The Atlanta Falcons, with a 3-3 record, traveled to New
Orleans to take on their rivals, the Saints, on October 27, 2002. Coached by
Dan Reeves, the Falcons featured flashy second-year QB Michael Vick directing
the offense. RB Warrick Dunn (pictured at right), formerly of the Buccaneers, was off to a slow
start but WR Brian Finneran was having a breakout year. Moreover, after getting
off to a 1-3 start, the team was coming off of two wins, including a 30-0
thrashing of the Panthers the previous week.
The Saints were coached by Jim Haslett and had started
off impressively at 6-1. The offense was especially productive with QB Aaron
Brooks, who also happened to be Vick’s cousin, behind center. RB Deuce
McAllister was an outstanding runner and the receiving corps, led by WR Joe
Horn, was a good one.
There were 67,883 fans in attendance at the Louisiana
Superdome. Following a punt by the Falcons, the Saints had the ball at the
Atlanta 43 to begin their first series and, with Aaron Brooks running for 19
yards and Deuce McAllister picking up another 15 on two carries, they scored
first on a 40-yard John Carney field goal.
Once again the Falcons were forced to punt, thanks to
back-to-back sacks, and New Orleans advanced 65 yards in nine plays. McAllister
started the series off with a 28-yard run to the Atlanta 37 and a
roughing-the-passer penalty on a third down play kept the drive alive. McAllister
finished it off with a one-yard touchdown carry and Carney added the extra
point to extend the home team’s lead to 10-0.
The Falcons were helped along on their next possession by
a 32-yard pass interference penalty in a second-and-14 situation and, on the
first play of the second quarter, Vick ran for 27 yards to the New Orleans 24 on
a second-and-25 play. Three carries by Warrick Dunn picked up 18 yards and,
after another defensive penalty, Vick gained the last three yards for a TD. Jay
Feely’s point after narrowed the score to 10-7.
The Saints responded with a drive that featured completions
by Brooks to Joe Horn for 16 and 25
yards, but McAllister fumbled at the end of a nine-yard run and LB Sam Rogers
recovered at the Atlanta 30. Vick completed a pass to TE Alge Crumpler for 33
yards and, following two runs by Dunn that picked up nine yards, converted on third-and-one
with a two yard carry. Two plays later, Vick connected with WR Willie Jackson
for 18 yards and on the next play Dunn ran for a three-yard touchdown. Feely
converted and the visitors were ahead by 14-10.
Atlanta got the ball back when LB Chris Draft intercepted
a Brooks pass at midfield and returned it nine yards, but after reaching the
New Orleans 17, Dunn fumbled after making a catch and the Saints recovered at
their five. The score remained unchanged at halftime.
The Saints had the ball first in the third quarter but a
Brooks throw was picked off by FS Keion Carpenter to give the Falcons excellent
field position at the New Orleans 31. This time they did not fail to cash in as
Vick (pictured at left) threw to Brian Finneran for 28 yards and FB Bob Christian ran for an
eight-yard touchdown. Feely’s point after put the visitors ahead by 11 points
at 21-10.
WR Michael Lewis returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards
and the Saints moved quickly to score. McAllister ran for six yards after which
Brooks threw to Horn for 17 and had another 15 yards tacked on thanks to an
unnecessary roughness penalty. Brooks threw to McAllister for a 19-yard TD and
then to TE Boo Williams for a two-point conversion and the Atlanta lead was
trimmed to 21-18.
CB Allen Rossum gave the Falcons a good kickoff return of
41 yards and Vick threw four straight passes, three of them complete. The
third, to Finneran, was good for 14 yards to convert a third-and-seven
situation and runs by Dunn and Christian got the ball to the New Orleans 13.
Feely kicked a 31-yard field goal and the visitors were up by 24-18.
Lewis responded with a 65-yard kickoff return to the
Atlanta 38 and Brooks immediately threw to McAllister for a 16-yard gain. Three
more running plays set up a Brooks completion to Horn for a six-yard touchdown
and, with Carney adding the extra point, the Saints were on top by 25-24.
