Saints vs. Falcons Halftime: Cordarrelle Patterson, Defense Carry Atlanta to Lead
The Atlanta Falcons closed the first half of the season opener leading the New Orleans Saints 16-7.
The Falcons' first offensive drive went for 40 yards on 10 plays and resulted in a 54-yard field goal by Younghoe Koo, matching his career long. Quarterback Marcus Mariota was frequently put in motion, using his legs to extend plays and finding receivers on the run.
Atlanta's defense forced a three-and-out on its first series, but the offense did the same thing in its second try.
New Orleans responded with a touchdown on its second drive, highlighted by a 57-yard run from Taysom Hill, who later ran it in from 11 yards out to give them a 7-3 advantage.
Looking for a touchdown drive of their own, Mariota and the Falcons offense started with a 22-yard pass to receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, but he fumbled, and Saints corner Bradley Roby recovered.
However, New Orleans failed to capitalize, as Wil Lutz' 44-yard field goal clanked off the left upright.
The Falcons needed a big series to get momentum back in their corner, and got exactly that, as running back Cordarrelle Patterson led a nine-play, 66-yard drive and capped it off with a five-yard touchdown run, putting the Falcons up 10-7.
Atlanta's defense held the Saints offense to just 10 plays on the final three series, keeping New Orleans off the scoreboard. Star defensive tackle Grady Jarrett had two sacks and rookie pass rusher Arnold Ebiketie pitched in another.
The Falcons closed the half with a pair of scoring drives. The first was led by Patterson and rookie receiver Drake London, with an assist from an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Saints. The series stalled at the New Orleans 32, but Koo connected from 50 to put three points on the board, extending Atlanta's lead to 13-7.
The Falcons received the ball back with 23 seconds left, and that proved to be all they needed, as Mariota found London for a 31-yard gain over the middle and hit tight end Kyle Pitts for eight more, setting up Younghoe Koo's third field goal of the half, a 40-yarder to push the advantage to 16-7 as the half expired.
Atlanta will open the second half on defense, looking to continue its suffocating season-opening performance.
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