ATLANTA -- A day of deep, emotional off-the-field strain for the Falcons came to a close with loss on the field.
First, quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in jail on federal dogfighting charges. Then came a Monday Night Football showdown with NFC South rival New Orleans. The prime-time matchup offered a chance to make big news on a national stage. Instead, the Saints (6-7) came up big in a game they needed to stay alive in the playoff race.
Falcons players talked all week at the Flowery Branch practice facility about limiting the Saints' love of the big play.
They didn't stop New Orleans from putting together big drives.
The Saints put on an offensive display at the Georgia Dome, totaling 473 yards of total offense and forming scoring drives of 99, 75, 94, 80 and 54 yards in a 34-14 victory.
Quarterback Drew Brees had 250 passing yards and two touchdown passes at halftime and finished the game with 328 yards through the air and three touchdown passes.
Running back Aaron Stecker, who started in place of an injured Reggie Bush, ran for an even 100 yards. Second-year wide receiver Marques Colston, who entered the game second on the team with 70 catches, hauled in a pair of touchdown passes and passed Bush for the team lead in receptions. Kicker Olindo Mare added two field goals in the win. Veteran David Patten also added a touchdown grab.
"It was a bad day for us and it is a hard thing to take," Head Coach Bobby Petrino said. "We couldn't stop them on defense. Any time you give up drives of 99 and 95 yards it is hard to win the game."
The Falcons (3-10) were initially crisp on offense under new starter Chris Redman, but failed to convert on key third downs and were kept off the field by a brutally efficient Saints offense.
New Orleans drove 80 yards to open the third quarter with a touchdown and opened up a 24-7 lead.
"We couldn't get pressure on him because they had him in three-step drop," veteran safety Lawyer Milloy said of Brees and the Saints' system. "That obviously makes it harder to get pressure because he is able to get the ball of quicker. At some point you just have to make a play and we couldn't get it done tonight."
The Falcons only first-half touchdown came with 1:56 remaining in the first quarter. Redman led a five-play, 80-yard drive at the end of the opening period and capped it off with a 33-yard scoring strike to leading wide receiver Roddy White, who is now just five yards from hitting the 1,000-yard mark for the season.
Things appeared to be going the right direction for the Falcons in the first half as Redman became just the eighth Falcons quarterback to throw for at least 100 yards in the first quarter the teams battled to a 7-7 tie. Redman, who started his first game since the 2003 season finished the night 23-of-40 for 298 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
"I was really focused on the game and I wasn't able to watch any of the news before the game," Redman said. "I didn't listen to the hype or put myself in a situation to be distracted. Overall I think we were in the position to stay in the game, but we just didn't execute like we needed to."
But, slowly, any spark for the Falcons began to fade away.
Redman's lone pick went off the hands of wide receiver Michael Jenkins with 8:30 remaining in the third quarter and was returned for a touchdown by safety Roman Harper to give New Orleans a 31-7 lead.
Jenkins redeemed himself late in the game, however, hauling in Redman's second touchdown pass with just under nine minutes remaining. The veteran receiver finished the game with nine catches (tying a season high). The score was set up by a timely special teams play as Michael Boley forced a Lance Moore fumble on a punt return which was recovered by rookie David Irons at the Saints 21-yard line.
The play was but one bright spot on a frustrating night for Falcons players and their fans.
Redman's career resurgence was coupled with electric plays by Jerious Norwood, who rushed for 21 yards and caught two passes for 57 yards as the team's featured back. That proved of little consequence, however, as Atlanta dropped a fourth straight game. The Birds travel to face the Buccaneers next week in Tampa. The Bucs are coming off a Week 14 loss at Houston. That, coupled with Monday's result, keeps New Orleans alive in the NFC South race.
"You just have to find it somewhere," Jenkins said. "It's tough when you have a season like this but it all comes down to playing football. Football is something that we love to play. It's 0-0 at the beginning of every game. You just have to believe that you can win."
"We have to find something to rally around," added Petrino. "I thought that is what we would do after our second half in St. Louis. I thought our toughness and competitiveness that we showed would carry over, but it did not happen tonight."
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-SAINTS GAME:
- GAMEDAY: All the coverage from the Falcons-Saints game
- STATS AND PLAY-BY-PLAY: NFL.com Game Center
- GAME NOTES: Updates and injury news from the Georgia Dome press box
- INACTIVES AND STARTERS: Inactives and starters from Week 14
- QUOTABLE: Thoughts on the game from Falcons players and coaches
- VIDEO: Head Coach Bobby Petrino
- VIDEO: Quarterback Chris Redman
- VIDEO: Chris Redman Highlights
- VIDEO: Falcons-Saints Highlights
