The Atlanta Falcons moved to 11-5 to finished the regular season and clinched a first round bye on Sunday with a convincing win over the New Orleans Saints.
Matt Ryan's MVP calibre first half was enough to give the Falcons the second seed in the NFC playoff bracket, capping off a superb regular season for Atlanta.
Falcons Score Five Straight
The Falcons came into Sunday afternoon with a chance to clinch the second seed in the NFC and a first round bye. With that in mind, Atlanta came out firing and didn't stop throughout the first half.
After a quick three and out by New Orleans, Matt Ryan took the reigns on Atlanta's opening drive and was perfect. Ryan went 4/4 for 68 yards on the opening drive and capped it off with a touchdown pass to Tevin Coleman.
New Orleans had to respond with points and did, but not the way they would've liked. Drew Brees' pass to Coby Fleener on third and goal was ruled a touchdown but after review, safety Ricardo Allen managed to knock the ball loose and the visitors had to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Will Lutz.
After New Orleans kicked the ball off, Devonta Freeman extended the lead immediately with a huge 75-yard touchdown run to make it 14-3. The first quarter came to a close with Tim Hightower scoring the Saints' first touchdown of the game with a 2-yard run after a handful of Atlanta penalties put the Saints in the redzone.
Atlanta continued to put on an offensive masterclass in the second quarter with Ryan finding Julio Jones a few times on the drive before throwing a fade to the corner of the endzone, which Jones brought down with ease to make it 21-10. Ryan, who has been mentioned frequently as an MVP candidate this season, continued to shine as Atlanta went up 28-10 thanks to Ryan finding Mohamed Sanu in the back of the end zone for the two yard score.
New Orleans could not get anything going on offense is the first half and yet again had to settle for a Will Lutz field goal, this time from 40 yards, with 3:40 left in the first half. Atlanta took advantage of the time remaining and drove 75 yards on nine plays, with Ryan tossing his fourth touchdown of the first half to Justin Hardy, who stretched the ball across the goalline to seal a 35-13 lead heading into halftime.
Before the half, Vic Beasley brought down Drew Brees behind the line of scrimmage for sack number 15.5 on the season.
Falcons Ease Up In Second Half
After going a perfect five for five on drives in the first half, Atlanta were forced to punt on the opening drive in the second half but bounced back with a 99-yard drive capped off with a 22-yard field goal by Matt Bryant to make it 38-13.
The third quarter was a lot quieter than the first two as just three points were scored between the NFL's two best offenses. The fourth was a different story as Drew Brees threw his first touchdown of the game to Michael Thomas, a 14-yard touchdown. The ensuing two point attempt saw Mark Ingram stuffed at the line to keep the score at 38-19.
The Saints continued to fight and looked to get back in the game late in the fourth but Jalen Collins was on hand to pick off Brees in the end zone. With the three minutes left, the visitors got the ball back and Mark Ingram recorded his first every 1,000 yard season with a 38-yard run, which eventually set up a one yard touchdown run for Ingram, making it 38-25 after the two point attempt failed again.
New Orleans, down by 12 with 2:40 left, would have to attempt the onside kick and did exactly that. The kick hit a Falcons player and was recovered by the Saints to set up a nervy finish at the Georgia Dome. Brees would add another fourth quarter touchdown to his stat line as he found Travaris Cadet for a three yard touchdown to make it 38-31.
The onside kick would follow with 39 seconds left but Sanu was on hand to recover and wrap up the victory for the Falcons.
Box Score
Drew Brees- 29/50, 350 yards, 2 TDs, INT.
Matt Ryan- 27-36, 331 yards, 4 TDs.
Julio Jones- 7 rec, 96 yards, TD.
Devonta Freeman- 12 carries, 96 yards, TD.
Michael Thomas- 10 rec, 156 yards, TD.