New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons went into New Orleans and beat the Saints soundly in what was one of the largest upsets of the NFL season so far. Atlanta’s thus far mediocre defense sacked Saints’ QB Drew Brees 6 times and kept the Saints’ offense out of the end zone, yielding only 3 field goals from Saints K Wil Lutz. The Saints were an awful 3/12 on 3rd downs (and also 0-3 on 4th down) and struggled all day to sustain drives. While the Falcons didn’t exactly dominate time of possession (33:46-26:14), they were bailed out for 6 first downs that were a result of New Orleans penalties. Atlanta came in with the right idea on how to beat the Saints – run the ball and keep Drew Brees on the sideline as long as possible. Let’s dive into how this looked for your fantasy team.
New Orleans Saints
Quarterbacks
- Drew Brees: 32/45, 287 yards
In what was an afternoon to forget for QB Drew Brees, he was sacked 6 times by a Falcons’ defensive front that had only mustered 7 sacks in their previous 8 games this season. Conversely, New Orleans’ offensive line had only allowed 7 total sacks through their first 8 games this season. If you started Brees this week against what seemed like a juicy matchup at home against the Falcons’ awful defense, you were disappointed in the result. As you might expect, Brees was sharp when targeting WR Michael Thomas an RB Alvin Kamara – completing 20 out of 23 passes to his star teammates for 185 yards. However, Brees was just 12 out of 22 when targeting anyone else. Brees and the Saints’ offense will hope to get back on track next week against Tampa Bay.
Running Backs
- Alvin Kamara: 4 carries, 24 yards | 10 targets, 8 receptions, 50 yards
- Latavius Murray: 5 carries, 12 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 7 yards
The Saints struggled to get their run game going, which was surprising considering the return of star RB Alvin Kamara from injury. Most Kamara owners likely expected him to thrive against a Falcons defense who entered in the bottom third of the league in both total defense and rushing defense, but that didn’t come to fruition. While Kamara still salvaged a respectful output in PPR formats with his 8 receptions and 50 receiving yards, he failed to find the end zone and appears unlikely to finish the season returning value at his ADP. It’s tough to understand why Kamara was only given 4 carries considering the Saints were in striking distance of the Falcons for most of the game. Saints’ backup RB Latavius Murray filled in nicely during Kamara’s absence from injury but was also unable to get much going against the Falcons. While his role was expected to diminish with the return of Kamara, Murray secured only 7 total touches for 19 total yards on the day. While Kamara remains a must-start for the rest of the season, after this performance it’s tough to forecast whether or not Murray will provide any additional fantasy value moving forward – assuming Kamara stays healthy, that is.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- Michael Thomas: 14 targets, 13 receptions, 152 yards
- Tre’Quan Smith: 2 targets, 1 reception, 13 yards
- Jared Cook: 10 targets, 6 receptions, 74 yards
This group of Saints’ pass-catchers yet again saw WR Michael Thomas with more receiving yards than everyone else combined against Atlanta on Sunday. Thomas’ remarkable streak of productivity continued – this time racking up 13 catches and over 150 yards – yet still he was unable to find the end zone. It’s a credit to Thomas how productive he’s been with only 4 TDs this season. It was Thomas’ fifth game this season with at least ten catches and his fifth game with at least 100 receiving yards. TE Jared Cook saw his highest target total of the season with ten, and he was able to turn them into 6 catches for 74 yards. Otherwise, it was a pretty disappointing outing for the rest of the Saints’ receivers. WR Ted Ginn Jr. was held without a catch on 3 targets, finishing with 2 drops. WR Tre’Quan Smith also returned from injury and finished with 1 spectacular catch – he was able to hold on to a 13-yard strike on a crossing route while being hit so hard that his helmet flew off. At this point in the season, however, it’s tough to trust any Saints’ receiver other than Thomas in your fantasy lineups.
Atlanta Falcons
Quarterbacks
- Matt Ryan: 20/35, 182 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Falcons’ QB Matt Ryan had a bit of a lackluster day after returning from an ankle injury, but his 2 TDs helped lead Atlanta’s shocking upset of NFC South-leading New Orleans. Ryan’s lack of production may have seemed unlikely considering the Saints’ defense had played the run much better than the pass so far this season. However, Atlanta’s game plan was clear from the very beginning – run the ball and keep Brees and the Saints’ offense off the field. Ryan’s first TD pass to TE Austin Hooper was a perfectly thrown strike between two defenders, and his second was a dump off to RB Brian Hill who scrambled for 10 yards and hurdled a Saints’ defender on his way into the end zone. Ryan was admittedly still a bit bothered by his ankle injury that kept him out in week 8, but was able to play well enough to lead the Falcons to only their second win of the season. Ryan will hope to feel closer to 100% next week at Carolina.
Running Backs
- Devonta Freeman: 10 carries, 38 yards | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 10 yards
- Brian Hill: 20 carries, 61 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 10 yards, 1 TD
The Falcons came in planning to stick to their running game and attack the Saints’ defense with a balanced attack – and they were able to do just that. While Devonta Freeman left the game in the 2nd quarter with a foot injury, RB Brian Hill did just fine in his place – finishing with 71 total yards and a receiving TD. Hill was elevated to the role of Freeman’s backup as typical Atlanta RB Ito Smith was put on IR this past week. While Hill was only able to manage 3 yards per carry, it suited Atlanta’s game plan to take shots when they were available, but stick to the run otherwise and kill the clock. Atlanta’s defense holding the Saints’ offense to only 9 points helped Atlanta stick to their game plan, and Hill was the biggest beneficiary of those events. The Falcons will hope to keep their turnaround going as they visit the Panthers next weekend.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- Julio Jones: 9 targets, 3 receptions, 79 yards
- Calvin Ridley: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 28 yards | 1 carry, 19 yards
- Austin Hooper: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 17 yards, 1 TD
With Atlanta hoping to run the ball as much as they did, their receivers had mostly disappointing fantasy performances on the afternoon. WR Julio Jones finished with a respectable 79 receiving yards, but was only able to haul in 33% of his targets against New Orleans. WR Calvin Ridley and TE Austin Hooper only saw 5 targets apiece, and the two combined for only 45 receiving yards. On top of Atlanta’s plan to run the ball as much as they did, they also benefited from 6 first downs due to New Orleans penalties. While it’s likely that all of Atlanta’s pass-catchers will get a boost from Ryan’s return, they’ll need for Ryan to shake off some rust if they want to return to fantasy relevance.
–Corey Saucier