PRO FOOTBALL : A Hollow Victory for Saints

The thrill of a dramatic 10-9 victory over the Atlanta Falcons was tinged with regret for the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints’ 10-6 record, second best in franchise history, wasn’t good enough to get New Orleans into the playoffs.

The Saints were eliminated by Philadelphia’s 23-7 win over Dallas Sunday. The Saints needed to win and have both the Rams and Eagles lose in order to earn their second consecutive wild-card berth.

The Saints were 12-3 in 1987, their first-ever winning season.

Atlanta finished 5-11 for its sixth consecutive sub-.500 season.

“I wanted another shot at the (Minnesota) Vikings,” Saint linebacker Rickey Jackson said. “But we let things slip away from us, where we needed help from somewhere else, and it’s our own fault.”

The Saints were routed by the Vikings, 44-10, in the playoffs last year and, 45-3, 2 weeks ago.

Morten Andersen, most accurate kicker in NFL history, kicked the winning field goal from 30 yards with 5 seconds left in Sunday’s game. It broke a personal slump that has caused his career success ratio to slip below 80% for the first time.

Andersen missed 5 of his previous 12 attempts, dropping his career average to 79%. He missed his 10th of the season earlier in the fourth quarter, a 34-yarder.

“Heck, yes, I felt pressure,” Andersen said. “You try to look at it in a pragmatic manner. You tell yourself, ‘It’s only 30 yards, and I’ve kicked thousands of them this year in practice.’ You try to block it out, but you still feel the pressure.”

New Orleans trailed, 9-7, after Greg Davis kicked his third field goal, a 39-yarder with 6:03 remaining. The Saints got the ball on their own 20-yard line with 4:56 left.

Bobby Hebert completed 3 of 5 passes as the Saints drove to the winning field goal. He hit Lonzell Hill with a a 12-yarder on a fourth and 7 at the New Orleans 39.

Dalton Hilliard, who gained 127 yards in 25 carries, rushed 7 times for 30 yards on the drive. Hilliard also scored the game’s only touchdown on a 13-yarder reception from Hebert in the third quarter.

John Settle, the Falcons’ rookie free-agent from Appalachian State, gained 66 yards in 22 carries, giving him 1,024 yards for the season.