2009 Week 14 · Sun, Dec 13, 2009 · Georgia Dome
New Orleans SaintsWinner
26
at
Atlanta Falcons
23
NO -10 no coverU 50.5 ✓Dome
New Orleans Saints 26–23 — 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
23/34, 303 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
9.0 expected points added · -0.3% completion over expected
Passing · NO
31/40, 296 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT
18.5 expected points added · +11.5% completion over expected
Full stat lines
Box score
New Orleans Saints
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Brees | 31/40 | 296 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18.5 |
| Mark Brunell | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3.1 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierre Thomas | 13 | 47 | 3.6 | 0 | -1.1 |
| Reggie Bush | 6 | 33 | 5.5 | 0 | 0.8 |
| Lynell Hamilton | 4 | 13 | 3.3 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Robert Meachem | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 0.8 |
| Drew Brees | 2 | -2 | -1.0 | 0 | 0.0 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Meachem | 4 | 5 | 57 | 0 | 13% | 3.3 |
| Marques Colston | 6 | 7 | 54 | 1 | 18% | 6.1 |
| Pierre Thomas | 6 | 7 | 53 | 0 | 18% | 1.6 |
| Reggie Bush | 6 | 6 | 46 | 2 | 15% | 7.4 |
| Jeremy Shockey | 4 | 6 | 46 | 0 | 15% | 0.9 |
| Devery Henderson | 3 | 5 | 31 | 0 | 13% | 1.7 |
| David Thomas | 2 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 8% | -1.0 |
| Darnell Dinkins | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3% | -3.1 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randall Gay | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jonathan Vilma | 7 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Roman Harper | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Troy Evans | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Malcolm Jenkins | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sedrick Ellis | 3 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Shanle | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darren Sharper | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lynell Hamilton | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anthony Hargrove | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Atlanta Falcons
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Redman | 23/34 | 303 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9.0 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Snelling | 10 | 37 | 3.7 | 1 | 1.4 |
| Jerious Norwood | 9 | 33 | 3.7 | 0 | -0.9 |
| Eric Weems | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 0 | 0.2 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Jenkins | 3 | 5 | 82 | 1 | 15% | 6.1 |
| Jason Snelling | 4 | 5 | 65 | 0 | 15% | 3.0 |
| Tony Gonzalez | 6 | 7 | 50 | 0 | 21% | 2.0 |
| Roddy White | 2 | 6 | 41 | 0 | 18% | -3.7 |
| Brian Finneran | 2 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 12% | 0.5 |
| Marty Booker | 3 | 4 | 23 | 0 | 12% | 0.9 |
| Ovie Mughelli | 2 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 6% | 1.1 |
| Eric Weems | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3% | 1.0 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Nicholas | 8 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Peterson | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas DeCoud | 7 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brent Grimes | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Erik Coleman | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Chris Owens | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Abraham | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chevis Jackson | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Kroy Biermann | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonathan Babineaux | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Closing number vs result
Betting context
- Closing spread
- NO -10
- Closing total
- 50.5
- NO moneyline
- -430
- ATL moneyline
- +370
Saints closed -10, won by 3 — but didn't cover.
Total closed 50.5; the game landed 49 — under by 1.5.
Conditions and crew
Game environment
- Venue
- Georgia Dome
- Roof / surface
- dome · fieldturf
- Kickoff weather
- Indoors — weather neutralized
- Referee
- Tony Corrente
- Rest
- NO 7 days · ATL 7 days
- Coaches
- Sean Payton vs Mike Smith
Division game — familiarity tightens these matchups; closing numbers tend to be sharper.