The Falcons had the ball as the game headed into the
fourth quarter. Dunn had a 56-yard run to the New Orleans 18 and, while the
visitors couldn’t reach the end zone, Feely booted a 32-yard field goal to
re-take the lead at 27-25.
The Saints punted on their next series and Atlanta used
10 plays to drive 92 yards. Dunn started things off with an 18-yard run and
Vick had a 10-yard carry on a third-and-nine play. A roughing-the-passer call
moved the Falcons past midfield and Vick completed a pass to Finneran for 10
yards. It was the nimble quarterback running the final 32 yards for a touchdown
and, adding Feely’s PAT, Atlanta was now ahead by 34-25 with 5:57 remaining in
regulation.
New Orleans fought back with a series that nearly ended
with an apparent interception that was overturned on replay review. With that
reprieve, Brooks threw to WR Jake Reed for 15 yards and to McAllister for 15, but
an offensive pass interference penalty blunted the drive and Carney kicked a
40-yard field goal to at least narrow the score to 34-28 with the clock now
down to 3:38.
Disaster struck for the Falcons on their next play from
scrimmage when Dunn fumbled when hit by FS Jay Bellamy at the end of an
eight-yard run and CB Fred Thomas recovered at the Atlanta 28. Carries by
McAllister and Brooks gained six yards apiece and, following an incomplete
pass, McAllister ran off tackle for a 16-yard TD. Carney’s extra point again
put the home team back on top by 35-34.
There was 2:12 to play as the Falcons started their next
series at their own 11 after an offensive holding penalty on the kickoff return
moved them back. Vick fired off passes to TE Brian Kozlowski for 11 yards, Dunn
for 12, and Crumpler for five yards to reach the 39. Vick took off on an
eight-yard run, threw to WR Shawn Jefferson for 14 yards, and ran for six yards
to the New Orleans 33. A defensive holding penalty added four more yards but
the Falcons could advance no further as a run by Dunn gained nothing and a pass
was incomplete. Finally, Feely came on to kick a 47-yard field goal on the
game’s last play and Atlanta won in dramatic fashion by a final score of 37-35.
The Falcons had the edge in total yards (446 to 351) and
first downs (28 to 22). They gained 260 of their yards on the ground, to 159
for New Orleans. The Saints turned the ball over three times, to two suffered
by Atlanta, and both clubs were heavily penalized, with the Falcons getting
flagged 10 times at a cost of 95 yards and New Orleans 9 times for 96 yards. The
teams combined for just three punts, two by Atlanta.
Michael Vick, who became ill on the climactic drive and
had to remove himself from the game, completed 16 of 24 passes for 195 yards
and, while there were no touchdowns he also gave up no interceptions. Vick also
rushed for 91 yards on 10 carries and scored two TDs. Warrick Dunn gained 142
yards on 23 rushing attempts that included a touchdown and also caught five
passes for 28 more yards. Alge Crumpler and Brian Finneran each gained 62
receiving yards on an identical four pass receptions.
For the Saints, Aaron Brooks was successful on 16 of 35
throws for 192 yards and two TDs while giving up two interceptions. Deuce
McAllister (pictured above) ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and had five
catches for 56 yards and another TD. Joe Horn also had five receptions, for a
team-leading 61 yards and a score. Michael Lewis averaged 33.5 yards on six
kickoff returns.
The Falcons followed up on their dramatic win by going
4-0-1 over the next five weeks, which included another victory over New Orleans
at home, and while they lost three of their last four games, they finished at
9-6-1 to place second in the NFC South and secure a Wild Card playoff spot.
Atlanta stunned the Packers in Green Bay in the first round before falling to
the Eagles at the Divisional level. The Saints won the following week but only
twice more after that as they faltered down the stretch. They ended up third in
the division with a 9-7 record and out of the postseason.
