NEW ORLEANS (AP) - NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Every time Drew Brees and the Saints' potent
offense stumbles, New Orleans' resurgent defense is right there to
pick up the slack.
The Saints intercepted three Matt Ryan passes, with Jabari Greer
returning one 48 yards for the club's sixth defensive touchdown
this season, and New Orleans stayed perfect with a 35-27 victory
over the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night.
"Obviously, the defense is playing great," Brees said.
"They're doing a great job of taking the ball away. Our scoring
defense has been unbelievable. They've had the ability to create
momentum for our side of the ball."
It's no wonder the Saints have matched the best start in
franchise history at 7-0, something only the 1991 Saints had done
before.
Greer's touchdown was the Saints' fifth score on an interception
this season, tying a single-season franchise mark set in 1998. The
Saints have at least one interception in every game this season and
a total of 16, one more than they had all of last season.
"The way we've been able to (get turnovers) and score is a big
reason we're where we're at right now," Saints coach Sean Payton
said.
Tracy Porter's interception on the Saints' 1-yard line, on a
pass tipped by Jonathan Vilma, preserved a 28-24, fourth-quarter
lead after Pierre Thomas' fumble had given Atlanta the ball on at
the Saints' 35.
Still, the Falcons stayed in it until the end, getting a 40-yard
field goal from Jason Elam with 28 seconds left, then recovering an
onside kick. Ryan only had time for a desperation heave in the
final seconds, and Darren Sharper turned it into his seventh
interception of the season.
With big plays on both sides of the ball, New Orleans has been
able to get away with committing four turnovers against Miami and
Atlanta in back-to-back weeks and still come away triumphant.
Brees, responsible for two turnovers against the Falcons, passed
for 308 yards and two scores. Thomas scored two touchdowns to help
atone for his fumble.
"We did a lot of things well and yet we did a lot of things
that made it close at the end," Payton said. "I'm excited to win,
though. ... It was an important game against a division team and
I'm proud of our players."
The Falcons, by contrast, have lost two straight for the first
time under second-year coach Mike Smith in large part because they
couldn't overcome their mistakes.
Ryan has now been intercepted at least twice in three straight
games, but Smith said he's "not concerned at all."
"We're going to be judged on 16 games - not one game and not
three games," he said.
The same applies to the Saints, of course, but as one of only
two undefeated teams left in the NFL along with Indianapolis, New
Orleans certainly has reason to be optimistic. And when Thomas
scored the Saints' final TD on a 1-yard catch, flipping backward
over a tackler into the end zone, the Louisiana Superdome broke
into chants of, "Who dat say they gonna' beat them Saints?"
Thomas scored his other touchdown on a tackle-slipping 22-yard
run in the first quarter. Marques Colston added an 18-yard TD catch
and Reggie Bush had a 1-yard TD run late in the first half, giving
the Saints a lead they would not relinquish.
Colston finished with 85 yards on six catches. Tight end Jeremy
Shockey caught five passes for 72 yards.
Michael Turner rushed for 151 yards and a touchdown for Atlanta,
which dropped three games behind New Orleans in the NFC South. Kroy
Biermann scored on a fumble return after Thomas DeCoud's sack
jarred the ball from Brees. Roddy White had a 68-yard TD catch, and
the Falcons pulled to 28-24 on Elam's 25-yard field goal with 11:33
to go.
That field goal, however, came only after Payton sprinted down
the sideline and launched his red flag about 20 yards, just in time
to challenge a tying touchdown catch by White. Replays showed White
allowed the ball to touch the turf as he bobbled the diving catch.
"It's a disappointing loss but it's a long season," Ryan said.
"There's a lot that can happen between now and Week 17."
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