 on the next first down. Ryan is sacked by Cameron Jordan on 2nd down and on 3rd and 11 Ryan connects with Julio for 18 and the first. Gurley runs for 8 as we hit the 2 minute warning. Gurley runs for no gain and on 3rd and 2, Gurley runs for a big loss. On 4th and 9, Ryan can’t connect with Julio. Turnover on downs.

Murray runs for 1, Hill runs for 4 but fumbles it out of bounds to setup 3rd and 8. Hill runs again and is stopped short. Saints punt.

With no timeouts and 27 seconds left, the final drive starts with Ryan throwing the ball out of bounds. Ridley catches the pass for 18 yards and gets out of bounds. The hail mary falls incomplete. Game over.

Final: Falcons 16, Saints 21