The New Orleans Saints[9-8] defeat the Atlanta Falcons[7-10] 48-17. Both teams will not be playing in the playoffs this season.
1st Quarter: Falcons Quarterback Desmond Ridder throws a 15-yard touchdown to Tight End Jonnu Smith. Saints Quarterback Derek Carr throws an 18-yard touchdown to Wide Receiver A.T. Perry. Desmond Ridder throws a 71-yard touchdown to Running Back Bijan Robinson.
2nd Quarter: Saints Running Back Kendre Miller runs in a 3-yard touchdown. Saints Kicker Blake Grupe kicks a 24-yard field goal. Falcons Kicker Younghoe Koo kicks a 30-yard field goal. The Saints and Falcons are tied 17-17 at halftime.
3rd Quarter: Desmond Ridder throws an interception to Saints Cornerback Alontae Taylor who gives New Orleans the ball at the Atlanta 25-yard line. Derek Carr throws a 26-yard touchdown pass to Wide Receiver Chris Olave. Derek Carr throws a 39-yard touchdown pass to Wide Receiver Rashid Shaheed.
4th Quarter: Blake Grupe kicks a 24-yard field goal. On a Falcons muffed snap, Saints Defensive End Payton Turner recovers at the Atlanta 10-yard line. Derek Carr throws a 6-yard touchdown to Wide Receiver A.T. Perry. Falcons Backup Quarterback Logan Woodside throws an interception to Saints Safety Tyrann Mathieu who returns it 74 yards to the Atlanta 1-yard line. Saints Running Back Jamaal Williams runs in a 1-yard touchdown. The Saints win 48-17. Falcons Head Coach Arthur Smith, after the game, was seen arguing his frustrations toward Saints Head Coach Dennis Allen.
Saints Notes:
What a way to end the year. I do not remember my exact prediction for the Saints record but I think it was 10-7 or 11-6 so I was only off by 1 or 2 games. I am disappointed to not see a playoff game for this team but coaching held them back. The entire team played great in this game and was undoubtedly their best performance. Derek Carr played his butt off and did this with no run game and no Alvin Kamara or Marshon Lattimore. The defense had a lot of young guys step up in this game and over the past couple weeks like Alontae Taylor. Hopefully this is a sign for what is to come of the Saints in the future. Last, but not least, if you do not want to see a team score a meaningless touchdown for a guy with none on the year then don’t allow them to get into that position in the first place. That is why these games are division rival games. Both teams have done it to each other before so let’s not pretend like this is a one time thing.
I do have more to say and I will cover it in my Saints Season Recap Video coming soon.
-Jordan Burden