NFL Week 12 Game Recap: Atlanta Falcons 24, New Orleans Saints 15

The Atlanta Falcons may still be below .500, but they now sit in first place in the NFC South after a Week 12 win over the New Orleans Saints.

Offensive spotlight: Chris Olave absolutely carved up the Atlanta Falcons early in the game before leaving with an injury. He finished the game with seven catches from nine targets for 114 yards with just 22 routes run. That’s an average of 5.7 yards per route run, and he added four first downs. Injury struck down several Saints players on offense in this game, but none was more significant than this one, given Olave's start.

Defensive spotlight: The defensive standouts in this game were the safeties on either side of the ball. Jessie Bates III hauled in an outstanding interception and came back later in the game to punch the football loose and force a fumble. Meanwhile, Tyrann Mathieu picked off Desmond Ridder twice to do as much as he could to keep the Saints in the game and prevent the Falcons from running away with it. 

Rookie spotlight: Bijan Robinson led the Falcons in rushing attempts (16) and yards (91), notching a touchdown on the ground and another as a receiver. He caught three passes for 32 yards on six targets, averaging 6.5 yards every time he touched the football.

Box Score

Passing

Rushing

Receiving