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NEW ORLEANS – The Saints do not feast on turkey Thursday night. They also focused their attention on the devouring of Dirty Birds.
The Saints (10-1) dominated the Atlanta Falcons (4-7) in a 31-17 win en route to their 10th straight win, their best league result. And only a Falcons touchdown with less than two minutes left the final score closer than what actually happened on the field.
Atlanta rushed for 26 yards as a team and had no answer for a Saints defense totaling six sacks, three fumbles, one interception, 13 hits and 14 assists.
And in a modern NFL that strongly favors the offensive with a weekly video game such as sheet music and production, the Saints have actually warned the rest of the league that they could also play in defense.
"I've always said we knew what kind of defense we could be if we tackled every game the same way," said defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins. "We can be dangerous and I think we've shown it, the problem with this league is that you have to do it again and again, for us we know we've been able to show it in the last two games. " weeks in a consistent way. "
After allowing 34.3 points per game in the first three games, the Saints defense has become brighter over the past eight games, allowing 19.1 points per game.
The recovery has been felt over the past three weeks as New Orleans has not allowed an opponent to score 20 points, a period in which teams averaged 12.6 points per game. against the Saints. And it was not an easy task considering the opposition, which included a Falcons offensive unit on Thursday night ranked seventh in scoring (25.5 points per game).
"It's good news," coach Sean Payton said of improving the defense. "We've played good offensives, Cincinnati is a good offense, the Eagles are a good offense, I feel like we're playing a game that's complementary to the possession time, the third try, all of those things, and tonight is not a good offense. was not different. "
Security Kurt Coleman echoed Payton on the team's ability to play complementary football in defense, offense and special teams.
Coleman added that the Saints' ability to score on the offensive ultimately puts a lot of pressure on the opponent, which opens the door to the defense that pinches his ears and picks up after the quarterback.
"In defense, we know that all we have to do is stop," Coleman said. "We have some turnovers and we know that we are under so much pressure from the other side of the ball, from the other team, that they have to score, otherwise they are just catching up In fact, it's a complete team in the way we do things … that's how football is supposed to be played – it's team football at its best. "
The defense also significantly improved the number of yards allowed per game and the percentage of play in thirds by comparing the first three games to the last eight.
After allowing 421 yards per game and opponents to convert 44.4 percent of third-try attempts in the first category, the Saints limited to 335.6 yards per game and a 35.7 percent conversion rate at third tries of the last eight games.
The four points to remember from New Orleans on Thursday night were the team's most successful this season. The defensive unit has seven in the last two games, after having scored ten points in the first nine games. In the series of 10 consecutive wins, the Saints have a differential of over 10.
Against the Falcons, the Saints managed to give the opponent a one-dimensional foul by blocking the race and systematically harassing Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. The Saints' pass boost totaled 16 pressures to go with the six sacks on Ryan's 46 losses, according to next-generation statistics.
And during a night of vacation, when a defensive leader was featured on prime time television, the performance was rewarding for a Saints unit. who had to face doubts after a slow start to the season.
"We're talking about" Prove them well, "Cameron Jordan said defensively. "At some point we want to be the tyrants of the block. As for the defense of the race, I think we do it.
"We ended up letting them score twice, I think, I do not know what the final score was, but I'm not happy about that, we can not afford to go down at the end of that. We have to take advantage of those 50-50 balls that they were throwing, but I love the way we played today. I love the four turnovers, I love them. bags, I love the pressures, I love the quarter hits For all purposes, shoot, we had our Thanksgiving. "
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