Atlanta Falcons Week 6 Indepth Recap vs New Orleans Saints

By
Shane Mclendon
-
atlanta falcons week 6 nfl recap 2015 images

atlanta falcons week 6 nfl recap 2015 imagesAtlanta Falcons Indepth Recap

Falcons 21  Saints 31

What can I say about this game, the first loss of my Falcons’ season?

I told ya so. Well, I didn’t say it aloud, but mostly to myself. I had a sinking feeling that the lowly Saints would steal one from Atlanta. The Falcons were riding high, but coming off a tough overtime game versus Washington, and they were the road team on Thursday Night Football.

If I were forced to bet, I would have taken the Saints regardless of the records.

Unfortunately, I was right. New Orleans jumped on the Birds early and never really let them back in the game. The blocked punt by Michael Mauti that was so reminiscent of Steve Gleason’s play back in 2006 let me know this game belonged to New Orleans.

Sure Devonta Freeman had his usual fantasy freakish game with 100 yards on just 13 carries. But that was not enough as Drew Brees carved up the ATL defense by hitting Benjamin Watson 10 times for 127 yards including a touchdown.

Ben Watson left UGA with Hershel right?

New Orleans got out to a 14-0 lead then watched Atlanta hang around within a touchdown before the Saints took a ten-point lead in the third quarter.

At 24-7 the Falcons were all but finished. The Birds had been down big time to Dallas earlier this year, so they made an effort to climb back in. They just didn’t execute well enough to get it done in week six.

Coach Quinn never threw in the towel, though I would argue he would have done so if he had a few more seasons under his belt. I get the point of fighting until the end as he tries to mold this team into his image. But the risk of injury to Matt Ryan, Julio, and Freeman is not worth making a point.

Freeman scored twice in the fourth to make fantasy owners happy again this week. His final score came with 2:28 to play and was followed by a failed onside kick.

Game highlights:

Atlanta Falcons vs New Orleans Saints Highlights


Devonta ‘Fantasy’ Freeman

3 things:

  • The Falcons just lost the most important game of the year so far. 5-0 looked great, but 0-1 in a division is not helpful clearly. If Carolina keeps playing at a high level, this first division loss could prove very costly.
  • Devonta Freeman is the real deal. He’s not just a fantasy gem; he is the workhorse of the Falcons offense. It’s clear from the couple nice carries Tevin Coleman had that the O-line makes it easy on whoever is carrying the ball.
  • Thursday Night Football is great for fans. Not so great for players and coaches. The road team on a short week has a big hill to overcome. Whether it’s more mental than physical, I don’t know, but Thursdays can ruin an undefeated record.

Julio Watch: Julio looked better than last week even on short rest. It might have been a good idea to sit him once the game was basically over. One thing to prove a point about not quitting if you’re Dan Quinn, quite another to risk your best player with zero chance to come back.

Tweets of the Game:

The old ‘exposed’ cliche:

How to win with stats like these:

TNF vs. Baseball TV Ratings:

Locker Room Talk: