ATLANTA _ Chats of "MVP! MVP! MVP!" rang out from all corners of the Georgia Dome on Sunday.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan's dissection of the New Orleans' defense was masterful and complete in a 38-32 victory before a festive crowd of 70,835. The win helped the Falcons earn the No. 2 seed for the NFC playoffs and solidified Ryan's bid to become the franchise's first-ever most valuable player winner.
Ryan, who also set a franchise mark for most yards passing in a season, directed touchdown drives on the team's first five possessions as five different players scored. Shaky defensive play allowed the Saints to make the game close in the final minutes.
The Falcons, who entered the game as the NFC South champs, improved to 11-5. The Saints, for the third consecutive season, finish at 7-9.
Ryan completed 27 of 36 passes for 331 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Falcons.
The Falcons must now await the highest seed to get through the wild-card round to play in the divisional round.
Here are the five things we learned from the victory:
1. Starting strong. For the sixth consecutive game, the Falcons scored a touchdown on their opening drive.
After the defense held the Saints and forced a punt, the offense raced 68 yards in just four plays.
Ryan completed a pass to running back Devonta Freeman, who reversed field and picked up 13 yards.
Ryan tossed a pass to wide receiver Justin Hardy for 13 yards and then dropped a short pass over the middle to Freeman, who broke it outside for a 35-yard gain.
On the next play, Ryan found running back Tevin Coleman in the flat wide open and he walked in untouched for a 7-yard touchdown.
The tone was set as the Falcons went on to score touchdown on all five of their first-half possession as they built a 35-13 halftime lead.
In addition to Coleman, Freeman scored on a 75-yard run, wide receiver Julio Jones had a yard touchdown catch, wide receiver Mohamed Sanu had a 10-yard touchdown grab and Hardy scored on a 7-yard pass.
2. Freeman's big run. On the Falcons' second possession, Freeman broke open off the right side of the line, bounced outside to the right and out-raced cornerback Sterling Moore to the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown run.
Sanu, who was in the backfield inside of the tight end and right tackle Ryan Schraeder, picked up the key block. Saints safety Roman Harper was in the box to stop the run, but Sanu punished him and allowed Freeman to scoot outside and break Moore's containment.
Freeman had a season-high 152 yards rushing against the Saints in the previous meeting on Sept. 26.
It was the fifth time this season that Freeman and Coleman combined for 200-plus yards in a game and third game in a row. They had 223 yards against the Panthers and 221 against the 49ers in the two previous games.
They combined for 20 rushes for 140 yards and eight catches for 96 yards against the Saints.
3. Injury report. The Falcons avoided a serious hit to their Super Bowl aspirations when a shoulder injury suffered by Pro Bowl pass rusher Vic Beasley wasn't serious enough to keep him out of the game.
Beasley sustained a left shoulder injury during the second Saints drive of the first quarter and headed to the locker room after being examined by the team physician. Beasley returned to the Falcons' sideline early in the second quarter and played during their next defensive series.
Beasley entered the final week of the regular season leading the league with 14.5 sacks and six forced fumbles. The Falcons selected Beasley with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2015 draft out of Clemson. He played his rookie year with a torn labrum in his right shoulder and has yet to miss a game.
Beasley, who appeared to return with a shoulder harness, registered a sack.
Safety Keanu Neal left the game in the fourth quarter and was being checked for a concussion after putting a big hit on Saints wide receiver Willie Snead.
Cornerback Robert Alford suffered a knee injury in the fourth quarter.
4. Julio Jones watch. Jones, who has been battling a toe injury, had a strong showing against the Saints. He caught seven passes for 96 yards and a yard touchdown pass on a fade route in the second quarter.
Jones was limited in last week's win over the Carolina. He repeatedly pulled himself out of the lineup.
Jones played most of the game against the Saints and appeared closer to 100 percent health.
5. Secondary meets the challenge. This was billed as a pre-playoff challenge for the Falcons' revamped secondary.
The Falcons are 5-2 since left cornerback Desmond Trufant sustained a torn pectoral injury. They battled rookies Carson Wentz and Jared Goff, and veterans Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick, Carson Palmer and Cam Newton.
Now, they can add the dynamic Brees to the list.
Alford and Jalen Collins, who had an interception, did a great job in coverage against the Saints dangerous trio of receivers in rookie Michael Thomas, Brandin Cooks and Snead, who entered the game with 2,952 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Thomas added a 14-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.
With the Falcons set to possibly face Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, Detroit's Matthew Stafford or New York's Eli Manning in the playoffs, the secondary needed some work.
