With only two minutes left, Matt Ryan would lead the Falcons offense on a 94-yard drive that culminated in a game-tying field goal as time expired. Though the Falcons won the toss, their red-hot offense would go three and out. Some great special teams play by Matt Bosher and the coverage team, however, would prevent Darren Sproles from gaining any yards on a return.
So, Drew Brees and the offense would march onto the field, and very quickly the Falcons would force a third-and-short. As they have all game, they've kept everything in front of them and prevented the Saints from making big plays on every drive. A third-down pass to Sproles would come up short, and the Saints would also go three-and-out. The Falcons would get another chance.
After finding Tony Gonzalez for a nine-yard game, Ryan checked down to new fullback Mike Cox in the flats, who made a great play to stretch out for the first down. However, further review of the play would spot the ball just short of the first down, bringing up a fourth-and-inches. Mike Smith would elect to go for it, brining up a do-or-die play for the Falcons.
It would come up short. The Falcons called for Turner to run it straight up the middle and he was simply stuffed in the backfield. The Saints would run a few plays and then kick the game-winning field goal, barely nabbing the 26-23 OT victory in the Georgia Dome.
It's a tough loss for sure, and though the Falcons are still alive and well in the playoff race, this loss makes an NFC South Championship seem pretty unlikely. Hopefully the Falcons can regroup and beat a Titans team next week that is by all accounts not bad. The Falcons played a darn good game, but just didn't get the W today.
Still, things could be worse. You could be an Eagles fan. Or (even worse) an Auburn fan.
For more on Sunday's game, check out The Falcoholic, SB Nation's Atlanta Falconsblog, and Canal Street Chronicles, SB Nation's New Orleans Saints blog.