Saints 24 Falcons 27 summary ....... The Saints suffered a tough overtime loss in a penalty-dense game filled with momentum swings. play-by-play ............ The Falcons got out of the gate quickly when Eric Metcalf slipped behind the coverage and took a pass 55 yds to the NO 14 on the third play of the game. A throw from Jeff George to TE Mitch Lyons (the Falcons have a tight end?) on the next play gave Atlanta a 1st at the 2, but they were unable to score a TD. Morten came on and kicked a 19 yarder. The Saints answered with a big hit of their own on their third play- Quinn Early beat his man down the sideline and took a Jim Everett throw 70 yds for a TD. With less than 6 minutes gone in the game, it was 7-3 Saints. After the D forced a 3 & punt series, the O began another long scoring march. Early caught one for 10 on 3rd & 6 from the NO 39, then Wesley Walls chalked up an 8 yd catch on 3rd & 4 from the Atlanta 45. The Saints patiently continued with four successful plays in a row (6 yd Mario Bates run, 10 yd Michael Haynes catch, 4 yd Bates run, 8 yd Irv Smith catch) to set up 1st & goal from the 9. However, on 3rd down from the 3 Everett threw his first incomplete pass of the day. Chip Lohmiller kicked a 21 yarder to put the Saints up by 7. The Saints were in charge and appeared to have made another big play when Tyrone Hughes picked off a pass in Atlanta territory, but the INT was negated by a Falcon penalty. One play later, Emanuel made a fingertip catch at the NO 34 for a 48 yd gain on 3rd & 14. The momentum had shifted, and one play later George found Mathis for an easy 31 yd TD. Klaus Wilmsmeyer came on to punt after only 3 offensive plays. Metcalf returned the kick to near midfield, then took a throwback screen to the NO 29 on the next play. Ironhead Heyward ran twice to pick up another Falcon 1st, but the the drive halted when Turnbull registered a sack on 3rd & 7. Andersen made a 34 yd FG. The offense shook out of its funk when a scrambling Everett found Torrance Small for a 25 yd gain on 3rd & 9 from the 22. The next two plays (a 15 yd throw to Haynes and a 26 yd dump pass to Bates) put the Saints back into the red zone. Unfortunately, one play later a Falcon poked the ball free from Wesley Walls' grasp following a reception at the 5. The D didn't let Atlanta out of the hole, producing a 3 & punt series. The Saints' good field position was ruined, though, by an illegal use of hands call during the return that backed the team up to their own 33. One play later a sack forced Everett from the game with a leg injury that looked worse than it was. The Falcons ran out the first half clock after a Saint punt. Everett returned to start the first possession of the second half, which went 3 & punt. A holding call on the kick put Atlanta at their own 8. The Falcons got out of danger with a 16 yd Metcalf run, followed one play later by a 10 yd Mathis catch, followed two plays later by a 24 yd Birden catch. One play later Heyward picked up 12 to give the visitors a 1st at the NO 26. A Turnbull sack finally slowed them down. Andersen was accurate from 46 yds out. The O once again came alive thanks to an Everett to Small 3rd down conversion (a 31 yd play that resulted in a 1st at the Falcon 40). Everett then found Haynes for 13 yds two times in three plays. One play later Haynes made a leaping grab in traffic at the back of the endzone for a 9 yd score. Lohmiller's PAT put the Saints up by 1. The momentum was now back with the Saints. A good tackle by Ron Childs on the kickoff put the Falcons at their own 17. The D stuffed Heyward for no gain, then sacked the QB twice in a row (Mark Fields followed by Willie Broughton) to force a punt from deep in the endzone. A fair catch at the Atlanta 43 gave the home team the ball in good field position. The O didn't waste it- on 3rd & 6 from the 28 Walls made a great catch of a perfectly thrown ball while crossing the goal line. The extra point put the Saints up by 8 with 14:15 left in regulation. An 11 yd reception by Mathis on 3rd & 2 gave Atlanta a 1st near midfield, but the D came through again- Wayne Martin sacked the QB two plays later to force an Atlanta punt. The inertia died soon after, though. The Saints were lucky to retain possession of a 1st down Lorenzo Neal fumble. One play later, Everett was sacked. Atlanta took over at the NO 45. The ensuing possession started with an incomplete pass, but that was to be the only unsuccessful play in the drive. The Falcons ripped off 7 plays in a row- Emanuel 10 catch, Emanuel 9 catch, Heyward 3 run, Heyward 4 run, Metcalf 8 catch, Metcalf 4 catch, Heyward 7 run for TD. George found Mathis in the endzone to complete the 2 point conversion and tie the game with 6:11 left. The