Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints shuts out their opponents today

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Hey guys,

2 teams from the NFC shuts out their opponents today

The Atlanta Falcons shutout the GIANTS and got their payback from last season's NFC Wild Card while the New Orleans Saints shutout the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Falcons are undefeated at home

Here are the stories:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/foo...103/index.html

Ryan throws 3 TD passes, Falcons rout Giants 34-0

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atlanta Falcons sent a message to all the skeptics with a resounding victory over the defending Super Bowl champions.

Matt Ryan threw three touchdowns passes and the Falcons defense handed New York its first regular-season shutout since 1996, stifling the Giants 34-0 on Sunday.

Julio Jones caught a couple of scoring throws from Ryan, who broke his own franchise records for completions and passing yards in a season. Matty Ice finished 23 of 28 for 270 yards.

The Falcons (12-2), who have already clinched the NFC South, moved a step closer to locking up home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs. One more win would ensure that any postseason contests before the Super Bowl are held at the Georgia Dome.

Eli Manning threw two interceptions for New York (8-6), which dropped into a first-place tie with Washington in the NFC South. Dallas had a chance to make it a three-way tie later in the day, hosting Pittsburgh.

The Giants also went 0-for-3 on fourth down and missed a short field goal.
Despite their lofty record, Atlanta has received plenty of criticism for winning ugly against inferior opponents. A 30-20 loss to last-place Carolina the previous week only seemed to reinforce the notion that the Falcons are headed for another short stay in the playoffs. They have yet to win a postseason game since Ryan took over as the quarterback in 2008, going 0-3.

But one thing the Falcons never seem to do anymore is lose two straight games. They extended the NFL's longest active streak since consecutive defeats to 49 games, going back to the 2009 season.

For the Giants, it was a miserable performance when they desperately needed a win, at a time of year when they normally play some of their best football.
Manning threw his first pick on the second play of scrimmage, setting up a quick Atlanta touchdown. Coach Tom Coughlin made a curious call late in the first half, passing up another short field goal attempt when his team was almost 2 yards shy of the marker. Asante Samuel batted down a short pass intended for Victor Cruz, sending Atlanta to the locker room with a commanding 17-0 lead and all the momentum.

But even if the Giants had taken the field goal, it's probably wouldn't have made much difference.

The tone in this one was set right away.

When Manning attempted to hit Hakeem Nicks on a short pass to the right, Samuel stepped in to make the interception and return it to the Giants 16. From there, Michael Turner ran it four straight times, the last of those a 1-yard plunge that gave Atlanta a 7-0 lead less than 3 minutes into the game.

It was all Falcons after Lawrence Tynes missed a chip shot kick from 30 yards, ruining an impressive second possession by the Giants. Atlanta took it 80 yards from there, with Ryan going to Harry Douglas on a 37-yard gain for the big gainer. Then, on third-and-11 from the 12, Ryan went to his favorite target, Tony Gonzalez , in the end zone. The 16-year veteran leaped over safety Will Hill to haul in the high throw - and hopped up quickly for his customary dunk over the goalposts.

Early in the second half, the Falcons blew it open on Ryan's 40-yard touchdown pass to Jones down the left sideline. Finally, after a drive that used up more than 9 minutes in the fourth quarter, Ryan went to Jones for a 3-yard TD.

The Giants turned it over one more time in the closing minutes, finishing off their first shutout in the regular season since a 24-0 defeat at Philadelphia on Dec. 1, 1996. The performance came just a week after they put up 52 points on the New Orleans Saints.

There was a moment of silence before the game honoring the Connecticut shooting victims, and the Giants also wore "SHES" decals on their helmets for Sandy Hills Elementary School.

credit: sportsillustrated.cnn.com

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/brees-l...5QjxIA0BDQtDMD

Brees leads Saints over Bucs, 41-0
By BRETT MARTEL (AP Sports Writer) | The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Drew Brees made easy work of Tampa Bay's league-worst pass defense and Josh Freeman's frustrating day only made things worse for the desperate Buccaneers.

Brees passed for 307 yards and four touchdowns, and the Saints recorded their first shutout in 17 years in a 41-0 victory over the Buccaneers on Sunday, virtually ending Tampa Bay's already slim playoff hopes.

Brees connected on his scoring passes with tight end David Thomas, running back Darren Sproles and receivers Lance Moore and Joe Morgan. Mark Ingram added an 11-yard touchdown run.

Freeman endured one of his worst outings of the season for Tampa Bay (6-8), throwing four interceptions and losing a fumble. Jabari Greer made two interceptions, Rafael Bush and Isa Abdul-Quddus the others. Cameron Jordan forced Freeman's fumble on a sack and recovered it.

New Orleans (6-8) also bottled up standout rookie running back Doug Martin, holding him to 16 yards on nine carries as the Buccaneers lost for the fourth straight time.

Although many fans had left in the fourth quarter, those remaining made as much noise as they could as the Saints allowed Tampa Bay to get into the red zone before preserving the club's first shutout since a 12-0 win in the 1995 season finale against the Jets in New York.

Brees had been in a bit of a rut during New Orleans' recent three-game skid, throwing nine interceptions during that stretch. That he would snap out of it against Tampa Bay made sense; the Bucs entered the game giving up 311.6 yards per game. Brees eclipsed 200 yards by halftime but eased off after his 34-yard touchdown strike to Morgan in the second half, when the Saints looked to run down the clock.

Ingram finished with 90 yards rushing and the Saints had their third-best total on the ground this season with 149 yards against a Tampa Bay rushing defense that came in first in the league, allowing 78.2 yards per game.

Brees completed 12 of his first 13 passes for 132 yards and his 9-yard touchdown over the middle Thomas.

He marched the Saints inside the Tampa Bay 5 before the second drive stalled with a false start penalty, followed by his second incompletion, which led to a field goal early in the second quarter.

At that point, New Orleans had outgained the Bucs 170-63 and had a 9-2 advantage in first downs.

The Bucs' squandered a chance to close the gap when Freeman missed badly on two straight passes, the first to an open Mike Williams in the end zone.

The next was his second interception of the first half. Reserve safety Rafael Bush, who wears No. 25 as Reggie Bush once did, grabbed Freeman's errant pass at the 9 and looked like his namesake during a 40-yard return, coming to a complete stop near sideline to his left, then going backward and laterally to find more running room.

The Saints capitalized, thanks in part Brees completing a pass as he was flatted to Marques Colston for a drive-extending, 21-yard gain. That helped set up Brees' second TD toss, a 2-yarder to Sproles to make it 17-0.

Brees managed to put one more scoring drive together after Sproles returned a punt 37 yards to the Tampa Bay 38 with 1:04 left. Moore's 8-yard TD grab made it 24-0 at halftime, at which point Brees was 19 of 29 for 216 yards and three scores.

credit: sports.yahoo.com