Let’s see how players performed in the Week 1 matchup between the Falcons and Saints, which ended in a nail-biting 34 – 17 win for the Falcons. Who did good, and who did bad? Also, we have reserved one spot of shame, The Ugly, for the player who performed the absolute worst:

The Good

QB Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons): Ryan was happy to have his favorite weapon, back, hooking up with Julio Jones for 7 receptions and 116 yards. Ryan was efficient throwing to his other receivers as well, finishing the day with 448 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. Matty Ice is on fire.

RB Mark Ingram (New Orleans Saints): Ingram looks to be finally becoming the player pundits said he could be when he first entered the NFL. After a rocky first few seasons to start his career, he seems to have turned a corner, turning in excellent play throughout the preseason which carried over to the season opener. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry and punched in 2 touchdowns for the Saints.

WR Brandon Cooks (New Orleans Saints): Rookie slot receiver Cooks entered the league in style with an impressive statline of 7 receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown. As long as Brees is under center Cooks figures to consistently put up these kinds of numbers.

The Bad

LT Gabe Carimi (Atlanta Falcons):Carimi filled in at left tackle when Jake Matthews left the game early with an injury. Carimi promptly showed everyone watching why he is a backup and not a starter. He allowed 5 quarterback pressures, got no push in the run game, and was penalized 3 times. Yikes.

LB David Hawthorne (New Orleans Saints): Hawthorne just couldn’t make tackles in the open field, missing 4 tackles in this game. He was weak in pass coverage as well.

The Ugly

SS Kenny Vaccaro (New Orleans Saints): In this game, Vaccaro did not look to be the defensive leader he was last year. Vaccaro missed just 3 tackles in the entire 2013 season. In this game alone, Vaccaro missed 6 tackles. He was also ineffective in coverage, often getting beat by receivers and inflating Matt Ryan’s already gaudy stats on the day. The Saints might not have lost this game if Vaccaro has performed better.