Today's game between the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints had a little bit of everything. There was a lot of good, a lot of bad, and even some ugly on both sides of the football for both teams.Fortunately, the Falcons ended up on the right side of a nail-biting 27-25 win.Here are our Top 5 observations...Scroll to Continue1. No Ridley, no problem - The Falcons really struggled last week with Calvin Ridley sitting. Brad Hand Jersey The Carolina Panthers doubled rookie tight end Kyle Pitts and the receivers had trouble getting open for Matt Ryan. Today, the team looked more prepared and Ryan had a plethora of options. Cordarrelle Patterson led the way with six catches for 126 yards, while Ru sell Gage enjoyed a nice bounce-back game with seven catches for 64 yards. On top of that, Olamide Zaccheaus had his first multi-touchdown game of his career.2. Ground to a halt - The Falcons had 332 yards through the air Chase Headley Jersey , but just 34 yards on the ground. Patterson and Mike Davis each ran the ball nine times, but accrued just 23 yards between the two of them. The Saints have a fantastic front seven, but getting more yardage on the ground is going to be nece sary if this team wants to get anywhere this season. And, in the most important time to not fumble the ball on the final drive in field goal range, Davis did just that. Had the ball been recovered by the Saints, he would have made all the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The Atlanta curse would have been alive and well. The Falcons need to do Wil Myers Jersey something different in the run game, because what they have currently isn't working. You think Ozzie Albies would be interested in some offseason work?3. Defensive heroes - For the first 52 minutes of the game, the Falcons defense allowed just six points. It deserve its props for not allowing Alvin Kamara to run off for a big play, or letting Kenny Stills break the top off the defense. The Falcons kept things sound and in the biggest moment, forced a ma sive fumble courtesy of James Vaughters, who was called up from the practice squad this week. Steven Means, a nine-year veteran, recovered the first fumble of his NFL career. Seeing production come from the most unexpected places in sports will never not be special. Cory Spangenberg Jersey 4. Holding a lead - The final eight minutes of the game were absolutely abysmal. Blowing an 18-point lead is hard to do, but it becomes very easy when you don't follow through and finish the job. The Falcons failed to remain focused on both sides of the ball and allowed the Saints' momentum to suffocate them during the fourth quarter. It's become a theme for this team over the years and it needs to end. Had the Saints converted on either two-point conversion, the outcome of the game could have gone the other way.5. Matt Ryan found a way -Even when disaster struck, the leader of this team guided the Falcons to victory. The Falcons have won three of their four games this season on Ryan-led fourth quarter drives, and without the veteran presence on a very young team, they would be one of the worst teams in the league. Instead, the Falcons are 4-4 at far from dead. Ryan has been undoubtedly the team's most valuable player this season and Sunday's win proved that Allen Craig Jersey the Falcons will go as far as Ryan can carry them.