Live Updates From Saints-Falcons Week 12 Game

It's the 108th regular season meeting between the Saints and Falcons in Week 12, and this one is certainly one of the more important ones for both teams.

ATLANTA -- The stage is set for the Saints (5-5) to take on the Falcons (4-6) from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Week 12, as it's one of six early kickoffs on Sunday. New Orleans is in control of the NFC South right now, but that could all change if Atlanta wins against them at home. There's going to be a lot more energy in here, especially with the prestigious halftime entertainment to honor 50 years of Hip-Hop. Here's our weekly game thread, which will provide live updates, notes, observations, and much more from the game.

Pregame Notes

• My colleague Ross Jackson hit on this the other week, but some have asked about the emergency third quarterback situation. Jake Haener told Jackson that he has never been designated in that capacity.
• There was some hope that Isaiah Foskey would be ready for this game, as he spent his entire bye week in New Orleans rehabbing. However, he'll be out and Jason Pierre-Paul is up with the regular rotation.
• Blake Grupe looks pretty strong in pregame warmups. He was a late add on the injury report on Friday with a right groin injury, but was a full participant of practice. All points are important today, and he's one of many Saints who need to ensure they are consistent down the stretch.
• Marquez Callaway rejoined the Saints this week, but he didn't get called up for this game. That means New Orleans will roll out a receiving corps of Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, A.T. Perry, Lynn Bowden, and Keith Kirkwood. They have to get by while Michael Thomas is out, but this also feels like a big ground game incoming.
• Payton Turner is out of his walking boot and he made the trip. He's still expected to return to the team, but it'll be towards the end of the season like we've previously reported.
• Jason Pierre-Paul was No. 14 when he arrived, honoring his 14th year in the league, but made the swap to No. 54 as we saw in walkthroughs.
• Whatever the hype was for the intros when the Falcons took the field was overshadowed by the mic not working. The coin toss couldn't be heard either.

Saints - Falcons Score Predictions | Week 12

First Quarter - Falcons 7, Saints 3

Scoring

• Saints, 8:10 - Blake Grupe 25-yard field goal. (10-77, 3:58)
• Falcons, 1:46 - Jessie Bates III 92-yard interception return.

Notes

• Two straight running plays for the Saints to open, with the first one losing two yards. Overall, a three-and-out to start after receiving the opening kickoff isn't really encouraging.
• Isaac Yiadom did start opposite of Paulson Adebo.
• Jordan Howden was the extra defensive back on 3rd-and-5. New Orleans almost had a pick-six with Paulson Adebo on the play too had it not been tipped by Drake London.
• The referee mic isn't working, but the Falcons got a false start penalty on the punt.
• Excellent blitz pickup by Jamaal Williams to start the second offensive series, as Derek Carr connected with Chris Olave on a huge 50-yard hookup. 
• Very nice play design on the 3rd-and-5 run with Alvin Kamara. There was some good blocking by Andrus Peat and Foster Moreau on the play.
• Something really went wrong on the 3rd-and-Goal play from 7-yard-line. A.T. Perry didn't end up running his route, perhaps thinking there was a false start or penalty before. Either way, not a good look when they wanted him on the fade.
• That was some throw and catch between Desmond Ridder and Drake London. It was about as pretty as they get.
• Huge defensive stand by the Saints getting a turnover on downs from the Falcons running a play on 4th-and-2 with Ridder. Marcus Maye and Pete Werner shut it down.
• Real nice hookup to start the drive between Carr and Juwan Johnson that picked up 23 yards. That duo hasn't got it going yet, but it's never too late. Cesar Ruiz did a nice job on David Onyemata on that rep too.
• Really nice job by Derek Carr rolling right and trusting Taysom Hill with the deep shot to pick up 36 yards.
• Complete momentum changer with Carr getting picked off by Jessie Bates III. That ball should have never been thrown, and it was an easy pick-six.
• Rashid Shaheed went into the injury tent for the Saints, as Taysom Hill was back deep on the ensuing kickoff. He got on the bike and was about to go back into the game before a Falcons injury.
• Lynn Bowden took a big hit to start the ensuing possession. The Falcons picked up a taunting call via DeMarcco Hellams on the play. He briefly went out but returned.
• Taysom Hill and Alvin Kamara on the ground is working for the most part. It would be smart to stick with it and feature it.

Second Quarter - Falcons 14, Saints 9

Scoring

• Saints, 14:16 - Blake Grupe 52-yard field goal. (7-41, 2:30)
• Falcons, 8:56 - Bijan Robinson 10-yard run. (10-78, 5:20)
• Saints, 3:54 - Blake Grupe 41-yard field goal. (12-52, 5:02)

