ATLANTA - For a pro football game, Atlanta-New Orleans did a fairly decent impersonation of an SEC matchup, entirely fitting given that when you talk about "football" in Atlanta, chances are you're talking about the Georgia Bulldogs.
The Falcons have been Georgia's junior varsity, fan-wise, for half a century. But games like Sunday — an impressive 37-34 overtime upset, two motivated and vocal rival crowds, an unprecedented offensive explosion — might just offer the Falcons a bit of the football credibility they often lack among the Georgia football public.
New Orleans rolled into Atlanta favored to win not just the game but the division, while the Falcons appeared to be, judging from their appearance on "Hard Knocks," a team searching for an identity. Saints quarterback Drew Brees has had the Falcons housebroken — he was 13-3 against Atlanta coming into Sunday — and New Orleans' multilevel attack looked, on paper, to be the kind of matchup nightmare that would send Falcons fans headed back to their cars before the pregame tailgate charcoal had even cooled.
For most of the first half, that was indeed the case. New Orleans led by scores of 13-0 and 20-7, and Brees had achieved a balance across his entire offense. Four Saints had double-digit rushes in the first half, and Brees targeted nine different receivers for 19 completions on 24 attempts.
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And yet, and yet. The thing about a rivalry is, you're never entirely certain that your opponent isn't carrying something a little extra for you. Granted, Atlanta-New Orleans lacks the bone-deep hatred and the blood-edged rivalry of, say, Georgia-Florida, but then few pro rivalries match the intensity of college ones. No, Atlanta's concerns were more pragmatic than emotional; the winner of this game would have an edge in the NFC South and an early headstart on what will doubtless be a battle royale (don't say "dogfight," not around here) for the six NFC playoff spots.
What happened in the second half for Atlanta was nothing short of exceptional. Matt Bryant (more on him later) kicked a field goal to pull Atlanta within 10 as the first half ended, and then Atlanta reeled off another 14 unanswered points to take the lead.
And from there, the game had all the defense of a Pro Bowl. 24-20 Atlanta. 27-24 New Orleans. 31-27 Atlanta. 34-31 New Orleans. Along the way, Matt Ryan threw for 448 yards, a Falcons franchise record, and four Falcons — Julio Jones, Harry Douglas, Devin Hester, and Roddy White — each caught at least 69 yards' worth of passes.
"Dirk (Koetter, Falcons offensive coordinator) and our offensive coaches did a good job of puting together a game plan that put stress on their defense," Ryan said. "We have some talented guys on the outside. We took advantage of it."
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Which brings us to the final play of regulation, a 51-yard Bryant field goal attempt. Like he's done many times before, Bryant drilled the field goal to send the game into OT, and, following a Mark Ingram fumble, pegged another that won the game for Atlanta.
After the game, Bryant faced a cadre of reporters four-deep at his locker, and met them with the kind of stolid self-confidence that a kicker has to have in order to survive in the NFL for 13 years. When asked what he was thinking in the moments before the kick, he replied simply, "Keep my head down, kick through the ball." Words to live by.
Certainly, there are plenty of questions for the Falcons, and plenty of complementary positives for New Orleans. Brees looked like he was playing downhill for the entirety of the game, and Atlanta's secondary couldn't hold New Orleans by ground or by air. Brees' 333 yards weren't within a football field of Ryan's total, but that and Mark Ingram's 60-yard, two-TD performance demonstrated that New Orleans can run out an attack that can hit every team in the NFL where it hurts.
Still, Atlanta needed this win a lot more than New Orleans did, and now carries a bit of confidence into the season. More importantly, Atlanta has instilled some confidence in its fickle fanbase. This was a college football atmosphere in a college football town. Atlanta has a long way to go to outrun the stench of last year's 4-12 season, and even farther to get within shouting distance of the Bulldogs, but games like Sunday prove this team has the any-given-Sunday ability to do just that.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Facebook or on Twitter.
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