To go for it or not to go for it?
That was the question for the Falcons head coach Mike Smith when his team was tied with the New Orleans Saints in overtime and they had possession on their own 29-yard line on fourth-and-short. The Falcons decided to go for it with a run to Michael Turner up the middle, but he got no gain on the play.
That gave the Saints a golden opportunity to cash in, and they did just that as John Kasay kicked a 26-yard field goal to give them the 26-23 win.
“It was something that I take full responsibility for,” Smith said. “It was my decision and my decision solely. The ball was inside a half a yard and I thought we would get it.”
Another reason Smith had his offense go for it was they actually had the first down on the previous play when Matt Ryan threw a short pass to Mike Cox where he crossed the 30-yard line. But the play was reviewed and the officials said he was inches short because he fumbled as he was going out of bounds. Smith originally decided to punt, but called timeout and had a change of heart.
“The review kicked in and it was not a first down,” Smith said talking about the Cox play. “We had fourth and inches and we had to make a decision.”
As tough as a decision that was to make for Smith and as disappointed as the Falcons are in the outcome, they did a lot of good things in the second half which caused the game to go into overtime.
At the start of the third quarter, the Falcons were down 10-6, but they were able to take the lead midway through the third as Ryan threw a short pass to Jason Snelling and he ran for 21 yards for the touchdown.
“He made a really good play,” Ryan said about Snelling’s touchdown where he broke numerous tackles. “We had to check the football down and Jason made a great play. That’s something we’ve come to expect from [Senlling].”
The Saints took the lead right back as Drew Brees threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Robert Meachem to lead by four.
On the ensuing play, Ryan threw a pass to Roddy White which was dropped and fell in the hands of Scott Shanle and that led to a Kasay 48-yard field goal to give the Saints a 20-13 lead.
Later in the quarter, the Saints added to their lead with another Kasay field goal, this time it would be 44 yards, and the Falcons trailed the Saints by 10 with 7:13 left in the game.
That is when Ryan went to work.
He was able to lead the Falcons down the field in three minutes and the drive ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez to cut the Saints lead to three. The Falcons then went for an onside kick, but it was recovered by the Saints. However, the Falcons defense was able to force the Saints to punt and the Falcons had possession with 1:55 left in the game at their own 6-yard line.
With Julio Jones out with a hamstring injury, Harry Douglas came up big as he caught a 23-yard pass from Ryan to start the series, another 23-yard pass on the next play and a 20 -yard pass to put the Falcons at the Saints 33-yard line.
“Harry had a really good game today,” Ryan said who finished the day with 351 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. “With Julio being out, Harry stepped up for us and made a ton of plays.”
That drive led to a Matt Bryant 27-yard field goal to put the Falcons in a tie with the Saints at the end of regulation.
Even though the Falcons lost to the Saints, they outplayed the Saints in many areas. Ryan did throw an interception, but he had two touchdowns just like Drew Brees and also had more passing yards than Brees (351-322). The Falcons also had more offensive plays, yards and first downs and time of possession.
But the reason they lost the game was not complicated. In fact, it’s very plain and simple.
“We just didn’t execute as we would have like to,” Ryan said.
Now the Falcons are 5-4 and they have the Tennessee Titans next at the Georgia Dome. As much as the Falcons needed to win against the Saints to take control of the NFC South, they have to move on and focus on their next opponent.
“We’re nine games into it,” Ryan said. “We just got to continue to take it one week at a time and try to win. “Our focus will not change.”
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