NEW ORLEANS -- Blame it on the officiating. Blame it on the penalties. Blame it on the pair of missed touchdown opportunities near the goal line. Blame it the dropped passes.
No matter how you dissect what happened to the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday's matchup with the rival New Orleans Saints, it all added up to one thing: a 23-13 loss.
And a crucial loss it was for the Falcons, who had hopes of capturing the NFC South title by winning their past two games against New Orleans and Carolina. Now at 9-6, they have to focus on simply securing a wild-card berth after not playing with the overall sense of urgency one would have expected in such a critical game. Carolina (11-4) defeated Tampa Bay and still hopes New Orleans (11-4) slips up for the division title.
Maybe the biggest concern regarding the elements the Falcons' controlled was the ineptitude of the offense. The Falcons got shut out in the first half for the second time this season, following what happened in Week 6 against New England. They were 0-for-2 in the red zone against the Saints in the third quarter, when running back Devonta Freeman fumbled the ball at the Saints' 1-yard line. And at the end of the quarter, what the Falcons thought was a 6-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Julio Jones was confirmed short of the end zone following a challenge.
To top it all off, Freeman got stuffed on fourth-and-1 immediately after the review of Jones' play, symbolic of how depressing a day it was for the Falcons.
The Falcons didn't score their first touchdown until Ryan hit Tevin Coleman for a 14-yard pass with 2 minutes, 44 seconds left to play. One touchdown just isn't going to get it done in division play or any game, for that matter.
Glance at the final statistics and the number that sticks out is the 10 penalties for 91 yards, most of those early drive-killers for the Falcons. Even if some of those shouldn't have been called, a handful showed the Falcons lacked discipline when they need to keep their poise.
The playoffs aren't out the picture, but the offense needs a facelift before the postseason begins. It hasn't been the ideal season for the reigning MVP Ryan, but it's hard to blame him when a ball bounces off receiver Marvin Hall's hands and rolls atop the butt of Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore, leading to Ryan's fourth interception in two games against the Saints this season.
The Falcons have to be able to punch the ball into the end zone from 1 yard away. Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian will have to conjure up different plays in such scoring situations or go back to using his big fullback in defensive tackle Dontari Poe to help clear holes.
Give the Falcons' defense credit for holding the Saints to 3-of-13 on third down and 0-for-2 in the red zone. And kudos to linebacker Deion Jones, a New Orleans native who picked off Drew Brees for the third time in his career and put his team in position to score a touchdown before Freeman's fumble. But the Falcons can't be themselves without clicking offensively.
We'll see what unfolds in the regular-season finale.