Notes

• That third down throw was really hurried and didn't connect at all. That was kind of ugly. It was a bit hurried too due to pressure.
• Jason Pierre-Paul started the defensive drive for the Saints with Tanoh Kpassagnon.
• That Ridder-London connection got another hookup, this time 16 yards to start the drive. Alontae Taylor got pushed off the route. Taylor was outside opposite of Paulson Adebo, and then pushed into the slot with Yiadom coming back in.
• 3rd-and-9 and you have a chance to get off the field only to have Ridder hit Kyle Pitts for 11.
• There's the quarterback run we expected to see, with Ridder getting 15. He also picked up another 12 yards to help set the Falcons up in the red zone. Alontae Taylor got hurt on the attempted tackle and is in the injury tent after walking there gingerly with assistance. Ugo Amadi replaced him in the slot.
• Just an easy touchdown run for Bijan Robinson from 10 yards out. The Falcons did what they wanted to with relative ease on that scoring drive.
• Alontae Taylor exited the injury tent and rejoined the Saints sideline.
• It's rare seeing a Taysom Hill run going for negative yardage, but it happened.
• Rashid Shaheed wasn't right after making a dive for a Carr pass. He hobbled off the field and threw down his helmet in frustration after reaching the sideline bench. He had a towel over his head leaving the field going to the locker room.
• The Chris Olave connection is heating up. He made some killer catches on the drive, being up to 114 yards on 7 catches. 
• Carr misfired on 3rd-and-9. It wasn't even close to being a hookup to Juwan Johnson. This has to hit. Thankfully, Blake Grupe continues to be solid.
• There's the almost sack that turned into a first down for the Falcons. Those have been infuriating to watch.
• Really nice play by Carl Granderson to stop Bijan Robinson. That could have went for more.
• Demario Davis made a real nice tackle on Robinson following the two-minute warning.
• On 3rd-and-4, Ridder escaped all of the Saints pressure and picked up a first down. Jordan Howden was called for a holding call too. That summarizes things.
• Just when the Saints are in a position to at least get a big stop, they give up an 11-yard run to Cordarrelle Patterson on 3rd-and-8.
• Tremendous timing for Tyrann Mathieu to get an interception to shut the door on Atlanta. Khalen Saunders and Jonnu Smith got into it after the play with offsetting personal foul penalties. The Saints were all too eager to just kneel the ball.

Third Quarter - Falcons 14, Saints 12

Scoring

• Saints, 3:27 - Blake Grupe 45-yard field goal. (14-65, 8:13)

Notes

• Things started chippy on the first defensive snap with Cordarelle Patterson taking exception to Marcus Maye and a convoy of Saints upending him for the tackle after his progress stopped.
• Bijan Robinson had a really nice run to get into Saints territory. He hasn't had many, but that was a good one for him with good blocking by Parker Hesse.
• Great time for Bryan Bresee to get a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage to turn the Falcons away with a punt. Saints don't have ideal field position, but let's see what happens.
• Derek Carr got fortunate on his scramble for a first down, as David Onyemata stripped him from behind. Rookie A.T. Perry saved the day and averted disaster.
• Chris Olave tried to make a big circus catch on the sideline from a deep Derek Carr pass and paid the price for it. He went into the injury tent after being evaluated, and it's likely for a concussion. Saints receivers are down to Keith Kirkwood, Lynn Bowden and A.T. Perry right now.
• Nice catch-and-run with Alvin Kamara after he broke a Kaden Elliss tackle and picked up 20.
• Olave ended up leaving the field after getting checked out. His day is over.
• Erik McCoy got hurt on some nice trickery with Lynn Bowden. He was clutching his left collarbone area and went into the medical tent. Max Garcia went in at center for him.
• Juwan Johnson got hurt as well, and he ended up getting checked out for a concussion and ended up leaving the field.
• Ryan Ramczyk wasn't in on the 3rd Down play and it put Landon Young on the field. He got beat immediately for a sack on 3rd-and-14. Grupe delivered again.
• Ridder almost made a big mistake that would have ended in a Demario Davis interception, but it was too low. The Saints are going to need to catch a break at this point.
• Right on cue, Tyrann Mathieu gets his second pick of the day.
• McCoy and Ramczyk are both back in the game.
• Good play design to Taysom Hill out in the flats that saw him break a tackle and get some extra yards. Real nice blocking by A.T. Perry as well. That was followed up by a nice run with Kamara.
• Just when the Saints get the momentum, Taysom Hill gets the ball punched out going inside the 10-yard-line. New Orleans is its own worst enemy.

Fourth Quarter - Falcons 24, Saints 15

Scoring

• Falcons, 9:57 - Bijan Robinson 26-yard reception from Desmond Ridder. (9-95, 5:03)
• Saints, 6:24 - Blake Grupe 39-yard field goal. (8-54, 3:33)
• Falcons, 1:47 - Younghoe Koo 39-yard field goal. (10-54, 4:37)

Notes

• Falcons getting it done on the ground and through the air on their drive following the turnover so far. Drake London is being a thorn in the side of the Saints defense, and he made a great move on Marcus Maye to get away from him and take it inside the 30-yard-line. This drive started at their own 5-yard-line.
• Easy hookup from Ridder to Robinson for the second touchdown of the day. Pete Werner was coming with the heat, but it didn't get home and Davis was trailing in coverage.
• Saints wanted complementary football to power them down the stretch, and they really haven't got any of it today. Atlanta is primed to take control of the division unless New Orleans finds a miracle with 10 minutes left in the game.
• Good play design and pickup of 29 by Lynn Bowden on some trickery. It was a killer block by A.T. Perry as well to help spring him.
• Screen game to Kamara worked with a big pickup of 16.
• The sign of how maddening it is to watch. They get things going on this drive, and then there's a holding call to back them up.
• Carr did a nice job of escaping the sack, but the pass to Jamaal Williams went for nothing. He got hurt on the play and walked gingerly to the sideline. 
• That's a really smart play by Tyler Allgeier sliding and not going out of bounds. The ground and pound is really working for the Falcons and might just get them the win.
• Another injury for the Saints, as Cam Jordan limps off the field and goes to the locker room. They've lost a lot of players today, which is probably an understatement.
• Younghoe Koo knocked in a 39-yard field goal to put Atlanta up two scores with under two minutes to go. Saints are about to really give them the division lead.

Week 12 Saints-Falcons Coverage

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• Saints Must Unleash Rushing Attack Against Familiar Falcons
• A Deeper Look at the Saints' Pass Rushing Struggles
• Saints Pass Defense vs. Falcons Passing Attack
• Saints Should Heavily Feature Taysom Hill Vs. Falcons
• Saints vs. Falcons: A First Look at Week 12's Matchup
• BREAKING: Saints Place Michael Thomas On Injured Reserve