3 winners and 3 losers from the Falcons’ season-saving win over the Saints

The Atlanta Falcons squeaked out a victory against the New Orleans Saints despite three Matt Ryan interceptions. The Saints offense took a huge blow after Alvin Kamara suffered a concussion on the first drive of the game.

The teams were even throughout the first half, but the Saints took a 17-10 lead in the third quarter thanks to a 1-yard touchdown from Drew Brees to Michael Thomas. In the fourth quarter, the Falcons would score 10 unanswered points.

First came a Mohamed Sanu touchdown on an 11-play, 69-yard drive that took over seven minutes. Then Matt Bryant kicked what would be the game-sealing field goal with just under four minutes to go.

The Falcons desperately needed a win to stay alive not just in the playoff race, but in the NFC South race as well. The Saints still hold a lead in the division at 9-4, but the Falcons at 8-5 now trail them by just one game. Things will remain interesting with the 8-4 Panthers playing the Vikings this upcoming weekend.

Here are the winners and losers from the game.

Matt Ryan had three interceptions on the evening. It continued a season for Ryan that makes his 2016 MVP campaign seem like ages ago.

It’s not the first time he’s done that this season, but it’s the first time in a while he’s had a pair of those in a season:

The Falcons are fortunate to have gotten out of the game with a win, despite Ryan’s struggles.

The rivals play again on Christmas Eve. If Ryan and the Falcons have another sloppy game like that — and with a healthy Kamara for the Saints — the Falcons might not be as lucky in the Superdome.

To be fair, one of Ryan’s interceptions wasn’t his fault. Chris Banjo was in the perfect position to catch the ball after it bounced off the chest of Falcons tight end Austin Hooper:

That was also the first play of the second half. At that point, it seemed like the Falcons were destined to be doomed despite the game being tied at 10-10.

If you count game time, Ryan threw two picks in 19 seconds between that one and another right before the first half. It’s not a blown 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl, but it made Falcons fans itch.

Speaking of those two interceptions, this was the pick Ryan threw right before the half. The Falcons were trying to squeeze at least a field goal out of their drive, when rookie Marshon Lattimore — back after missing two games due to injury — secured his third interception of the year:

The Saints had the ball at the 29-yard line with four seconds left and were prepared for a Wil Lutz field goal, which was good.

However, the Saints were called for an illegal formation, and there was no play and no field goal as a result. It ended up being the difference in the game.

After Bryant’s 52-yard field goal to put the Falcons up 20-17 went through in the fourth quarter, Drew Brees had just under four minutes to get his team in the end zone at best and a field goal at worst.

On the drive, the Saints were faced with a fourth-and-1, which Brees converted on a QB sneak. He then hit Ted Ginn Jr. on a crossing route with a ball that Ginn managed to hang on to, putting the Saints on the Falcons’ 22.

With all the momentum, the Saints appeared to be well on their way to a touchdown, when Brees threw an interception to Deion Jones in the end zone:

Jones’ interception ended up being the first of two daggers for the Saints.

This was the second dagger. The Saints could have gotten the ball back — albeit with very little time left on the clock — if they would have stopped the Falcons.

However, Sean Payton abruptly ran toward the official and was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty after a second down with 1:13 left:

That’s a 15-yarder in the rulebook, and it allowed the Falcons to take two knees to secure the win.

The Saints and Falcons are two of the NFL’s most bitter rivals. Devonta Freeman held up that reputation at the end of the game by calling the Saints the “‘Aints” on Twitter (a tweet he would later delete):

The Saints-Falcons rivalry might not be the biggest in sports, or the first one that people first think of, but it’s up there with the best of them.

Week 16 in New Orleans between these two should be a blast.