Falcons at Saints
Kickoff: 4:25 p.m. Sunday, Caesars Superdome
TV: Fox 5
Records: Falcons 3-7; Saints 2-8
Line: Saints -2
Outlook: The Falcons’ losing skid has reached five games and their season outlook took another hit when starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. learned his knee injury suffered last week will keep him out for the rest of the season. Kirk Cousins is the offense’s answer, and the defense will have to be better against the Saints.
Follow along with the AJC’s D. Orlando Ledbetter and Rod Beard.
The defense played well and Kirk Cousins looked like the version from early last season. He connected with Darnell Mooney for a 49-yard touchdown and the defense held its own for a 24-10 victory over the Saints, ending the Falcons' five-game losing streak.
Check out the Take 5 takeaways
After playing the short game for most of the day, Kirk Cousins opened things up with a 49-yard touchdown pass play to Darnell Mooney. After Bijan Robinson's run on the two-point conversion, the Falcons' lead was 24-10, with 11:04 remaining.
It was a rare connection for a big play in air yards for the Falcons this season, but it was reminiscent of the Cousins-Mooney connections from last season.
They'll need more of that to turn things this season.
Saints fans have to be feeling miserable after that sequence.
The Saints were on the doorstep, with 2nd-and-goal at the 1, but were stopped on second down, then had a bad snap on third down, with an added penalty for intentional grounding, forcing them to settle for a 33-yard field goal.
That cut the Falcons' lead to 16-10, with 12:13 left.
The Saints had another possession inside the 5 that didn't yield any points.
The Saints had an impressive drive to start the third quarter, going 75 yards in 16 plays and getting to the Falcons' 2-yard line. With a nine-point deficit, they chose to go for it on 4th-and-goal, and a pass deflection helped get the ball back for the Falcons.
Going for it there seemed odd, given that they could have cut it to a one-possession game with a field goal. They maybe didn't have confidence in their kicker, but if he can't make it from 20 yards, why is he even on the team?
It hasn't been pretty, but it hasn't needed to be.
The Falcons have done what they had to do to lead the Saints at halftime, 16-7. The defense has played well, not giving up any points, as New Orleans' only points have come off a pick-six against Kirk Cousins and the offense.
Special teams have been pretty good today, especially with Zane Gonzalez's three field goals.
Picture it: Gonzalez is making 54-yard field goals look easy.
With their two-minute offense, the Saints got the ball in field-goal range, for a 47-yard try, but Blake Grupe missed the 47-yard try wide right, and the Falcons got the ball back.
It's the second missed field-goal try for the Saints, along with one in the first quarter.
The Falcons pushed their lead to 13-7 on a 41-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez, just after the 2-minute warning.
Kirk Cousins had five completions on the drive, including an 18-yarder to Charlie Woerner, one of three straight to the tight end to open the drive. Bijan Robinson also had a 12-yard run on third down to exend the possession.
The offense has been pretty good, without Drake London today, and with Cousins playing under center instead of in the pistol, it's been effective.
This one wasn't Kirk Cousins' fault.
A tipped pass on a throw to Kyle Pitts landed in the hands of Saints defensive back Justin Reid, who grabbed the interception and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown, cutting the Falcons' lead to 10-7 at the 6:52 mark of the second quarter.
It's a big turn for the Saints, who had trouble moving the ball on offense, and they've benefited from big plays on special teams and defense.
The Falcons took control early in the second quarter, with a touchdown drive led by Kirk Cousins, for a 10-0 lead.
He had a 23-yard pass play to Kyle Pitts, a third-down conversion on a 10-yard pass to Darnell Mooney, and a 32-yard screen to Bijan Robinson to help set up the score, which came on a 9-yard pass to David Sills V.
On that possession, the Falcons did a better job of mixing the play-action pass and finding receivers on intermediate routes, opening the offensive playbook.
The Falcons had 3rd-and-1 (well, less than a yard), and back-to-back false start penalties pushed them to 3rd-and-11. From there, Cousins was sacked and they ended up punting.
The penalties were the drive-killers and having them consecutively is ... something.
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