By PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated Press
ATLANTA — The New Orleans Saints have won plenty of games with their dazzling offense.
The defense is doing its part, too.
Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night.
“We’re rolling and we can’t stop,” said Cameron Jordan, who led the way as New Orleans sacked Atlanta’s Matt Ryan five times. “We’ve got to get better.”
Brees threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham and a 1-yarder to Benjamin Waton, giving the first-place Saints (9-2) a sweep of the season series with their NFC South rivals.
Atlanta (2-9) dropped its fifth straight game, clinched its first losing season since 2007 and was officially eliminated from the division race with five weeks remaining.
The Falcons had a chance to pull off the upset, driving to the Saints 29 with less than 3 minutes to go. But New Orleans turned up the pressure on Ryan, Atlanta missed a long field goal, and the Saints ran off all but the last 5 seconds.
New Orleans also forced a crucial fumble early in the fourth quarter. Keyunta Dawson stripped the ball from Falcons rookie receiver Darius Johnson, and Corey White fell on it at the Saints 13.
“We knew coming here was going to be a challenge,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “The two teams, the history, regardless of the record it has always been a close game, and tonight was no exception.”
The Georgia Dome rocked with chants of “Who Dat! Who Dat!” as the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Saints ensuring they will remain alone atop the NFC South and just one game behind Seattle for home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. New Orleans will face the Seahawks on Dec. 2 in what shapes up as one of the biggest games of the year.
“The identity of the team is still developing,” said Jordan, who was credited with 2½ sacks.
The Falcons had hoped to salvage a bit of pride in this lost season, driving from their own 9 — actually, the 3 after Ryan was sacked — to the Saints 29. But Ryan was sacked again by Jordan and hurried into a pair of incompletions. As the crowd groaned, the Falcons surprisingly sent on Matt Bryant to attempt a 52-yard field goal.
He knocked one through, but the Saints called timeout just before the snap. His next try sailed wide of the left upright.
Brees and the offense took it from there, assuring Atlanta had time for only one desperate play at the end.
“We responded to momentum changes and some adversity in the football game,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “But it was still not good enough. If you don’t win, it’s not good enough.”
Brees was 23 of 33 for 278 yards. Ryan was 30 of 39 for 297 yards, but Atlanta’s offense produced only one touchdown — the fourth time that has happened during its current skid.
The Falcons, who had been outscored 135-61 over their previous four games, put together an impressive drive on their opening possession. Steven Jackson carried it five times for 24 yards, the last of them a dive into the end zone on third-and-goal at the Saints 1 to give Atlanta its first lead in nearly a month. The Falcons had gone nearly 15 quarters — almost four full games — since being up 3-0 over Arizona early in Week 8.
The advantage didn’t last long. Brees guided a 15-play, 78-yard drive in which the Saints converted five straight times on third down, including Watson’s leaping catch in the back of the end zone.
Bryant put the Falcons back ahead with the first of his two field goals, a 39-yarder early in the second quarter, but New Orleans grabbed the lead for good when Graham slipped behind the secondary and hauled in his long touchdown.
He celebrated by dunking over the goalpost and hung on the crossbar for extra emphasis, and ended up bending the post. As the Saints lined up to attempt the extra point, the officials noticed the crooked uprights, leading to a brief delay as a worker came out with a ladder to straighten the bar.
The Falcons got in position to recapture the lead, driving to the New Orleans 10. On third-and-goal, Ryan couldn’t find an open receiver and took off running, briefly spotting a path to the end zone. But the Saints closed in quickly, prompting Ryan to slide down at the 6 rather than risk an injury. Some Atlanta fans booed as Matty Ice trotted off the field. Atlanta settled for another field goal from 24 yards and trailed 14-13 at the half.
The Falcons got no closer.
The only points of the second half came on Garrett Hartley’s 41-yard field goal.
