Saints 43, Falcons 37 in OT

After reviewing the coaching film on gamepass.nfl.com, here are the Falcons' results since their 43-37 loss to the New Orleans Saints in overtime on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Run off: There was no place to run while the Saints loaded the box with eight players and dared to launch the Falcons. The saints did a good job in pursuit. Tevin Coleman may have gone back too far. There seemed to be some lanes right that he missed. The Falcons ran for 20 yards on six attempts behind left tackle Jake Matthews, minus five yards on two assists behind left guard Wes Schweitzer, 12 yards on two assists behind right-back Brandon Fusco and six yards on right tackle Ryan Schraeder. They also tried to use Calvin Ridley. Devonta Freeman (knee bruise) must be about to come back. Grade: F

Offense pass: Calvin Ridley was sensational, catching seven passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns. Matt Ryan's 9-yard touchdown pass was a thing of beauty. The rookie receiver ran inside and when he saw Ryan in trouble, he went back outside to open. It was a veteran movement. Ryan found for the score. Julio Jones took advantage of Saints Ken Crawley's cornerback for his 58-yard win in the fourth quarter. He still has no touch on the season. Ryan was fired three times. Defensive end Saints Marcus Davenport seemed to surprise center Alex Mack on a twist inside. The defensive end of the Saints, Cam Jordan, who failed the Falcons' latest attempt in regulation, had two sacks. One was a cheap one, and he beat Schraeder on the other. During the last regulation attempt, Jordan turned Ryan to his right in second and ninth place. In third place, Coleman developed to help Schraeder with Jordan, but the Saints bombarded linebacker A.J. Klein across gap "A" and Coleman could not return to him. In fourth and fourth place, 25 seconds from the end, the Falcons had to jump and hope to win the draw. Grade: B-plus

Run the defense: The Saints entered the game last in the league rushing to 52.5 yards per game. With the help of quarterback Taysom Hill and a backhand receiver Ted Ginn, the Saints took 143 yards against the Falcons' defense. The Falcons allowed Saints running back Alvin Kamara to win 66 yards in 16 races, but Hill lost 35 yards and Ginn ran a 20-yard run. Vic Beasley had one of 16 tackles missed on Hill's track. Linebacker Duke Riley was stuck inside by a double team and the free Damontae Kazee safety was missed during an attempted low-arm attack. Poole, who had a horrible game, did not run hard when Ginn set out for the second time. He went through the formation and then came back to receive the ball at full speed on a well-designed game. "I'm expecting some of those missed tackles in the first game," said Falcons coach Dan Quinn. "I do not expect them in the third game." Grade: F

Defense Pass: The plan of the Falcons was to keep the Saints in front of them, then to rally and make tackles. They tried to confuse Brees and only sent three players to the lost tackles Jack Crawford and Grady Jarrett in the cover at times. While Brees releases the ball so quickly, it is difficult for the smuggler to get rid of him. Beasley had a bag, but the Saints player, Ryan Ramcyzk, was looking for a false start. The defensive unit suffered a hard blow with the free safety Ricardo Allen fell into overtime. He was down and when he started running, he fell and hit his left foot on the 44-yard line. The Saints scored touchdowns on their last four possessions. The start with 6:52 after the Falcons took a 37-30 lead was too easy. Brees cut the defense with short, accurate passes. Grade D-less

Special teams: Rookie Foye Oluokun was beaten on the outside shoulder by linebacker Saints Alex Okafor for a blocked kick. The Saints had the ball at the 16-yard line and then scored a touchdown. Marvin Hall scored punt returns and earned three for 74 yards, including one for 30 yards. Justin Hardy did not do anything special on two returns for 12 yards. Grade D-less

Framing: Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian continued his warm hand in the red zone, where the Falcons were 4-in-4. Now they have scored in their last eight times in the 20 yard line of opposition. The defense playing without three starters had a difficult day at the office. They aggravated their problems by missing tackles. They needed a stop and could not get it. Defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel could not build a pass race. Poole was out of control from time to time, hitting Brees late, not flowing with Ginn, then finally defeating Brees and hitting Robert Alford of the tackle at the key touchdown. He also had a horse forceps. With the starters, Poole may have tried to do too much. They must regain control of Poole and find a way to free Beasley. He has only two sacks in his last 12 games, including the playoffs. Grade C-less

Following: The Falcons (1-2) should welcome the Bengals (2-1) at 13h. Sunday at Mercedes Benz Stadium. This will be the 14th meeting of the series. The Bengals lead the series 8-5.

Subscribe to the "The Bow Tie Chronicles" podcast with the D. Orlando Ledbetter by AJC on iTunes or on the new AJC Sports Podcasts page.