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New Orleans Saints cap week of change with victory over Atlanta

Offense produces explosive plays, defense has three sacks and an interception, special teams blocks field-goal attempt

Check out the game action photos from the New Orleans Saints game against the Atlanta Falcons for Week 10 of the 2024 NFL Season on Nov. 10, 2024 at Caesars Superdome.

In a game that seemed to feature a little bit of everything, the New Orleans Saints walked away with the only thing that really mattered on Sunday.

A win.

The Saints (3-7) ended their seven-game losing streak against Atlanta (6-4) in the Caesars Superdome courtesy of a 20-17 victory that left more than a few chewed off fingernails near the feet of the 70,005 attendees.

It was the first game for Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi, it was as entertaining as he forecast it would be and it was the kind of three-phase game that New Orleans has needed.

OFFENSE: New Orleans still has work to do offensively, that's no secret. Red zone efficiency (the Saints were 1 for 3 on Sunday, 2 for 4 last week) has to be improved because points were left on the board; the Saints were stopped on fourth-and-2 from the Atlanta 6-yard line on their first possession, and settled for a 26-yard field goal by Blake Grupe on their other red zone trip that didn't yield a touchdown. But the home run threat returned in the form of receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who caught three passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, including receptions of 40 (touchdown) and 67 yards. And running back Alvin Kamara became the all-time leading rusher in franchise history; he entered the game needing 12 yards to top Mark Ingram II's total of 6,500 yards, and Kamara finished with 55 yards on 17 carries. New Orleans didn't commit a turnover, which always helps.

DEFENSE: Allowing 468 yards (287 passing and 181 rushing) on 73 plays, 25 first downs, a lopsided time of possession (35:07) and committing four penalties (two defensive holding, two pass interference) usually isn't a recipe for success. But three sacks (by defensive linemen Payton Turner, Cam Jordan and Chase Young), two forced fumbles and an interception (by safety Tyrann Mathieu) helped cover a multitude of sins against the Falcons. Just when we thought the run-game issue somewhat had been solved, Atlanta sliced for 5.7 yards per carry and two touchdowns on 32 attempts. No amount of lipstick can pretty up those numbers. But New Orleans desperately had been needing pass rush production from the defensive line, and it arrived Sunday. And the unit, which had failed several times to produce a stop or turnover when on the field for a critical late possession, strung together four consecutive stops in the fourth quarter (one resulted in a missed field goal) to lead the way to victory.

SPECIAL TEAMS: New Orleans continues to do the job in coverage on kickoffs (25.5 average on two returns), but an 18-yard return on a punt isn't optimal. Still, Grupe made both field-goal attempts (38 and 26 yards), D'Marco Jackson dropped a hammer hit on a kickoff return and John Ridgeway III blocked a field goal attempt that preserved a 17-7 lead that New Orleans took into halftime and, possibly, kept the game from going into overtime.

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