Flick's Forum: Atlanta Falcons Revitalize Season, Playoff Hopes in Win vs. New Orleans Saints
The Atlanta Falcons knew the significance of Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints.
As losers of three straight games entering the bye week, the Falcons lacked momentum and were at risk of having their once-promising season slip away.
With a loss, Atlanta would've been two games behind New Orleans for the lead of the NFC South and cap off November winless. Factor in the rivalry between the two sides, and stakes were as high as they've been all season.
Again, the Falcons recognized this - and attacked Wednesday's practice with an intensity that mirrored the desperation this game produced.
“It felt like training camp," Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. "It was a damn battle. These guys wanted to win, and I would argue that it paid off.”
The Falcons ultimately outlasted the Saints, taking a 24-15 victory inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium and re-claiming first place in the division entering December.
Atlanta began the season with lofty expectations sparked by an expensive offseason and only added fuel to the fire with a 2-0 start - but from thereon, lost six of the next eight games and found itself in a similar position to years past: directionless and in need of a late push.
With the bye week falling when it did, the Falcons had two options: capitalize and come back with a renewed sense of life or check out and allow the season to spiral.
They chose the former.
Linebacker Kaden Elliss said postgame Atlanta showed up to practice Wednesday with a bad taste in its mouth, and safety Jessie Bates III added this feeling helped establish the urgency of the situation.
“Coming off a bye, a lot of people like to ease into stuff," Bates said. "I thought (Smith) did a really good job. We had full pads on Wednesday. That set the tempo for the week on what we wanted to do. If you turn on that tape, I think you’ll know what we did.”
What'd the Falcons do?
Offensively, Atlanta returned to the offensive identity it established last season, rushing for 228 yards and a touchdown on 41 carries. Defensively, the Dirty Birds stood tall when their backs were against the wall, keeping the Saints out of the endzone and forcing them to settle for five field goals.
Rookie phenom Bijan Robinson scored a pair of touchdowns, one apiece on the ground and through the air, and accumulated 123 yards from scrimmage.
Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson ran for 107 yards on 18 attempts, providing additional balance to Atlanta's offense that hasn't been there for much of the season.
In his return to the starting lineup after a two-game stint as the backup, Desmond Ridder had an inauspicious day, going 13 of 21 for 168 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while adding 30 rushing yards, but made enough plays to vault Atlanta into first place.
The Saints had 444 total yards of offense, and seven of their nine true possessions went for at least 40 yards, with five stretching at least 60.
But the Falcons' defense held serve each time, with Bates making a pair of game-changing plays in the redzone.
The first, a 92-yard pick-six in the first quarter, gave Atlanta its first lead. The second, a forced fumble on Saints weapon Taysom Hill in the fourth quarter, helped sustain it.
And in the end, this three-phase effort was precisely what the Falcons needed ... and sent a resounding message about the way they want this season to end.
“We knew we’d find out coming off those three losses what we were going to be," Elliss said. "We were excited for this game. You could not practice all week and still be excited for this game because that’s the kind of game it was.
"To show up Wednesday and put in the work that we did, it speaks volumes of this team and its maturity.”
It also provided a valuable lesson for Elliss, who left the Saints this spring to sign a three-year, $21 million contract with Atlanta. He's enjoyed a strong individual season, leading the team with six tackles for loss and holding second place in tackles with 79.
But still, at the bye week, Elliss didn't know if he made the correct decision during free agency.
Upon returning from the time off, Elliss saw the demeanor the Falcons carried Monday and Tuesday and knew they'd be better down the stretch.
Those two days paired with Wednesday's practice sparked Atlanta's strong overall week and gave Elliss assurance he's where he's supposed to be.
“I actually realized at that point that I was with the right team and picked the right spot this offseason because of how people bounced back," Elliss said. "It’s easy when there’s prosperity, but it’s not as easy when things aren’t going your way. Seeing how we bounced back and how that continued coming off the bye week in this week of work that we put in, that’s how we got here.
"Being with this group is awesome with the resiliency and fight that we have.”
Frustration has been the name of the game for the Falcons over the past month. Each of their three consecutive losses before the bye week were decided by five points or fewer.
But Smith remained confident in his locker room, stressing time and again it has the right people inside ... and put under its biggest microscope yet, delivered a pivotal win.
“I keep saying, it's not just coach talk - this is a different group, and I mean that in a great way," Smith said. "These guys work so damn hard. It's a close team.”
Falcons defensive end Calais Campbell has played in his fair share of NFL games - 238, to be exact - and been a part of four different teams. He signed with Atlanta this offseason because he believed in Smith's plan and thought a playoff run was possible.
Through 10 games, the vision hadn't unfolded as he'd expected ... but after Sunday's win, he and the Falcons are back on track.
“I think this team has underachieved for a while," Campbell said. "We could’ve been playing so much better than we’ve been playing, but all of that doesn't matter anymore."
Atlanta hasn't won back-to-back games since the first two weeks of the season. Nobody in the NFC South is above .500, so it may not be requisite for the Falcons to finish particularly strong, but there are bigger goals than backing into the playoffs.
Better yet, opportunity exists for Atlanta to find its stride and carry momentum should it make the postseason. The Falcons' final six opponents have a combined record of 23-43, and only the Indianapolis Colts (6-5), who Atlanta plays Week 16, currently have a record above .500.
The Falcons entered Sunday feeling they were one win away from turning the tide on their season. They achieved that, and Ridder said he feels excitement rather than relief.
Still, the 24-year-old knows this is just the first of many big games the Falcons have ahead.
“That just means we’ve got to show up every week to be able to play," Ridder said. "We obviously knew this game was huge for that, which was one of the driving reasons of going out here and getting a win. But now we’ve got to keep it. We’ve got to go on the road against the Jets ... and get a win.”
Cornerback A.J. Terrell was quick to point out Atlanta controls its own destiny and doesn't listen to the outside noise, instead focusing on Smith's weekly message and carrying work from practice to Sundays.
On a broader scale, the Falcons aren't having the season they'd hoped - at 5-6, they have the same record now as they did last season.
But there's internal belief this is only the beginning for Atlanta's season, with Campbell praising the group's energy, focus and practice habits before sharing a message to the team.
"After the game, I told a bunch of the guys, ‘You felt the difference at practice. Let’s do that again this week,'" Campbell said. "'Let’s prepare the same way so we can come out and hopefully get another win next week against another hungry opponent.’”
The first-place Falcons may not have the record they want, but they're still in position to achieve their biggest goal - make the playoffs for the first time in six years.
Atlanta, as rookie offensive lineman Matthew Bergeron described afterwards, is tired of riding the rollercoaster. It's been one step forward, two steps back since the hot start subsided.
But with six games left, the Falcons still have everything to play for and a prime opportunity to make it happen ... and it's possible that by season's end, Sunday's victory proves to be the turning point in making this once-forgettable campaign one to remember.
"First place today doesn’t matter," Campbell said. "We need to keep going forward, keep building on it and stack wins."
