2000 Week 8 · Sun, Oct 22, 2000 · Georgia Dome

New Orleans SaintsWinner

Atlanta Falcons

NO -1.5 ✓40 pushDomeSaints closed -1.5 and covered, winning by 2.

New Orleans Saints 21–19 — decided on the final possessions.

Pre-2018 game — box score & context only; play-by-play visuals start in 2018

Who moved the needle

Top performers

Passing · ATL

Chris ChandlerQB

15/20, 240 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT

1.1 expected points added

Passing · NO

Jeff BlakeQB

19/31, 209 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT

1.4 expected points added

Rushing · NO

Ricky WilliamsRB

29 att, 156 yds, 3 TD

5.5 expected points added on the ground

Rushing · ATL

Jamal AndersonRB

17 att, 75 yds, 0 TD

-0.0 expected points added on the ground

Receiving · ATL

Tim DwightWR

3/4 for 85 yds, 1 TD

21% of team targets · 7.3 expected points added

Receiving · ATL

Terance MathisWR

3/6 for 55 yds, 1 TD

32% of team targets · 1.1 expected points added

Full stat lines

Box score

New Orleans Saints

Passing

Player	C/Att	Yds	TD	INT	Sacked	EPA
Jeff Blake	19/31	209	0	1	1	1.4

Rushing

Player	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	EPA
Ricky Williams	29	156	5.4	3	5.5
Jeff Blake	6	26	4.3	0	-1.8
Terrelle Smith	3	14	4.7	0	1.6

Receiving

Player	Rec	Tgt	Yds	Tgt share	EPA
Joe Horn	4	7	54	23%	-1.1
Willie Jackson	3	3	47	10%	2.6
Ricky Williams	4	6	37	19%	0.6
Keith Poole	4	6	35	19%	2.0
Lamont Hall	2	2	20	6%	2.1
Terrelle Smith	2	3	16	10%	1.1
Andrew Glover	0	4	0	13%	-4.8

Defense (top contributors)

Player	Solo	Ast	Sacks	PD
Keith Mitchell	5	3	1.0	0
Mark Fields	6	1	2.0	0
Kevin Mathis	4	0	0.0	0
Darrin Smith	4	0	0.0	0
Norman Hand	3	0	1.0	1
Joe Johnson	2	0	0.0	0
Alex Molden	1	1	0.0	0
Darren Perry	2	0	0.0	0
Corey Terry	2	0	0.0	0
La'Roi Glover	2	0	1.0	0

Atlanta Falcons

Passing

Player	C/Att	Yds	TD	INT	Sacked	EPA
Chris Chandler	15/20	240	2	0	6	1.1

Rushing

Player	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	EPA
Jamal Anderson	17	75	4.4	0	-0.0

Receiving

Player	Rec	Tgt	Yds	TD	Tgt share	EPA
Tim Dwight	3	4	85	1	21%	7.3
Terance Mathis	3	6	55	1	32%	1.1
Shawn Jefferson	2	2	37	0	11%	2.2
Bob Christian	3	3	24	0	16%	0.8
Reggie Kelly	2	2	22	0	11%	0.4
Jamal Anderson	1	1	15	0	5%	1.1
Brian Kozlowski	1	1	2	0	5%	-1.1

Defense (top contributors)

Player	Solo	Ast	Sacks	INT	PD
Ronnie Bradford	7	1	0.0	1	1
Corey Atkins	5	1	0.0	0	0
Ray Buchanan	4	2	0.0	0	0
Ed Jasper	4	1	0.0	0	0
Travis Hall	5	0	0.0	0	0
Elijah Williams	3	1	0.0	0	0
Gerald McBurrows	3	0	0.0	0	0
Chris Draft	3	0	0.0	0	0
Brady Smith	2	0	0.0	0	0
Shawn Swayda	2	0	1.0	0	0

Closing number vs result

Betting context

Closing spread: NO -1.5
Closing total: 40
NO moneyline: —
ATL moneyline: —

Saints closed -1.5 and covered, winning by 2.

Total closed 40 and landed exactly there — a push.

Conditions and crew

Game environment

Venue: Georgia Dome
Roof / surface: dome · astroturf
Kickoff weather: Indoors — weather neutralized
Referee: Dick Hantak
Rest: NO 7 days · ATL 7 days
Coaches: Jim Haslett vs Dan Reeves

Division game — familiarity tightens these matchups; closing numbers tend to be sharper.