‘Don’t let it define us’ must be Falcons mantra rebounding after loss to Saints

ATLANTA – That didn’t go the way the Falcons planned it.

The home team had firm control over the rival New Orleans Saints in the regular-season opener in front of a massive, raucous Mercedes-Benz Stadium crowd that was super into it from the opening kick.

There was reason to cheer. The Falcons were beating the Saints in every phase. They were running the ball well. They were point scorers in the kicking game. They were pressuring the passer at a rate unseen in recent seasons.

Then, well, you know what happened next.

The Saints surged ahead, erased a two-score, fourth-quarter Falcons lead and essentially won it with Will Lutz’s 51-yard field goal with 19 seconds left. The whirlwind of explosive plays and Saints scoring came in a massive gust, with enough power to knock the Falcons off their axis.

The Falcons were in command. Then they weren’t, passengers unable to stop the Saints attack or generate enough offense to run out the clock with their lead intact. Yeah. It happened that fast.

While the fourth-quarter took some time to absorb, a difficult reality set in motion an important question: What happens next?

How will the Falcons respond? Will one loss impact a second, or will they turn the page quickly and reset? That will be vital as the Falcons move forward.

Can’t change what happened on Sunday. What’s done is done.

“We can’t let this one game define us,” running back Cordarrelle Patterson said. “We didn’t get the ‘W’ that we wanted, but we have to keep working hard.

“We’ll let this sit for 24 hours, but then we’ve got to move on to the Rams. We have 16 more games in this season. For me, I don’t stress. I don’t trip. It’s football and sometimes crazy things happen. You can’t let one game define you. You have to keep pushing.”