NEW ORLEANS — The Falcons were hoping to “spark” their passing attack with the move to quarterback Desmond Ridder.
That didn’t happen as the rookie third-round pick (74th overall) made his first regular-season start in place of Marcus Mariota.
While the Falcons struggled through the air, Andy Dalton and Taysom Hill had their way passing the ball on the way to a 21-18 win Sunday at Caesars Superdome.
Dalton tossed two touchdown passes to tight end Juwan Johnson, and Hill unleashed a 68-yard bomb to wide receiver Rashid Shaheed to lift the Saints.
The Saints improved to 5-9, and the Falcons dropped to 5-9. The Bucs, who play the Bengals in a later game, entered the week in first place in the NFC South at 6-7.
It wasn’t a particularly great day for Ridder, who had one potential interception dropped and another one overturned by replay. He completed 13 of 26 passes for 97 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. His passer rating was 59.3.
The Falcons continued to run the ball well as rookie running back Tyler Allgeier had his first 100-yard game. He finished with 17 carries for 139 yards, with a touchdown and a two-point conversion run.
Atlanta’s defense continued to struggle on third down. The Saints converted 5 of 11 third downs (45%) through three quarters.
Ridder entered the fourth quarter with 60 yards passing, and 52 of them were to London, who caught 5 of 8 targets. London had a costly fumble as the Falcons were driving to tie or take the lead late.
London had picked up an apparent first down, but Saints free safety Justin Evans knocked the ball out. It was recovered by Saints cornerback Bradley Roby with 2:03 to play.
The Saints were able to run out most of the clock. The Falcons got the ball back with nine seconds left. Ridder tossed a pass to London and then ran out the clock on a scramble without getting off a long throw to the end zone.
The Saints held a 14-3 lead at halftime.
The Saints opened with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.
The Saints picked up yards in chunks as they had gains of 14, 16 and 18 before Dalton tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Johnson.
Ridder tossed an incompletion up the left sideline to a well-covered Cordarrelle Patterson on his first play from scrimmage. The Falcons went three-and-out and punted.
After a running play, Hill came on for the Saints and tossed the 68-yard bomb to Shaheed. Free safety Richie Grant tried to undercut the route and whiffed on his interception attempt.
Before most of the locals had comfortably eased into their seats, the Saints were up 14-0.
After an exchange of punts, Atlanta’s offense finally got moving. Ridder connected three times with London for 33 yards as he moved the team down to the Saints’ 7-yard line. On third-and-4, he was sacked by defensive tackle Kentavius Street. Younghoe Koo came on to make a 28-yard field goal to make it 14-3 in the second quarter.
On the Saints’ next possession, running back David Johnson fumbled, and the ball was recovered by outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter at the Falcons’ 15-yard line.
The offense had the ball back with 7:24 left in the second quarter but was held to a three-and-out. After a 46-yard punt by Bradley Pinion, the Saints had the ball at their 37 with 5:37 left in the quarter.
The New Orleans drive stalled, and the Saints punted and pinned the Falcons inside the 5 at the 2-yard line with 3:18 left in the second quarter.
The Falcons pounded the ball out to the Saints’ 47 before stalling. They needed about 12 more yards to set up Koo for a 52-yard field-goal attempt.
Ridder was sacked and threw two incompletions, and Atlanta was forced to punt. The Falcons hoped to get a field goal to end the half because they were getting the ball to start the second half.
Ridder’s first pass of the third quarter was nearly disastrous. He held on to the ball too long before throwing to London. Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor undercut the route and made an apparent interception.
After the review, the pass was ruled incomplete.
The Falcons then focused on the run, including a 43-yard scamper by Allgeier. He capped the 75-yard drive – all rushing – with a 5-yard touchdown run to make it 14-10.
When Atlanta’s defense needed to put its foot down, the Saints promptly drove 75 yards over 11 plays, and Dalton tossed his second touchdown pass to Johnson, a 22-yarder to make it 21-10.
After an exchange of punts, action moved to the fourth quarter. The Falcons put together another rush-only touchdown drive, with Ridder pulling down and running on two plays.
Patterson scored on a 3-yard touchdown run and Allgeier added the two-point conversion run to make it 21-18 with 7:07 to play.
After a holding penalty by the Saints, the Falcons received the ball. A block in the back by Mike Ford on the punt return was costly, though. The Falcons were backed up to their 10-yard line. Avery Williams had a nice 20-yard return out to Atlanta’s 37-yard line nullified.
Ford essentially committed a 27-yard penalty.
Ridder had to go 90 yards for a touchdown or at least 55 yards for a 52-yard field-goal attempt.
The Falcons were 4-6 in one-score games this season before this game.
Running back Caleb Huntley, who carried the ball on the second play from scrimmage, left the game with an ankle injury and did not return.
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