2014 Week 1 · Sun, Sep 7, 2014 · Georgia Dome
New Orleans Saints
34
at
Atlanta FalconsWinner
37
NO -3 upsetO 51 ✓Dome
Atlanta Falcons 37–34 — 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
31/43, 448 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT
23.8 expected points added · +6.1% completion over expected
Passing · NO
29/42, 333 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
14.3 expected points added · -0.3% completion over expected
Full stat lines
Box score
New Orleans Saints
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Brees | 29/42 | 333 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14.3 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Ingram | 13 | 60 | 4.6 | 2 | 3.0 |
| Pierre Thomas | 7 | 31 | 4.4 | 0 | -0.1 |
| Khiry Robinson | 6 | 28 | 4.7 | 1 | 0.4 |
| Brandin Cooks | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 0 | 1.3 |
| Drew Brees | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | -0.4 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marques Colston | 5 | 8 | 110 | 0 | 19% | 2.1 |
| Jimmy Graham | 8 | 10 | 82 | 0 | 24% | 5.4 |
| Brandin Cooks | 7 | 8 | 77 | 1 | 19% | 1.9 |
| Pierre Thomas | 6 | 7 | 58 | 0 | 17% | 5.8 |
| Travaris Cadet | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2% | 0.1 |
| Mark Ingram | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2% | -0.7 |
| Khiry Robinson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2% | -0.8 |
| Benjamin Watson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2% | -0.5 |
| Joseph Morgan | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7% | -2.2 |
| Robert Meachem | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5% | -2.0 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curtis Lofton | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Hawthorne | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rafael Bush | 7 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey White | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jairus Byrd | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Junior Galette | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kenny Vaccaro | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keenan Lewis | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Patrick Robinson | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Akiem Hicks | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Atlanta Falcons
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Ryan | 31/43 | 448 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 23.8 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steven Jackson | 12 | 52 | 4.3 | 0 | -0.1 |
| Jacquizz Rodgers | 6 | 34 | 5.7 | 1 | 2.3 |
| Matt Ryan | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 0 | 0.3 |
| Devonta Freeman | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 | 0.7 |
| Antone Smith | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 | -0.6 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julio Jones | 7 | 9 | 116 | 0 | 21% | 0.8 |
| Devin Hester | 5 | 6 | 99 | 0 | 14% | 6.3 |
| Roddy White | 5 | 7 | 72 | 1 | 17% | 3.9 |
| Harry Douglas | 6 | 7 | 69 | 0 | 17% | 2.6 |
| Antone Smith | 1 | 1 | 54 | 1 | 2% | 4.6 |
| Levine Toilolo | 3 | 6 | 19 | 1 | 14% | -0.1 |
| Devonta Freeman | 2 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 5% | 2.7 |
| Jacquizz Rodgers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2% | -0.8 |
| Steven Jackson | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7% | -1.8 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Worrilow | 7 | 8 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dwight Lowery | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joplo Bartu | 4 | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kroy Biermann | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| William Moore | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert McClain | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Robert Alford | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jonathan Massaquoi | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Desmond Trufant | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osi Umenyiora | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Closing number vs result
Betting context
- Closing spread
- NO -3
- Closing total
- 51
- NO moneyline
- -160
- ATL moneyline
- +144
Saints closed -3 and lost outright — an upset against the closing number.
Total closed 51; the game landed 71 — over by 20.0.
Conditions and crew
Game environment
- Venue
- Georgia Dome
- Roof / surface
- dome · fieldturf
- Kickoff weather
- Indoors — weather neutralized
- Referee
- Bill Leavy
- 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.