New Orleans Saints deal Atlanta Falcons first loss

He played high school football 37 miles from the Superdome, so to say Thursday night was a dream come true for Mauti might be an understatement. Instead, the embarrassment was dumped on the Falcons.

The Falcons had been playing with fire all season, winning four of their five games after trailing in the fourth quarter, but there was no such magic on Thursday. But the Saints special teams had other plans.

Desperate for a victory, the Saints (2-4) enjoyed big plays in all phases, a common occurrence when New Orleans hosts night games. First, Drew Brees was able to find an open Josh Hill for a quick 12 yard gain on third and six.

At 24-7 the Falcons were all but finished.

At 1-4, the Saints were on the precipice of nosediving into a top five pick in the upcoming 2016 NFL Draft it seemed after seeing a few of the same problems that plagued them past year pop it’s ugly head back up.

[Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images]The Saints had been reeling.

New Orleans has owned the Falcons in the Payton era.

Let’s not mince words: That loss was putrid, and it took all of my restraint to be reasonable in my morning recap, because watching the Falcons lose to the Saints always gets me frothing at the mouth.

Also you have to wonder if after all these seasons of dominant play, have the Saints become the trap game for a team much like their old nemesis the St. Louis Rams were for several seasons? Including the playoffs, the Saints have now won 19 of 21 games in the Superdome in prime time. Gleason was at the game, to be honored, and saw the block. He tweeted to his followers.

Running back Mark Ingram, for his part, rushed for two touchdowns – a two-yard score early in the first quarter and a one-yarder in the fourth quarter that gave the Saints a 31-14 lead and effectively sealed the victory. Ryan completed 30-of-44 attempts for 295 yards and two touchdowns.

The Falcons refused to give up. That cut the lead to 10 and it looked like the Falcons had a chance to make a comeback. It set the stage for what could be a fifth fourth quarter win for the Dirty Birds.

And it was great for Mauti, a local kid whose father played wide receiver for the Saints, to provide his hometown team with another moment to remember. The drive ate 5:05 off the clock. When game planning for the Saints, Watson was the least of the Falcons’ concerns. It was back to a 31-14 lead and there was only eight minutes left. All week long they had to hear how pathetic they played against the Philadelphia Eagles, and how defensive coordinator Rob Ryan should be fired.

Leading up to the Thursday night matchup against the previously undefeated Atlanta Falcons however, Green’s original line of they are “who we thought they were” could have just easily fit the mold for the Saints…and not in a positive way.

“Every time out, you want to win, but coming home after a disappointing loss last week and the situation we’ve been in early on in this season, we needed a win like this against a very good opponent”, Brees said after it was over.

Mauti nailed the imitation, as these photos by Times-Picayune photographer Michael DeMocker illustrate. That’s what it’s gonna take. They came into the game with seven sacks through the first five games.