Saints 26, Falcons 18

Saints vs Falcons 2: Good, bad and ugly

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It started fast and furious for the Saints as they extracted revenge on the Falcons from an embarrassing home loss earlier this year in the form of a 26-18 win. This win also clinched the NFC South and playoff berth for the Saints. Here are my observations:

The Good

-Taysom Hill opened the game with a blocked punt that put the Saints on the Falcon 30 yard line after the defense forced a three and out. On that possession, Hill then caught two passes for 12 yards and a touchdown via a three yard shovel pass from Drew Brees. Hill later added a 30 yard touchdown run right before halftime. He's a football player. There is no position for a guy that's played nine different ones.

-The defense returned to their once dominant form from earlier this season. They sacked Matt Ryan nine times, intercepted him twice, and forced him to fumble on a scramble. Best part was that most of the havoc was caused by the youngsters. Marcus Davenport had two sacks and forced the fumble, while rookies C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Shy Tuttle had the interceptions. Mind you, Tuttle is a 300lb undrafted rookie defensive tackle who made quite the play on the ball.

-Speaking of the defense, hats off to the senior member of the defense and its best player Cam Jordan. He led the way with four of those nine sacks with two of them coming on the Falcons' final possession that snuffed out any chance of a comeback. He's now up to 13.5 sacks on the season. There's a reason why Jordan got extended this past offseason.

The Bad

-Jared Cook dropped a touchdown pass from the 4 yard line mid way through the 2nd quarter. Brees scrambled just outside the pocket to create an open throwing lane, but Cook had a brain fart and let it slip through his hands. The Saints had to settle for a field goal and a 10-6 lead. Cook has been pretty reliable, but in the words of the great Day-Day "playas mess up too."

-Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara both dropped passes on the same drive two plays apart on their initial possession of the second half. On 1st&10, Thomas failed to hold onto a simple curl route. Kamara dropped his on 3rd&5 after running an angle route against a linebacker. Neither guy can blame contact, only their hands failing them uncharacteristically.

-Missed tackles and sack opportunities were an issue. While the missed tackles didn't kill them this time around by giving up big plays, Ryan was able to get away from the rush too many times for a guy not known for his athleticism. Although the pass rush did a good job of sacking Ryan, it could've been that much better.

The Ugly

-The Saints had only three penalties in the first half...for 72 yards! An unnecessary personal foul for 15 and two dumb pass interference calls for 22 and 35 yards respectively. They ended the game with seven penalties for 111 yards. This is beginning to be almost comically bad. Only one of them cost the team points. Much better teams will take advantage of this if it isn't cleaned up. How many times do I have to write this?!?

-Marshon Lattimore left the field to go receive fluids, but later returned. Kiko Alonso was seen riding the exercise bike and trying to loosen up, but didn't return. The potential Lattimore injury made me hold my breath. Turns out it was more of a conditioning/sickness deal. Health is a major concern moving forward. With so many key guys already out, this team can't afford to lose any more.

-The game was already decided with about three minutes left and the Saints up by 11. The Falcons tried an onside kick, recovered it, but were called for offsides. On the rekick, they recovered it again! Kamara dropped the first one and made a "business decision," in the words of Tony Dungy, and decided not to collide with the linebacker in an attempt to recover the ball. After a field goal to draw within 8, they recovered a THIRD onside kick! Sean Payton was seen chewing out his special teams coach soon after.

Stop me if you've heard this before: Saints/Falcons game starts with a Falcons three and out, followed by a blocked punt and a Saints touchdown. Familiar? I'm sure Saints fans know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. As intense as this rivalry is and for a prime time Thanksgiving game, Mercedes Benz Stadium sure did sound a lot like the Mercedez Benz Superdome. Atlanta and New Orleans don't like each other as cities, which makes this rivalry even more red hot. I understand their team was 3-8 coming into this game, but to let "Who Dat" chants and cheers for the visiting team break out all game long? That would NEVER happen in New Orleans! Clinching the division and a playoff berth before December is impressive, but there's more work to do. Up next for the Saints is a battle for the #1 seed in the NFC against the 49ers in New Orleans. That should be one helluva game!

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TEXANS OPEN ON THE ROAD

Dissecting the Houston Texans 2023 schedule

The Houston Texans open the season in Baltimore. Composite Getty Image.

The 2023 NFL schedule has been released, and the new-look Houston Texans know exactly when they will face off against this year’s foes.

There are several eye-popping details in Houston’s 2023 schedule. The No. 1 being the Texans will not have a single prime time game, at least to begin the year. There is always the possibility a game gets flexed later on, which would mean Houston is having an impressive season, but as of now, the league doesn’t believe they will.

What's missing? No prime time games.

With the NFL abolishing the guarantee that each team will get at least one prime time game, Houston did not notch even a Thursday Night game.

Houston’s first four weeks of the season will be a difficult challenge in what could be Stroud’s first month as a starter in the NFL. Facing off against the Ravens right out of the gates would put the young quarterback in a tough and hostile environment if he is a starter from day one.

Trying to contain Lamar Jackson and that offense will also be a difficult task for head coach DeMeco Ryans and defensive coordinator Matt Burke as their first challenge together with Houston. At least they have almost four full months to build their game plan against the explosive, star-led offense.

The Colts will be in a similar position to the Texans in week two in that they will be trying to find an identity early, so that matchup could make for a fun and entertaining game.

Houston’s week three matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road will be a great barometer to see how the Texans stack up against what is expected to be the AFC South’s top team in 2023.

Houston wraps up week four against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who’s vaunted defense led by T.J. Watt will cause problems for Stroud or whoever is under center for the Texans.

The schedule eases up in weeks five through nine. Houston faces off against Atlanta and New Orleans and then will have a bye week before playing against the rest of NFC South in Carolina and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

These four games in five weeks could offer the best opportunity for the Texans to come away with multiple victories in a row, as the NFC South is expected to have a down year.

Houston could have its toughest challenge of the year in week 10 against one of the AFC’s expected Super Bowl contenders in the Cincinnati Bengals. The Texans follow up that formidable test with what is expected to be their easiest game of the season — a battle against the Arizona Cardinals in week 11. There is just one caveat, there are no guarantees in the NFL.

The Texans host the Jaguars in week 13. That will be a great opportunity to see how Houston, and in particular Stroud, has grown from the early weeks of the season.

Weeks 13 and 14 against the Denver Broncos and New York Jets are complete wild cards in that both teams are led by veteran, star quarterbacks whose best days could be behind them. By this point it will be clear whether Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers have been able to recapture their magic or if they are still struggling like they did in 2022.

The Texans will not see the Tennessee Titans until week 15, which is an interesting schedule quirk. By this point, both teams will have a solid idea of who they are. It could also be the first time Stroud and Will Levis face off against each other.

Week 16’s game for Houston will be on Christmas Eve. The weather inside NRG Stadium will be frightful when Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns return.

If Stroud has put together an admirable rookie season and the Texans are anywhere close to or even above .500, the atmosphere for this game will be absurd. Regardless, there will be a lot of Houston fans hoping to hand the former franchise quarterback a lump of coal in the form of a loss for Christmas.

Week 17 will see Houston play against Tennessee again. With it being the Texans’ final home game of the regular season, it could make for a fun New Year’s Eve party at NRG Stadium. Considering both teams will be just two weeks removed from playing each other, it could be a grueling, physical contest.

Houston ends its season on the road against the Colts. The final game of the regular season will offer one last opportunity for both Stroud and Anthony Richardson to put a stamp on their rookie years. Who knows, perhaps even one of them will be eyeing the postseason.

With the schedule now out, Sept. 10 cannot get here soon enough.

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