Sundays game ebbed and flowed plenty before it finally ebbed and flowed enough in the New Orleans Saints' direction that they were able to come away with a 20-17 victory over Atlanta in the Caesars Superdome.
Accordingly, the players who precipitated the sways were numerous. Here are a few:
OFFENSE: Receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling joined the Saints on Oct. 22, was inactive for a game, caught one pass for five yards in his Saints debut last week against Carolina and then did everything the Saints envisioned he could in the first half against the Falcons. He caught a 40-yard touchdown pass to give the Saints a 10-0 lead in the second quarter, and a 67-yard pass on the team's next possession to set up his 2-yard touchdown catch. Three catches for 109 yards in two possessions; he didn't catch another pass in the game, but he didn't need to. He did exactly what was needed and asked by a team that has been missing a deep threat since Rashid Shaheed was placed on injured reserve and missed the previous three games. Gotta toss in an honorable mention to running back Alvin Kamara, who became leading rusher in franchise history Sunday; Kamara would at least have shared the honor, but a dropped, 56-yard touchdown on a perfectly thrown pass submarined it for him.
DEFENSE: The boys up front did the job New Orleans has been waiting for them to do. Defensive end Payton Turner had a sack in the first half, then defensive ends Cam Jordan and Chase Young produced sacks in the fourth quarter on the Falcons' third-to-last and last drives. And safety Tyrann Mathieu conjured some Honey Badger-ness on the possession in between, with an interception at the Saints' 32-yard line with 1:59 left. The defense made the plays necessary to win the game, and hopefully that proves to be a confidence boost.
SPECIAL TEAMS: John Ridgeway III said he didn't take anything for granted, and it was good for the Saints that he didn't. He blocked a 35-yard field-goal attempt by Atlanta's Younghoe Koo in the second quarter that obviously was a big play at the time – it allowed the Saints to enter halftime with a 17-7 lead – but ultimately helped the Saints maintain a three-point advantage as the clock expired. Preventing points is always huge.
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.