NEW ORLEANS — Blame it on the officiating. Blame it on the penalties. Blame it on the pair of missed touchdown opportunities near the goal line. Blame it the dropped passes.
No matter how you dissect what happened to the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday’s matchup with the rival New Orleans Saints, it all added up to one thing: a 23-13 loss.
And a crucial loss it was for the Falcons, who had hopes of capturing the NFC South title by winning their last two games against New Orleans and Carolina. Now at 9-6, they have to focus on simply securing a wild-card berth after not playing with the overall sense of urgency one would have expected in such a critical game. Carolina (11-4) defeated Tampa Bay and still hopes New Orleans (11-4) slips up for the division title.The playoffs aren’t out the picture, but the offense needs a facelift before the postseason begins. It hasn’t been the ideal season for the reigning MVP Ryan, but it’s hard to blame him when a ball bounces off receiver Marvin Hall‘s hands and rolls atop the butt of Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore, leading to Ryan’s fourth interception in two games against the Saints this season.[tps_footer][/tps_footer]
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