Derek Carr passed for 269 yards and two touchdowns and the host New Orleans Saints ended a seven-game losing streak with a 20-17 victory against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon.
Carr completed 16 of 25 passes and Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught three passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns as the Saints (3-7) won their first game under interim head coach Darren Rizzi after Dennis Allen was fired Monday.
Kirk Cousins passed for 306 yards and Bijan Robinson rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns for the Falcons (6-4).
On their first possession of the second half, the Falcons drove to Younghoe Koo’s 27-yard field goal to pull within 17-10, but the Saints took a 20-10 lead on their ensuing possession with a 26-yard field goal by Blake Grupe.
Robinson’s 37-yard touchdown run or the Falcons ftrimmed the lead to 20-17 at the end of the third quarter.
Atlanta had a chance to tie, but Koo missed his third field-goal attempt when his 46-yarder bounced off the right upright.
The Falcons later reached the New Orleans 44, but Tyrann Mathieu intercepted Cousins with 1:59 remaining.
With one last opportunity, and less than two minutes on the clock, Atlanta reached the Saints’ 49, but Chase Young sacked Cousins and the Falcons ran out of time.
The game was scoreless after one quarter, but on the second play of the second quarter Grupe kicked a 38-yard field goal to give the Saints a 3-0 lead.
The Falcons had a chance to tie, but Koo, whose career-long 58-yard field goal with two seconds remaining gave them a 26-24 victory in the first meeting in Week 4, was wide left on a 53-yard field-goal attempt.
New Orleans increased the lead to 10-0 on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Valdes-Scantling.
Robinson ran 1 yard for a touchdown on fourth down, pulling Atlanta within 10-7. On the first play after the ensuing kickoff Carr and Valdes-Scantling teamed for a 67-yard completion and three plays later for a 2-yard touchdown pass and a 17-7 lead.
The Falcons had a chance to trim the lead, but John Ridgeway III blocked Koo’s 35-yard field-goal attempt, leaving the Saints with a seven-point halftime lead.
