NEW ORLEANS — Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught three passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns in his second game for New Orleans, and the Saints began Darren Rizzi's tenure as interim coach by snapping a seven-game skid with a 20-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
The 54-year-old Rizzi, the Saints' special teams coordinator, was given his first head coaching opportunity on Monday after third-year coach Dennis Allen was fired.
His triumphant debut came not only against the NFC South’s first-place team but also against the Saints' oldest regional rival.
Tyrann Mathieu thwarted a promising Atlanta drive with an interception of Kirk Cousins at the New Orleans 38 with two minutes to go.
Atlanta got the ball back after Alvin Kamara, who had 109 yards from scrimmage and became the Saints' all-time rushing leader, stunningly dropped Derek Carr's accurate third-down pass deep down the left sideline for what could have been a game-clinching first down.
But just as Atlanta crossed midfield, Chase Young's sack and strip of Cousins caused a 19-yard loss back to the Atlanta 32-yard line with 34 seconds remaining. Although the Falcons recovered, the play proved pivotal.
The Falcons were forced to use their final timeout and had to make a rushed decision two plays later on whether to try a 60-yard field goal or keep the offense on the field after a completion gave them fourth-and-4 on the New Orleans 43 with 18 seconds left and the clock running.
Atlanta tried a quick pass to Ray-Ray McCloud III, who was tackled short of first-down yardage by Ugo Amadi as time expired.
The Falcons missed opportunities to score at least 13 more points than they did and lost despite rushing for 181 yards and outgaining New Orleans 468 yards to 365.
Younghoe Koo had three failed field-goal attempts for the first time in his career. One missed wide, another was partially blocked and a third hit the upright.
On another drive, consecutive penalties pushed a first-and-goal from the 5 back 20 yards, helping the Saints hold Atlanta to a field goal.
Cousins completed 23 of 38 passes for 306 yards and was intercepted once.
Atlanta's Bijan Robinson rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns, including a tackle-breaking 37-yard run in the third quarter that pulled the Falcons as close as a field goal.
Carr finished with 269 yards and two TDs passing without a turnover.
Kamara's 55 yards rushing gave him 6,544 yards, eclipsing Mark Ingram's previous mark of 6,500.
Falcons: DT Ta’Quon Graham left the game in the first half with a pectoral injury.
Saints: DE Payton Turner came out of the game with an apparent injury to his hand or wrist area.
Falcons: At Denver next Sunday.
Saints: Host Cleveland on Sunday.
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