 the win on the day the 39-year-old quarterback set the NFL record for career completions. Brees passed for 396 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two scores. Kamara had 15 catches for 124 yards and ran for 66 yards. Brees' biggest play before the winner might have been his improbable 7-yard scoring run with 1:15 remaining that forced overtime. He ran to his left and then spun to avoid tackle attempts by Brian Poole and Robert Alford. Atlanta's Matt Ryan had his first career game with five scoring passes, including three to rookie Calvin Ridley. That wasn't enough for the Falcons (1-2) against Brees and the high-scoring Saints, who gained 534 yards. Ryan passed for 374 yards, including 146 to Ridley, who became the first Falcons rookie with three scoring catches. Ridley, who had seven receptions, including a 75-yard TD, had his first game with more than one touchdown reception in his first game with at least 100 yards receiving. Ridley's third scoring catch against the Saints was a 9-yarder early in the third quarter that held up following a review. Ryan's five touchdown passes tied the team record set by Wade Wilson on Dec. 13, 1992, at Tampa Bay. The fifth went to Mohamed Sanu - followed by Ryan's 2-point conversion pass to Sanu - gave the Falcons a 37-30 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The scoring pass came after Saints defensive tackle David Onyemata was called for unnecessary roughness when Atlanta's Matt Bryant kicked a 29-yard field goal that would have given the Falcons a 32-30 lead. With the penalty, the Falcons' offense came back on the field. Ridley beat P. J. Williams on his first two scoring catches, an 18-yarder in the first quarter and the 75-yarder in the second quarter. The Saints made a defensive switch, moving Ken Crawley into coverage on Ridley. Crawley was called for pass interference on a deep incompletion to Ridley early in the third quarter that gave Atlanta a first down at the New Orleans 5. On second down from the 9, Ridley's third scoring catch gave the Falcons a 21-16 lead. Williams' troubles continued when he was called for pass interference when trying to cover Sanu, and that flag set up another first down at the 5. Ryan's fourth scoring pass, to Tevin Coleman, made it 29-23. With his 14th completed pass, Brees broke the record of 6,300 career completions set by Hall of Famer Brett Favre. Brees closed in on the mark early, completing his first four passes, including a 19-yard scoring pass to Ted Ginn Jr. , on the Saints' opening drive. The Falcons pulled even on Ryan's 18-yard touchdown pass to Ridley later in the opening quarter. Brees set the career completions record with a 17-yard completion to Michael Thomas in the second quarter, giving him 6,301. With a little more help from Ginn, Brees might have had a bigger first half. Ginn dropped a sideline pass on a drive that ended with a 49-yard field goal by Will Lutz bouncing off the left upright and over the cross bar. Later in the second quarter, Ginn juggled a pass for an incompletion as he ran out of bounds on the Atlanta sideline. Ryan's 75-yard scoring pass to Ridley was his 34th career TD pass against the Saints, the most by any quarterback. He surpassed Joe Montana's 33 TD passes against New Orleans. INJURY REPORTSaints reserve cornerback Patrick Robinson was carted from the field early in the third quarter with a left ankle injury. He did not return. Falcons safety Ricardo Allen left early in overtime with a left calf injury. He was helped to the sideline and then driven on a cart to the locker room. . . . Reserve cornerback Justin Bethel suffered a knee injury in the third quarter. . . . Atlanta rookie linebacker Foyesade Oluokun left the game in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. UP NEXTSaints: at New York Giants next Sunday. Falcons: Play their third straight home game against the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday. ---For more NFL coverage: https://apnews. com/tag/NFLfootball and www. twitter. com/-NFL)
Sep 20, 2018 The New Orleans Saints improved from Week 1 to Week 2 and that enabled them to follow a season-opening loss with a win. But they admit they still have a long way to go as they prepare to face the Falcons in an NFC South showdown Sunday in Atlanta. After giving up 48 points in a seven-point loss to Tampa Bay to start the season, the Saints contained the Cleveland Browns offense much better in a 21-18 victory last week. The offense, though, wasn't nearly as effective against the Browns (275 yards) as it was against the Buccaneers (475). Of those 750 yards, only 105 have come from the rushing attack. "In the first game, obviously we were doing a lot of good things in the passing game so it's not like we couldn't run the ball," Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "But we kind of got in a situation where we had to score quickly and score a lot. "This last game, I would say it was not one of our better run running games efficiency wise, but we did have a couple of good ones at the end of the game. " The Falcons got more bad news on the injury front this week and it could not have come at a worse time. Atlanta is already without safety Keanu Neal for the season because of a knee injury. It will also be without middle linebacker Deion Jones for at least another six weeks while he's on the injured reserve list after foot surgery. Now the Falcons will be without starting left guard Andy Levitre, who was lost for the season because of a triceps injury and placed on injured reserve. "After receiving the test results on Andy's injury from Sunday's game, it has been determined that he will miss the remainder of the season with a triceps injury," Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. The move means Wes Schweitzer, who started at right guard last season, will move into the lineup. Schweitzer took Levitre's place when he was injured Sunday. Schweitzer battled with Brando Fusco for the starting job at right guard, with Fusco, a free-agent signee formerly with the San Francisco 49ers, winning the position. Quinn said he club is confident moving forward with Schweitzer as the starter. "When Wes stepped in for Andy, we certainly knew what to expect for a guy who has really put the time in," Quinn said. "This summer the battle that he had in him with Brandon to get going, we knew if he was going to go in the game he would be ready. " The Falcons are awaiting word on the status of defensive end Takk McKinley (groin) and Derrick Shelby (groin). They were both injured last week against Carolina. "We're going to give these guys as much time as they need to get ready," Quinn said. "When they can start doing things that they do, we'll adjust accordingly. " If either or both can't go, the Falcons will probably use Steven Means in their rotation. Means signed with Atlanta last week and he was inactive for the Carolina game. "I'd be comfortable (with Means) and the reason why is during his time here, he's really put the work in," Quinn said. "We'll just take it as it goes. " Running back Devonta Freeman is expected to miss his second straight game with a right knee contusion. For the Saints, defensive tackle Tyeler Davison, who missed last week's game because of a foot injury suffered in the season opener, did not practice Wednesday. Wide receiver Tommylee Lewis, who injured his left knee in Sunday's game and did not return, was held out of practice and walked through the locker room with difficulty while wearing a brace on the knee. He was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. That means receiver Cameron Meredith, who has been a healthy inactive each of the first two weeks, could play Sunday. He was signed as a veteran free agent with the expectation that he would be the No. 3 receiver behind Michael Thomas and Ted Ginn Jr. even though he was recovering from a serious knee surgery. Meredith was limited in training camp and the preseason, but is healthy enough to play. Sunday's game will be the 98th regular-season meeting. The Falcons lead series, 51-46, including a 27-22 edge in Atlanta. The home team won both encounters last season. Atlanta has won three of the last four meetings.
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