In a contentious rivalry so close that the teams were tied at 55 victories apiece it's no surprise that Sunday's game between the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons went down to the wire at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Atlanta kicker Younghoe Koo drilled a 58-yard field goal with two seconds left to give his team a 26-24 win. The win improved Atlanta to 2-2 and dropped the Saints to 2-2. It was Koo's fourth field goal. The Falcons won despite not having an offensive touchdown.
It looked as if Alvin Kamara given the Saints a victory when he powered in from a yard out for a 24-23 lead with a minute to play. But Kirk Cousins marched the Falcons into scoring position, thanks in part to a 30-yard pass interference penalty against Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo.
Trailing 23-17 the Saints' got the 1-yard line with a 16-yard pass from Derek Carr to Chris Olave and after failed runs by Carr the Saints turned to Kamara, who delivered. He finished with 19 carries for 77 yards and seven receptions for 42 yards. Carr was 28 of 36 for 239 yards and one interception. Olave and Rashid Shaheed were the top receivers; Olave had with eight catches for 87 yards while Shaheed had a career-best eight catches for 83 yards
The Saints gifted the Falcons the first points of the game when Shaheed muffed a punt that Atlanta recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.
The Falcons got their second touchdown on another Saints mistake as linebacker Troy Andersen returned an interception by Carr 47 yards. Carr was trying to throw the ball away and it was deflected by defensive end Matthew Judon straight into the air and Andersen settled under it. Carr had completed his first seven passes. Atlanta also had a 53-yard field goal in the first half and 44-yard field goal in the third quarter.
Taysom Hill provided the first half offense first touchdown came on a 2-yard run, giving the Saints a touchdown on the opening possession for every game this season. The last time a Saints team did that was 2009. Hill scored again on a 5-yard run, a score that was set up when cornerback Pauslon Adebo intercepted Cousins.
Hill, playing in his 100th game, was ruled out with an abdomen injury in the second quarter after carrying six times for 24 yards.
Linebacker Demario Davis missed the first game of his 13-year career of injury. Willey Gay took his place in the lineup but had to leave with a hand injury and was replaced by D'Marco Jackson. Veteran safety Tyrann Mathieu left with a groin injury.
The Saints' next game will be on "Monday Night Football" at the Kansas City Chiefs.
