By Larry Holder, Josh Kendall and Amos Morale III
The New Orleans Saints snapped a seven-game losing streak and with a 20-17 win against the Atlanta Falcons Sunday in the Caesars Superdome.
The Saints (3-7) were playing their first game under Darren Rizzi who was named the interim head coach this week after New Orleans fired Dennis Allen.
NO GOOD.#EasyToCelebrate | @budlight pic.twitter.com/z58sxPLoQm
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 10, 2024
The Saints held a 17-7 halftime lead in large part due to an outstanding first half from newcomer Marquez Valdes-Scantling who caught three passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the second quarter.
Atlanta (6-4) missed out on several scoring opportunities as Kick Younghoe Koo missed two field goals and had another blocked.
Saints show some Rizz
The kids rejoice the Saints’ Rizz!!!
Maybe it was the unintended shoutout from Pope Francis earlier this week that helped the Saints muster together the effort to overcome all the upheaval this week. Or maybe they played harder for Rizzi. Regardless, the Saints showed there’s life after Dennis Allen.
It’s not as if the Saints played a mega-clean game. But they looked better in all phases against the division leader and hated rival. Saints fans had to be encouraged by the shot plays from Derek Carr to Valdes-Scantling. The Who Dats had to be encouraged by the defense showing way more pride than its exuded in weeks. And special teams,
Rizzi’s calling card, came through with a blocked field goal (along with some luck from another two missed Falcons field goals).
Who knows how long the Saints can ride the wave of this win, which stopped their dreadful seven-game losing streak. And simply a winning record won’t be enough to push New Orleans into playoff consideration. But this sort of effort will at least make the Saints watchable with an interesting offseason on the horizon. — Larry Holder, NFL senior writer
What’s up with Koo?
Koo missed two field goals and had another one blocked Sunday and is now 17-of-24 for the season. Those seven misses already are the most he’s had in any of his six seasons with the Falcons. Koo missed wide left on a 53-yard attempt and had a 35-yard attempt blocked in the first half then hit the right upright from 47 yards out in the fourth quarter on a kick that would have tied the game. — Josh Kendall, Falcons beat writer
Atlanta’s pass defense struggles again
Atlanta’s undoing in its last two losses has been its pass defense. The Saints averaged 11.2 per attempt on Sunday. The Falcons’ second-worst pass defense of the season came in Week 7 against the Seahawks, when it gave up 8.3 yards per attempt.
Valdes-Scantling, who was signed by the Saints before Week 8, had three catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. That’s more receiving yards than Valdez-Scantling had in his previous 14 games combined. His 40-yard touchdown catch came while surrounded by Atlanta defensive backs Jessie Bates, Justin Simmons and A.J. Terrell, all Pro Bowlers in the past. Valdez-Scantling didn’t catch a pass in the second half but by then it was too late for the Falcons. — Kendall
Robinson keeps rolling
Bijan Robinson’s 37-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was his longest rush of the season and the second-longest of his career. Robinson, the No. 8 pick in the 2023 draft, finished with 116 yards on 20 carries and is now fifth in the NFL with 748 rushing yards.
His 1,079 all-purpose yards leave him 384 short of his mark of 1,463 last year, which set the team’s rookie record in that category. — Kendall
Required reading
- Falcons’ improved pass protection ‘the reason we are where we are’: 5 factors
- Falcons predictions at NFL midseason: Atlanta wins NFC South, Kirk Cousins honored
- Saints fire Dennis Allen after 2-7 start, name Darren Rizzi interim coach
- NFL trade grades: Commanders make deadline day splash by acquiring Marshon Lattimore
(Photo: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)
