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What is the Saints vs Falcons 20-17 Curse?

1,549 views · Published 20 December 2017 · 0:30 · Indexed 12 November 2026

Channel: New Orleans Saints on NOLA.com · 2017 · Sports

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New Orleans Saints fans have long memories, and the farther back those memories go, the more painful they are.

Which explains why some fans couldn't help but feel something familiar about the way the Saints lost the last time they faced the Atlanta Falcons.

An interception in the end zone brought about a sudden end to a 20-17 defeat two Thursdays ago that ultimately cost the Saints sole possession of first place in the NFC South.

Now, with the Saints set to play the Falcons again Sunday in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, there's fear among some fans that the Saints could be about set to repeat history.

Go back nearly four decades to 1978, and you'll find a pair of losses to the Falcons by the same 20-17 score spaced two weeks apart that ultimately kept the Saints from making what would have been their first trip to the playoffs in franchise history.

The Saints held fourth-quarter leads in those 1978 games only to have them squandered in the closing minute, with one of those being the infamous "Big Ben Right" Hail Mary pass in the Superdome.

On that stunning play, the Falcons' Alfred Jackson caught a tipped, 57-yard pass from quarterback Steve Bartkowski and scored the winning touchdown with 10 seconds on the clock. Two weeks later, the Falcons won again at the end when Jim Mitchell caught a touchdown pass with five seconds left after a defensive pass interference call in the end zone.


The Saints ended that season with a 7-9 record that would have been a 9-7 had they not blown those two leads. Instead, it was the Falcons who went 9-7 and also made the playoffs.

Now, move ahead to the current season, which has the Saints (10-4) tied with the Carolina Panthers for the NFC South lead and the Falcons trailing both teams by one game.

Certainly, that loss two weeks ago in Atlanta toughened the Saints' potential path to the playoffs.

And, if history is an indicator, Saints fans could have reason to worry at any point in the fourth quarter if the Saints have a "17" on the scoreboard with the potential for yet another Falcons comeback.

Story by Chris Dabe

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