Falcon Report

8 Thrilling Takeaways from Atlanta Falcons 24-10 Win Over Saints

Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons broke their five-game losing streak with a 24-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints.
Scott Kennedy|
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney caught a 49-yard touchdown pass that was historically significant for Kirk Cousins.
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney caught a 49-yard touchdown pass that was historically significant for Kirk Cousins. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

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Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons broke their five-game losing streak in New Orleans against a team they love to hate. While it won't erase a lot of what has gone wrong in Atlanta this year, beating the Saints always makes for a good following week.

The Falcons dominated the first half and leaned on a nd opportunistic defense and big plays in the second half to get the 24-10 win.

Here are our top takeaways from Sunday's win.

Lucky 13

In Kirk Cousins’ first start of the season against the Dolphins, Drake London was out like he was against the Saints on Sunday. Atlanta fielded Darnell Mooney, David Sills V, and KhaDarel Hodge and ran a lot of three-wide receiver sets (11 personnel). The result was roughly 100 yards passing as the Dolphins built up a 34-3 lead.

It was arguably the worst group of wide receivers the Falcons have ever put on the field at once. We argued earlier this week that wide receiver is the biggest need for the Falcons this offseason.

So rather than repeat the insanity, offensive coordinator Zac Robinson leaned into the Falcons’ strength of running the football and employed a lot of three-tight-end sets (13 personnel).

When snap counts are tallied at the end of the week, it won’t be surprising to find out that the Falcons not only used the most 13 personnel this week, but the most 13 personnel in any game all season. FOX ran a graphic at the end of the game that said it was the most any team had run 13 personnel since 2016.

The Falcons’ fourth tight end, Feleipe Franks, even got in on the action at the end of the second quarter with a quarterback sneak to convert a 4th and 1.

Cousins to Mooney

Mooney’s demise as an Atlanta Falcon began with the injury to Cousins. He was well on pace for 1,000 yards last season, but had just 110 yards in the Falcons’ last four games. He missed the last game of the season with an injury, broke his collarbone on the first day of training camp, and had been MIA in 2025.

That ended in the fourth quarter when Cousins found Mooney for a 49-yard touchdown off play action. It was Mooney’s first touchdown of the season. It was Cousins’ 290th career touchdown pass, tying him with Johnny Unitas for 17th in NFL history.

Defense Accepting the Challenge

The Falcons’ defense has had its manhood challenged over the last few weeks. After shutting down the Saints in the first half, head coach Kellen Moore decided to test the soft underbelly of Atlanta’s defense.

The Saints opened the third quarter with 10 running plays and ate up nearly seven and a half minutes on the clock before being turned away on fourth down on the one.

The Saints tried a rollout with a run/pass option, and linebacker Ronnie Harrison knocked the ball down, and the Falcons' defense still hadn’t been breached to that point.

The Falcons liked it so much, they did it again on the next drive, holding the Saints to a field goal after a first and goal.

The Saints had the ball for 16 of the first 18 minutes of the second half and came away with just three points.

Cousins to Mooney extended the Falcons lead to 24-10 despite the lopsided nature of plays and time of possession.

Flipping the Script

Remember when the Falcons were second in the NFL in yardage but bottom five in red zone conversions for touchdowns? Cousins extended Atlanta’s league-leading 10th straight touchdown in the red zone with a second-quarter touchdown pass to David Sills V.

It was Sills’ first touchdown catch of his career, and the first touchdown by a Falcons’ wide receiver not named Drake London.

The streak ended at 11 when Cousins was sacked on third down at the Saints’ 19-yard line at the two-minute warning in the first half.

Fantastic 4

James Pearce Jr. got a sack in his third-straight game when he brought Shough down in the second quarter. The Falcons still sent several blitzes against the rookie, but Shough did a decent job of finding his hot receiver against pressure.

Atlanta had success getting to Shough by just sending four men, a rarity for the Falcons. Pearce was part of that attack, and it’s what Atlanta envisioned when they traded up for him in April. Second-year defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus was a menace in the Saints’ backfield as well.

Shough had been sacked just five times in his first four starts. The Falcons sacked him five times on Sunday.

A defense that can drop seven in coverage while getting to the quarterback with four men is a dangerous defense. 

The Kyle Pitts Countdown has Begun

Kyle Pitts will go down as one of Atlanta’s biggest draft busts in their history. Terry Fontenot’s first draft pick, and the highest tight end taken in history, has been a disappointment the last four seasons.

He’s a free agent at the end of the year, and after a drop, a bobble for an interception, and another uninspired performance, Pitts has six games left with the Falcons before he hits free agency, where he’ll find a lukewarm market.

Pitts is a decent pro, and he’ll have a job for a long time in the NFL, but considering what the Falcons spent on him, and who they passed up to get him, he won't be remembered fondly when he’s gone. Even his biggest fans will always think “what coulda been.”

When the Falcons needed a receiver to step up in London’s absence, Pitts finished with two catches for 25 yards.

In a way, he’ll be another Aundray Bruce for the Falcons. Ask a Falcons fan who the biggest bust in their history is, and Bruce’s name will come up a lot. However, Bruce played 11 years in the NFL; he just didn’t live up to his No. 1 overall pick (1988) status (and the answer is Bruce Pickens).

The Great Zane

The Falcons got a break on a missed exchange on the Saints’ first possession. They got good field position after the Dee Alford fumble recovery. Two runs into the middle that went nowhere, and Cousins took a sack on third down. He was bailed out by kicker Zane Gonzalez, who drilled a 56-yard field goal and made it look easy.

Gonzalez did more good work on the ensuing kickoff as the Saints took advantage of the Falcons’ wretched coverage units with a 57-yard return. Gonzalez slowed Mason Tipton, and the defense stood tall. Instead of a touchdown, the Saints missed a field goal and came away with no points despite the excellent field position.

Gonzalez added field goals of 41 and 54 to go 3 for 3 on the day.

Fast Start for Dee Alford

With Billy Bowman on the IR, Alford is going to be the starting nickel for at least four games, and he got off to a fast start against the Saints. He recovered a fumble, batted a pass, and drew a holding penalty in the first quarter. In the second half, he made a nice tackle on 3rd and short to stop receiver Chris Olave from picking up a first. He also made the final tackle against Dante Pettis to end the final threat by the Saints in the fourth.

He appears to be much more comfortable attacking the line of scrimmage from the slot than he is chasing receivers downfield. Having Mike Hughes and Divine Deablo back in the lineup gave the Falcons better coverage personnel and allowed Alford to freelance more often.

What’s Next

The Falcons moved to 4-7 on the season, and they beat a team that is in full rebuild. They'll get a chance to make it two in a row next week against the New York Jets, who fell to 2-9 after losing to the Ravens on Sunday.

No, this game doesn't change much in the grand scheme of things, but it sure makes for a much better week any time the Falcons beat the Saints.

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Scott Kennedy
SCOTT KENNEDY

Scott is an Atlanta-based sports media professional with stints as Director of Scouting of Scout.com, VP of Content Production at Sports Illustrated, and Managing Editor at CBS Interactive / 247 Sports, among others.

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