New Orleans Saints Quarterback Andy Dalton answers questions from the media after a 21-18 win over the Atlanta Falcons in an NFL Football game Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022 in New Orleans, La. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)
by Hunter Dawkins, Publisher/Owner – thegazebogazette@gmail.com
For the second time during the National Football League (NFL) 2022-23 season, the New Orleans Saints slid by the Atlanta Falcons with a 21-18 victory and secured their second series sweep in the last three seasons against Atlanta. New Orleans, Atlanta and the Carolina Panthers all have 5-9 records in the NFC South.
New Orleans is on a three-game winning streak against the Falcons and are 2-3 against NFC South opponents this season. The Saints improve their 2022 home record to 4-4 (including a Week Four contest vs. Minnesota in London), a 4-3 record at the Caesars Superdome.
This is the fifth consecutive contest that New Orleans has surrendered 20 or fewer points. This is the third consecutive season that the Saints have had such a streak, which has occurred for the first time in franchise history.
The Saints surrendered only 320 total net yards, including 89 net yards passing, the lowest total against an opponent this season and have a 25-21 overall record against the Falcons; “The Dirty Birds, at the Superdome.
New Orleans Saints Wide Receiver Rashid Shaheed answering media question after beating the Atlanta Falcons 21-18 in an NFL Football game Sunday, Dec. 18 in New Orleans, La. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)
“Listen, we need to win. You know what I mean?,” said New Orleans Saints Head Coach Dennis Allen. “It’s one thing, we all talk about run the ball, run the ball. Look, I don’t think we tackled as well as we needed to today. What did they have? 80 yards passing? It’s not about do you stop the run, do you stop the pass, do you do this, do you do that. It’s all about do you win. That’s what we did today.”
Saints Quarterback Andy Dalton was 11-of-17 passing with 151 yards and two touchdowns; both to Tight End Juwan Johnson, for a 132.2 passer rating. It is Dalton’s fourth game this season throwing for multiple touchdowns.
Specialist Taysom Hill accounted for 110 total yards, including 2-of-2 passing for 80 yards and a
68-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. Hill also contributed 30 rushing
yards on seven carries.
Despite being shutout in the fourth quarter and 15-7 during the second half, the Saints defense collected four total sacks, eight pass deflections and had one take-away after recovering a fumble.
New Orleans held the Falcons to just 120 total yards and collected three sacks and five pass
deflections in the first 30 minutes of play. The defense sealed the game with defensive back and Mississippi Gulf Coast native Justin Evans’ first forced fumble of his career and cornerback Bradley Roby recovering the ball with 2:03 left to play.
With his fourth solo tackle of the day, linebacker Demario Davis reached 350 solo tackles in his career with the Black and Gold. Davis finished with a team-best eight total tackles, including six solo tackles bringing his career total to 352 solo tackles with the Saints.
New Orleans will play on the road for two weeks in a row, playing at Cleveland on Saturday, December 24, 2022 at 12pm.
Front Photo: New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson (83) reaches in for a touchdown in the first half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons in New Orleans, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
