Atlanta Falcons: Studs and duds vs. Saints in Week 10

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
2 of 4
Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Stud: Falcons defense

Atlanta’s defense came into the game as one of the worst defenses in the league, facing off against one of the top offenses in the NFL in New Orleans for Week 10. The Falcons defense put on quite a performance en route to taking down the Saints, recording over a handful of sacks while holding New Orleans out of the end zone throughout the entire course of the contest.

More from NFL Spin Zone

When facing off against a high-powered offense that the Saints contain, you don’t often see the type of performances that the Falcons put together on defense on Sunday afternoon, especially when New Orleans is playing on their home field.

Atlanta grabbed a huge win on the road in the 10th week of the regular season, and its defense was an enormous reason why.

Dud: Devonta Freeman

Devonta Freeman has played a huge part in Atlanta’s running game through nine games this season, but on Sunday the running back had a tough performance and even was forced to leave the game with an injury in the middle of the contest.

Freeman suffered an ankle injury during the contest against the Saints, later being ruled out for the remainder of the game. At the time of his exit, Freeman tallied just 38 rushing yards on 10 carries, also grabbing three catches for 10 yards through the air for Atlanta.

Moving forward, it will be key for the Falcons to be able to get Freeman back on the field and healthy if they want to keep things going in the coming weeks.