NEW ORLEANS -- Atlanta running back Tevin Coleman rushed for three touchdowns, quarterback Matt Ryan passed for two TDs, and linebacker Deion Jones returned an interception 90 yards for a score to help the Falcons beat the winless New Orleans Saints 45-32 on Monday night.
The game was played nearly 10 years to the day after the Saints' memorable return to the Superdome on Sept. 25, 2006, 13 months after Hurricane Katrina. But there would be no reprise of New Orleans' dominant and emotional 23-3 triumph a decade ago.
The Saints' depleted defense struggled to slow down Atlanta running back Devonta Freeman, who rushed for 152 yards and caught 5 passes for 55 yards and 1 touchdown. Coleman also was effective in the passing game out of the backfield, with 3 receptions for 47 yards to go with his 42 yards rushing. As a team, the Falcons finished with 217 yards on the ground.
Ryan finished with 240 yards passing for Atlanta (2-1) which did not turn the ball over and moved into sole possession of first place in the NFC South. Atlanta wide receiver Julio Jones played despite missing a couple practices during the week because of a sore calf. He did not make his first catch until the second half, a 16-yarder.
New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees put up his usual big numbers with 376 yards passing and three touchdowns, but Jones' interception for a touchdown on a tipped pass early in the fourth quarter gave the Falcons a 45-25 lead that proved too much for New Orleans to overcome.
Running back Mark Ingram had 77 yards rushing and caught 4 passes for 30 yards and 1 touchdown. Tight end Coby Fleenor caught 7 passes for 109 yards and 1 touchdown while wide receivers Brandin Cooks and Michael Thomas each caught seven passes, with Thomas hauling in a 3-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.
The loss dropped the Saints (0-3) in last place -- a far cry from their 3-0 start in 2006.
A cruel irony for the Saints on Monday night, though, was the way they lost the early momentum on -- of all plays -- a Falcons punt. A decade earlier, the Saints seized the early momentum on Steve Gleason's block of a Falcons punt that was recovered for a touchdown, which led to New Orleans' 23-3 victory. The Saints had raced to a 7-0 lead on Brees' 2-yard touchdown pass to Fleenor and forced a Falcons punt on their ensuing possession. But New Orleans gave the ball right back to Atlanta when punt returner Tommylee Lewis was run into by teammate De'Vante Harris, forcing a fumble that the Falcons recovered on the Saints' 11-yard line. Coleman scored the first of his three touchdowns three plays later to tie it at 7-7.
The teams traded touchdowns to start the second quarter before Coleman's 2-yard score gave the Falcons the lead for good. Justin Hardy's 4-yard TD catch pushed Atlanta's lead to 28-14 until Saints kicker Will Lutz' 57-yard field goal with no time left cut the Falcons' lead to 28-17 at halftime.
Coleman's 6-yard score with 12:03 left in the third upped the Falcons' lead to 35-17. New Orleans trailed 35-25 early in the fourth and had driven inside Atlanta's 15-yard line before Jones corraled a tipped pass for an interception and raced untouched to the end zone to essentially put the game out of reach.
Sports on 09/27/2016