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The Falcons are now 3-7 this season after being outclassed by their biggest rival on the road in Week 11. Since Atlanta’s defense got torched by Saints backup QB Taysom Hill, and the offense gave up eight sacks, there is only one winner and many losers in this week’s edition.
Winner: K Younghoe Koo
The Falcons relied heavily on Koo in order to stay within striking distance of the Saints for most of the game. On the day, Koo made all three of his field goal attempts, and is now 21-for-22 on the season. He also made two kicks of more than 50 yards in the first half.
Loser: Falcons wide receivers
Julio Jones left the game midway through the second quarter due to an injury to his hamstring. He later returned that same quarter. Despite averaging 107 yards per contest in the four games leading up to the bye week, Jones has been battling his hamstring since the start of the season. Russell Gage ended the day as Ryan’s top target with seven receptions for 58 receiving yards.
Winner: Draft position
If you’re someone who has been tired of seeing the Falcons start the season off slow and ruin their potential draft spot due to late-season runs, this was the game for you. It’s looking more and more likely that the Falcons will be in a spot to draft a quarterback in 2021.
Loser: Falcons pass defense
The Falcons allowed for Taysom hill to throw for over 200 yards and complete nearly 80 percent of his passes. Prior to this game, Hill had only thrown the ball 20 times. He went over his career total with 23 pass attempts and ran the ball 10 times. Michael Thomas was the only receiver to go for over 100 yards on the day, his first time this season. His counterpart, Emmanuel Sanders, was able to get open efficiently to move the Saints downfield, averaging 17 yards per catch.
Loser: Falcons offensive line and QB
The offensive line, which has been fairly reliable this season, was dominated by the Saints’ defense. In the first half alone, Matt Ryan was brought down four times, with an additional four sacks added in the second half. Cam Jordan is credited for three of those sacks. Even so, Matt Ryan isn’t short of receiving blame either. Ryan was outclassed by New Orleans’ heir apparent, Taysom Hill.
On third down, Ryan went 2-for-7 for just 19 yards and only accounted for 232 yards overall. For the first time since 2006, the Falcons failed to throw a touchdown pass against the Saints.
Biggest Loser: Falcons coaching staff
With Raheem Morris’ recent success, he was seen as a likely candidate to be named the full-time head coach of the Falcons. Under Morris, the Falcons are 3-2, but the issues that plague this team are still present. Some fans want to see Morris be retained, but this could also mean retention of offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter as well.
Look at this mess.
— Jamal Anderson (@jamthedirtybird) November 22, 2020
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