Sometimes statistics can’t tell the whole story of a game. I would argue it’s usually the case that they don’t. However, in the Falcons 27-26 loss to the Saints at home on Sunday, there are a few stats that truly do.
The Falcons defense looked as stout as we’ve seen them look through three quarters on Sunday. They were getting off the field on third down. They created a turnover. They sacked Jameis Winston four times. It should be noted that the Falcons had 17 sacks total in 2021. So, four sack in one game to open the 2022 season? That’s the direction this team wanted to be heading in. As the first few minutes of the fourth quarter began, though, the game took a 180 degree turn for the Falcons.
With a 16-point lead to open the final quarter, the Falcons saw said lead slip away as the Saints kept producing more runs, more plays, more points, just more. So, what happened? What went wrong? A lot. And Grady Jarrett is right in what he said postgame that you have to look at this game collectively, not just at the fourth quarter.
“There’s more than one play that determines the outcome of the game,” Jarrett said.
But this wasn’t one play. What transpired in the fourth quarter was an accumulation of plays. Jarrett is right. One play doesn’t change the outcome. But enough explosive plays strung together can, and this is what we saw happen to the Falcons defense on Sunday afternoon.
“I think it was the big plays,” Rashaan Evans said of the moments that change the game. “Jameis (Winston) – for some reason – it started clicking for him. He was completing all of his passes. We allowed some big plays to allow them to kick a field goal and get back into the game. We have to be better in the fourth. We have to finish these teams.”
Prior to the start of the fourth quarter, Winston has less than 60 passing yards. Yep. Less than 60.
He had been sacked four times. He was playing under duress in the pocket. That changed dramatically in the fourth quarter when the Saints sped up their tempo, and things started to turn around for the Saints quarterback. And when things clicked (like Evans said) the Falcons didn’t have an answer.
“Those plays were pivotal for them to get back into the game,” Evans continued. “If you cut those plays down and maybe a couple calls and maybe some other things like going for it on fourth down, stuff like that, it may be a different game.”
It wasn’t, though, and in the fourth quarter alone, Winston surpassed 200 passing yards to mount a comeback.
Of those…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News…