For five years, NFL fans have celebrated one moment as the league’s zenith of failure — an unforgettable play in which Mark Sanchez, scrambling for his life, ran smack-dab into the posterior of his own offensive lineman and lost the ball.
On Sunday, Falcons tailback Devonta Freeman joined him atop that lofty peak.
Freeman took a second-and-goal carry from the Saints 1-yard line and ran directly into the backside of his center, Alex Mack. The impact was enough to jar the ball loose, and Atlanta left a trip into the deepest part of the red zone with zero points.
While the play wasn’t as gloriously inept as Sanchez’s failure — Freeman went down like a football player and not like a mannequin that had just been hit with a grenade — it’s a demoralizing blow for a Falcons team one win from earning a playoff spot. Though the Saints didn’t scoop the ball up and cap off one man’s failure with a touchdown return, Freeman’s fumble erased his team’s best scoring opportunity of the afternoon and a chance to turn a Drew Brees interception into meaningful points.
What this means for the Falcons: Atlanta got shut out in the first half against the Saints’ leveled-up defense, but Brees’ interception gave the Falcons a first-and-goal situation at the Saints 2-yard line. Freeman’s first carry pushed the ball to the 1. His second was the league’s second-best butt fumble. That pretty much sums up Sunday’s trip to New Orleans for Atlanta so far.