ATLANTA — Deion Jones didn't know precisely how high he'd hopped as he followed Drew Brees' future amusement winning touchdown pass Thursday night. However, directly after the Atlanta Falcons linebacker secured the ball in his grasp, he felt himself lingering palpably, feet up, abdominal area falling in reverse.
Jones shut his eyes and clutched the ball for dear life.
"I knew I was up there," he said in the successful locker room, reviewing his interference, which accompanied 85 seconds remaining and fixed a conceivably season-sparing 20-17 prevail upon the NFC South-driving Saints.
"It was about the ball. I simply needed to clutch it. It hurt descending. I opened my eyes and every one of my siblings remaining over me cheering."
Jones' capture attempt came three plays after New Orleans changed over on fourth-and-1 from the 24 as opposed to agreeing to an amusement tying field objective. The Saints needed to win, not tie.
In any case, Jones and his guarded partners revealed to themselves that they required a stop. Certainly, Atlanta would have become another ownership had New Orleans gotten a field objective or even a touchdown. What's more, the Falcon safeguards believed in Matt Ryan's capacity to lead the offense on an amusement winning drive.
Yet, they asked themselves, why given it a chance to get to that point?
"We generally discuss being closers and being the baddest on the field," Jones said.
"We needed to put it on our shoulders," security Ricardo Allen concurred. "We know the offense can, yet we didn't need them to need to score. We needed to have their backs."
It felt great to convey, the Falcons safeguards conceded.
"It's a demonstration of our development and how hard we've been functioning," Jones included.
Numerous circumstances this season, the Falcons have expected to accomplish more than depend on an offense that is sputtered extremely regularly. Also, however a youthful safeguard has demonstrated consistent change, the unit has missed the mark in late-amusement circumstances with three of their five misfortunes dropping by five focuses or less.
So every week, the guarded players have attempted to enhance correspondence, acknowledgment and execution. Everything met up on the last stand.
Brees walked the Saints 69 yards to achieve the 11-yard line. Be that as it may, the Falcons had a smart thought of what was going ahead that critical play.
Jones got himself coordinated with tight end Josh Hill, trailed him into the end zone, and ventured before him as he started searching for the ball, situating himself to cull the Brees go out of the air.
"We've developed. This is a decent sign for us going ahead," Falcons guarded end Adrian Clayborn said. "We're the barrier. We should put out the fire. That is the thing that we did.
"To stop a person like that after a lengthy drive and stand up, it demonstrates a considerable measure. Ideally we can expand on it and win more diversions."
Guarded heroics were essential Thursday, particularly with Ryan tossing three capture attempts. But since of Atlanta's solid protective exertion, New Orleans oversaw only three focuses off of turnovers. The Falcons likewise held New Orleans' normally powerful hurrying assault to only 50 yards. New kid on the block Alvin Kamara left the diversion in the primary quarter with a blackout. Be that as it may, Atlanta did well containing Mark Ingram.
The Falcons inevitably scored the amusement binds touchdown with 9:55 to play and the thumbs up 52-yard Matt Bryant field objective with 3:54.
The protective heroics may have additionally spared the shielding NFC champs' season. Indeed, even at 8-5, the Falcons are still outwardly of the playoff picture. Left on the timetable: an amusement at Tampa Bay (4-8) in 10 days, at New Orleans (9-4) on Christmas Eve and at home against Carolina on New Year's Eve. Win them all, and the Falcons will hold the NFC South crown.
Furthermore, if the safeguard can expand on this exertion and close out the season on a solid note, Atlanta still may have a possibility in spite of this current season's reduced capability on offense.
"It's the Atlanta Falcons. It's not offense versus resistance. They have our back, we have their back," wide recipient Julio Jones said.
"There's dependably back and forth movements in the amusement. furthermore, it talks exceedingly of the guard that we know they have our back, great or terrible, and will dependably attempt to influence a play to out there."