NEW ORLEANS -- In his first start since October of last year, quarterback Byron Leftwich -- for a half -- made the plays to add some extra spice to the Falcons offense. He wasn't able to finish what he started, however, as an injury forced him out of the game and the Falcons fell 22-16 at the Louisiana Superdome.
Leftwich, a former first-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars, stood tall in the pocket. He showed poise, toughness, confidence and arm strength in leading the team to three first-half scoring drives, including a 9-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White that gave the Falcons a 13-7 lead at halftime.
“It’s another tough loss for us" Head Coach Bobby Petrino said. "I was very proud of the way our players prepared for the game and the way they went out and played the game. It was a hard fought football game. I thought we were playing well. We just didn’t make enough plays in the fourth quarter. We were hurt by a couple of injuries. It’s very concerning for the rest of the season. There’s not a lot you can do about that.”
It may not have shown on the scoreboard, but Atlanta dominated the first half proceedings. The team held the ball for 20 minutes and 24 seconds in the first two quarters, ran 38 offensive plays and held a 210-115 advantage in total yards.
Then the Falcons lined up for their first offensive series of the second half.
Leftwich stood tall in the pocket one more time.
A deep ball for Joe Horn on second down fell incomplete and Leftwich fell to the turf between two Saints defenders. He left the field favoring his right ankle with help of trainers and would not return. He would later leave the field on a cart.
Quarterback Joey Harrington, who started the first six games of the season, came in and finished the game 12-of-18 for 128 yards and no touchdowns.
Leftwich was 15-of-23 passing for 145 yards. He left with a 97.2 passer rating. He also helped the offense bail itself out of some less-than-desirable situations.
“I was happy with the way he performed," Petrino said of Leftwich. "He was standing in there. He was throwing the ball downfield. He made some good throws. The receivers made some plays for him. (We were) in a rhythm as far as being able to call more runs and run the ball and then throw the ball a little bit deeper down the field. The injury certainly hurt. When Joey came in, you change a little bit of what you were doing, but he got us on a couple of nice drives."
The Falcons sputtered at times, stalling twice in Saints territory and settling for two Morten Andersen field goals, but the Falcons stayed the course and fought through multiple setbacks in the game which included nine penalties for 52 yards and a DeAngelo Hall interception that got taken off the stat sheet after an off side call on the defense.
Harrington overcame a shaky start to lead the Falcons on a 10-play, fourth-quarter scoring drive that ended with a 21-yard Andersen field goal. That gave the Falcons a 16-14 lead and canceled out a 24-yard touchdown run by Saints rookie Pierre Thomas that gave the home team a slim 14-13 advantage in the third quarter.
The Falcons defense, which forced three turnovers last week against the Giants, turned its attention to stopping drives early and often. The unit held the Saints to five first downs in the first half and a Demorrio Williams pick at the close of the second quarter squashed a New Orleans scoring chance.
Other bright spots included the play of safety Jimmy Williams, who knocked away a pass intended for Marques Colston in the shadow of the end zone in the first quarter.
There were a few hiccups, however.
One came early in the game, when Brees hit Devrey Henderson with a 37-yard touchdown pass over linebacker Michael Boley. Others came late as Colston stepped out of a Chris Houston tackle on a 33-yard gain into Falcons territory and running back Reggie Bush fought his way into the end zone for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.
He also had the game-clinching two-point conversion.
The Falcons took the field again on offense with a chance to take a lead with a touchdown and an extra point but another injury, this one to starting left tackle Renardo Foster, complicated the effort. Harrington found White for an 18-yard gain on third-and-11 to keep the drive alive, but the series stalled at mid field when Harrington and Warrick Dunn failed to hook up on a pass over the middle.
White finished the game with eight receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown. Michael Jenkins caught six passes while rookie Laurent Robinson had three grabs. The defense was led by Keith Brooking, who was credited with eight tackles.
With the loss, the Falcons enter their bye week 1-6. The Saints move into third place in the NFC South with a 2-4 record.
“It’s still a long season but we’re running out of time," running back Jerious Norwood said. "We are making progress but we just aren’t translating it into any victories. This hurts.”
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-SAINTS GAME:
- GAMEDAY: All the coverage from the Saints-Falcons game
- STATS AND PLAY-BY-PLAY: NFL.com Game Center
- GAME NOTES: Updates and injury news from the Superdome press box
- INACTIVES AND STARTERS: Inactives and starters from Week 7
- QUOTABLE: Thoughts on the game from Falcons players and coaches
- VIDEO: Head Coach Bobby Petrino
- HIGHLIGHTS: Game highlights from NFL Network
- HIGHLIGHTS: Byron Leftwich highlights
