Los Angeles: Matt Ryan threw two touchdowns as the Atlanta Falcons piled on the misery for the winless New Orleans Saints with a 45-32 victory at the Superdome on Monday.
Tevin Coleman ran for two scores before rookie linebacker Deion Jones galloped 90 yards for a touchdown after collecting an interception from Saints quarterback Drew Brees in the fourth quarter.
The win left the Falcons on top of the NFC South with a 2-1 record as the Saints slumped to 0-3 on a night to forget for the home team.
The Falcons took control of the contest after scoring touchdowns on five consecutive possessions before adding a field goal to forge into a 38-25 lead late in the third quarter.
The Saints still had plenty of time to play with however and appeared to be closing in on a touchdown that would have reduced the deficit to six points early in the fourth quarter.
But cornerback Brian Poole deflected Brees’ pass for Michael Thomas and the ball bounced kindly into the arms of Jones, who sprinted 90 yards to put Atlanta ahead 45-25 with 13:37 left.
That decisive play ended Brees’ run of 305 consecutive passes without an interception, the fourth-longest streak in league history behind Tom Brady (359), Alex Smith (312) and Bernie Kosar (308).
The Saints rallied briefly when Mark Ingram scored a touchdown to make it 45-32 with 10 minutes left but it was too little too late.
Quarterback Ryan made 20 completions from 30 attempts for 240 yards while Devonta Freeman led Atlanta’s rushing with 152 yards from 14 carries.
Brees posted respectable numbers with 36 from 54 for 376 yards and three touchdowns.
