5 Atlanta Falcons who deserve credit in ugly NFC South win over Saints

3. Troy Andersen

While Judon deserves immense credit for making the play this game was a step forward for Andersen. Before we focus on the obvious consider the job he did chasing down Kamara and playing the run. It wasn't perfect but it was a far better start for a player who had been exposed stopping the run and playing out of position.

Andersen had been a step slow and shown bad instincts after the loss of Nate Landman. It was only one game but Andersen answered the challenge and gave the Falcons the best performance of his short career. Chasing down Kamara and being in the position to make a play consistently is what earned Andersen a spot on this list.

This brings us to the obvious play that scored one of Atlanta's two touchdowns on the day. Judon might have made the play but Andersen still had to make the catch under pressure and rumble in for the score shaking Olave. It was surprising speed for Andersen and by far the biggest moment of his short career. Andersen gave reason to believe the Falcons can survive without Landman until the backer is healthy and perhaps early struggles aren't indicative of what we will see moving forward.