NFL Week 18 Game Recap: New Orleans Saints 48, Atlanta Falcons 17

2WAYP61 New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws the ball during an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman)

The New Orleans Saints took down the Atlanta Falcons 48-17 at home on Sunday afternoon.

The Falcons opened the scoring with Desmond Ridder finding tight end Jonnu Smith for a 15-yard touchdown, but the Saints answered on a drive that culminated in an 18-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr to A.T. Perry.

Atlanta bounced straight back into the lead on the second play of their next drive though. Rookie Bijan Robinson takes a short pass from Ridder 71 yards for a touchdown. The Saints answered back with their own rookie running back Kendre Miller scoring on a three-yard run.

The Saints took the lead late in the first half due to Blake Grupe connecting on a 24-yard field goal to put them up 17-14 before Younghoe Koo hit a 30-yard field goal to make it 17-17 at the half.

A Desmond Ridder interception early in the third quarter allowed the Saints to take the lead again. Chris Olave pulled in a 26-yard touchdown before Derek Carr would find Rashid Shaheed for a 39-yard touchdown to make it 31-17.

A Grupe 24-yard field goal made it 34-17 before Carr found A.T. Perry for another touchdown from six yards out. A one-yard rushing touchdown from Jamaal Williams rounded out the scoring.

Offensive spotlight: The Saints came into the day knowing that they needed a win to have any chance of making the postseason, and quarterback Derek Carr did his best to get them there. He went 22-for-28 for 264 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, the third time in four games that he has thrown three touchdowns.

Defensive spotlight: Saints linebacker Demario Davis capped off an impressive 2023 season with another solid performance in the win Sunday. He finished the game with nine total tackles, five of which were solo tackles, and a pair of tackles for loss.

Rookie spotlight: Bijan Robinson’s rookie season came to an end with a disappointing performance as a runner but a career-best day as a receiver. He averaged 2.5 yards per carry, rushing 11 times for 28 yards, but picked up 103 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions.


Box Score

Passing
Atlanta Falcons
Player Fantasy Comp/Att Yds YPA TD Int
Desmond Ridder 17.64 22 / 30 291 9.7 2 1
Logan Woodside 0.68 3 / 4 27 6.8 0 1
New Orleans Saints
Player Fantasy Comp/Att Yds YPA TD Int
Derek Carr 27.16 22 / 28 264 9.4 4 0
Rushing
Atlanta Falcons
Player Fantasy Car Yds YPC TD Long
Bijan Robinson 29.1 11 28 2.5 0 7
Desmond Ridder 17.64 2 0 0 0 0
Tyler Allgeier 6.4 6 24 4 0 8
Cordarrelle Patterson 2 5 20 4 0 7
Logan Woodside 0.68 1 6 6 0 6
New Orleans Saints
Player Fantasy Car Yds YPC TD Long
Derek Carr 27.16 1 6 6 0 6
Kendre Miller  14.9 13 73 5.6 1 18
Jamaal Williams 12.4 14 26 1.9 1 8
Taysom Hill 11.9 6 51 8.5 0 27
Lynn Bowden Jr. 1.3 1 -2 -2 0 0
Receiving
Atlanta Falcons
Player Fantasy Comp/Att Yds YPA TD Int
Desmond Ridder 17.64 22 / 30 291 9.7 2 1
Logan Woodside 0.68 3 / 4 27 6.8 0 1
New Orleans Saints
Player Fantasy Comp/Att Yds YPA TD Int
Derek Carr 27.16 22 / 28 264 9.4 4 0
Atlanta Falcons
Player Fantasy Car Yds YPC TD Long
Bijan Robinson 29.1 11 28 2.5 0 7
Desmond Ridder 17.64 2 0 0 0 0
Tyler Allgeier 6.4 6 24 4 0 8
Cordarrelle Patterson 2 5 20 4 0 7
Logan Woodside 0.68 1 6 6 0 6
New Orleans Saints
Player Fantasy Car Yds YPC TD Long
Derek Carr 27.16 1 6 6 0 6
Kendre Miller  14.9 13 73 5.6 1 18
Jamaal Williams 12.4 14 26 1.9 1 8
Taysom Hill 11.9 6 51 8.5 0 27
Lynn Bowden Jr. 1.3 1 -2 -2 0 0
Atlanta Falcons
Player Fantasy Tgt Rec Yds YPR TD
Bijan Robinson 29.1 8 7 103 14.7 1
Jonnu Smith 11.9 3 3 29 9.7 1
Scotty Miller 8.6 2 2 66 33 0
Drake London 8.1 9 4 41 10.2 0
Tyler Allgeier 6.4 3 3 10 3.3 0
Kyle Pitts 4.7 3 2 27 13.5 0
Van Jefferson 3.3 3 2 13 6.5 0
MyCole Pruitt 2.7 1 1 17 17 0
John FitzPatrick 2.2 1 1 12 12 0
KhaDarel Hodge 0 1 0 0 0 0
New Orleans Saints
Player Fantasy Tgt Rec Yds YPR TD
A.T. Perry  20.3 3 3 53 17.7 2
Rashid Shaheed 15.5 4 3 65 21.7 1
Kendre Miller  14.9 1 1 6 6 0
Chris Olave 14.6 3 3 56 18.7 1
Jamaal Williams 12.4 3 3 8 2.7 0
Taysom Hill 11.9 4 4 28 7 0
Juwan Johnson  7 3 3 40 13.3 0
Foster Moreau 1.3 1 1 3 3 0
Lynn Bowden Jr. 1.3 1 1 5 5 0
Jordan Mims 0 2 0 0 0 0
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