O was unable to get a first down and punted the ball back to Atlanta. The Falcons picked up 21 on 2nd & 19 from the 25, but an incompletion and a shoestring tackle of Heyward by Eric Allen brought up 3rd & 10. Hughes picked off a dead duck throw at the NO 31 to give the ball to the offense with 2:45 remaining. Initially, the Saints appeared to be on their way to a late game-winning score. Derek Brown's 3rd & 8 catch & run was good for a 1st down by half the length of the football. Two plays later Walls picked up 4 on a 3rd & 2 crossing pattern. With 1:05 to go, the Saints had a 1st at the Atlanta 47. Then the penalties came. First William Roaf was called for drifting downfield on a pass play. On the next play Walls was flagged for a false start. On the play after that, Richard Cooper was hit with a holding call. Now facing 1st & 30, the Saints' march toward field goal range was effectively over. The team punted with 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and the Falcons ran out the clock to send the game into overtime. The Saints won the toss and elected to receive, but a holding call on the kick return stuck the Saints at their own 9. Three plays later Metcalf returned Wilmsmeyer's punt to the NO 39. When Emanuel caught a 10 yd pass on the next play, everyone knew what was coming next- Morten would soon come on to beat his old team. The thing is, it didn't happen that way. Heyward was stuffed for 3 on first down. Then Joe Johnson and Martin recorded consecutive sacks to push Atlanta out of FG range. A fair catch at the 15 gave the Saints new hope. The O started well, with a 6 yd Haynes catch, followed by an 8 yd Bates run, followed by a 12 yd Small catch, followed by a 4 yd Bates run. The drive ended, unfortunately, after two incompletions. Wilmsmeyer's punt died at the Falcon 6, thus putting Atlanta deep in their own territory. Hopes of winning a field position battle were dashed when Metcalf caught a ball for 10 and Hewyard ran for 13 on the ensuing drive's first two plays. On 3rd & 5 from the 34, George found Mathis open along the sideline for 6. One play later an 11 yd reception by Mathis moved the ball into Saint territory. On 3rd & 2 from the NO 41, Atlanta gambled and won- Metcalf made a great fingertip grab of a pass at the 2 yardline. Much to the delight of the Times Picayune sportswriters, Morten Andersen trotted onto the field and ended the game with an easy 21 yarder. drive chart & stats ................... (P)unt, (M)issed FG, (E)nd of period, (F)umble, (I)nterception, out of (D)owns 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G S >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 1:17 Early A >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 6:52 Lohmiller I >P 2:49 N >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>F 3:56 T P :28 S ....................................................halftime | P 1:12 | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 3:41 Haynes | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 2:25 Walls | P<<<< 1:16 | >>>P :54 | >>>>>>>>>>>P 2:32 | ....................................................overtime | >P 1:14 | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>P 2:37 | ....................................................gameover | 30:13 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G F >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 4:24 Andersen A P 1:11 L >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 2:59 Mathis C >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 3:26 Andersen O >>>P 1:10 N >>>>>>E 1:28 S ....................................................halftime | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 6:26 Andersen | P<<<<<<<< 2:01 | >>>>>>>P 3:02 | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>8 3:46 Heyward/Mathis | >>>>>>>>>I 2:32 | E :13 | ....................................................overtime | P<<<< 1:58 | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 5:09 Andersen | ....................................................gameover | 39:45 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G .......throwin' & catchin'.............../...runnin'.... Everett Hodson Bates 3- 36 18- 48 Brown 3- 23 1-9 3- 4 Neal 1- 6 1- (2) Walls 6- 61-1 Smith 2- 12 Haynes 5- 59-1 Early 5- 99-1 Small 4- 74 incomplete 14 0 intercepted 0 0 29-43-370-3-0 1-1-9-0-0 22- 50 Falcons: George 27-39-386-1-1, Metcalf 11-155, Mathis 6-81-1, Emanuel 6-104, Heyward 25-102-1 notes ..... * our 3 losses have come by a total of 9 points, but that's little consolation * 0-3 start in the NFC West makes playoffs unlikely * next week's matchup with the 0-3 Giants features two desperate teams ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu