Canal Street Chronicles
Here’s a recap of the New Orleans Saints’ final game of the NFL regular season, as the black and gold sought a fifth straight win in a divisional tilt against the Atlanta Falcons.
Atlanta began the game by going three and out, but Juwan Johnson fumbled after he caught Tyler Shough’s first throw of the game to immediately restore possession for the hosts.
Though it was soon the Falcons turning it over, as Kirk Cousins was picked off by Carl Granderson in the red zone.
The teams then exchanged three straight punts, the third of which was blocked and recovered by Atlanta to set up a 1st-and-goal.
They took advantage, as Cousins found Drake London for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
The Saints finally found some momentum on the ensuing drive, including a 28-yard pass from Shough to Johnson again, which he held onto this time.
Charlie Smyth was then unsuccessful with a field goal attempt from 56 yards, and the Saints remained scoreless.
The Falcons picked things up near midfield and soon made a kick of their own to extend the lead to 10-0.
Shough returned with another impressive drive, including 19 and 22-yard passes to Audric Estime and Dante Pettis, respectively.
New Orleans soon found themselves in the red zone, with AJ Terrell Jr called for a pass interference on a throw intended for Pettis. Shough ran it in himself for the score.
The teams then traded punts again, and Atlanta failed to do any damage in the final seconds of the half.
Sacks on Shough on back-to-back plays didn’t help matters as the black and gold were forced into a quick punt.
Cousins responded with a 37-yard pass to London, which set up a 51-yard field goal to put the hosts up 13-7.
The Saints came back with another big drive of their own, as Shough connected with Kevin Austin Jr for 15 yards before converting a pair of 4th downs later in the drive. But the black and gold were still held to another field goal.
Atlanta’s ensuing 45-yard drive chewed up almost seven minutes of game clock and resulted in yet another field goal, putting them up 16-10.
The teams then traded punts, the latter of which was forced after a huge sack from Chase Young.
But New Orleans’ attempt to put a touchdown drive together and take the lead was marred by an interception from Shough in the red zone.
Atlanta’s Dee Alford returned the ball deep into Saints territory, which led to yet another field goal from Zane Gonzalez to establish a two-score lead for the hosts.
A pair of deep passes from Shough to Pettis set up a 16-yard touchdown pass to Ronnie Bell for a quick answer, but it was too little too late.
With no timeouts, the Saints needed an onside kick, which they failed to recover.
The Falcons emerged 19-17 victors, marking the end of the...
