My conclusion from tonight:
I would be nervous to play either team in Dallas.
The Saints know how to win football games; I believe Payton-Brees is the only combo that can hold a candle to Belichick-Brady. Scary to think that the Saints won despite two fourth quarter INTs, including one that will not be made again. My one criticism of Brees is he seems to gamble too much. Hence the 21 INTs; even last week, the "highlight" TD pass against Baltimore was actually a bad decision, and Brees seems to throw a lot of jump balls. That said, he is deadly accurate and obviously capable of playing at anyone's level.
The Falcons were not that impressive tonight stacked up against the Saints, but they are still pretty heavy favorites to win the NFC with that homefield advantage. I believe their secondary is athletic enough to give the Patriots some big problems. I think Matt Ryan is a terrific young QB, but I've seen a few games this year, and he looks like a terrific third-year QB, but definitely not an elite player like Brady/Brees/Rivers. He's a guy that can kill you if given the right situation, but he's not someone who will win throwing 40 passes.
All in all, an enjoyable game to watch, although the seeding implications are negligible. In my opinion, the Saints pose the biggest threat to the Patriots because Sean Payton is the only coach in BB's class. Not to mention that smack down they handed us last year.