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Picky defense helps Saints stay perfect
Jabari Greer returned an interception for a touchdown, and New Orleans improved to 7-0, its best start since 1991.
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NEW ORLEANS - The Saints have tied their best start.
Drew Brees had 308 yards passing, Pierre Thomas scored two touchdowns and Jabari Greer returned an interception for a score to help the Saints improve to 7-0 with a 35-27 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night. Only the 1991 Saints began a season with as many victories.
Greer's touchdown was the Saints' fifth score on an interception this season, tying a single-season franchise mark set in 1998. Tracy Porter also had an interception, on the Saints 1-yard line, on a pass tipped by Jonathan Vilma in the fourth quarter, preserving a 28-24 lead.
"Obviously it was good to get the win," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "... I thought our defense made some big plays when it counted.''
Atlanta's Matt Ryan was intercepted three times, the third consecutive game he has been intercepted at least twice.
Still, the Falcons stayed in it until the end, getting a 40-yard field goal from Jason Elam with 28 seconds left, then recovering an onside kick. Ryan just had time for a desperation heave in the final seconds, and Darren Sharper turned it into his seventh interception of the season.
"We did a lot of things that can get you beat," Payton said, "but we still found a way to get it done."
Sharper's interception also was the Saints' 16th this season, surpassing New Orleans' total of 15 from last season.
The loss, Atlanta's second consecutive, dropped the Falcons (4-3) three games behind the Saints in the NFC South. It marked the first time the Falcons had lost two in a row under second-year coach Mike Smith.
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| Date/Opponent | Time | W | L | Score |
| Sep 13 - at Cleveland | 12:00 PM | 1 | 0 | 34-20 |
| Sep 20 - at Detroit | 12:00 PM | 2 | 0 | 27-13 |
| Sep 27 - vs. San Francisco | 12:00 PM | 3 | 0 | 27-24 |
| Oct 5 - vs. Green Bay | 7:30 PM | 4 | 0 | 30-23 |
| Oct 11 - at St. Louis | 12:00 PM | 5 | 0 | 38-10 |
| Oct 18 - vs. Baltimore | 12:00 PM | 6 | 0 | 33-31 |
| Oct 25 - at Pittsburgh | 12:00 PM | 6 | 1 | 17-27 |
| Nov 1 - at Green Bay | 3:15 PM | 7 | 1 | 38-26 |
| Open | ||||
| Nov 15 - vs. Detroit | 12:00 PM | 8 | 1 | 27-10 |
| Nov 22 - vs. Seattle | 12:00 PM | |||
| Nov 29 - vs. Chicago | 3:15 PM | |||
| Dec 6 - at Arizona | 3:15 PM | |||
| Dec 13 - vs. Cincinnati | 12:00 PM | |||
| Dec 20 - at Carolina | 7:20 PM | |||
| Dec 28 - at Chicago | 7:30 PM | |||
| Jan 3 - vs. NY Giants | 12:00 PM |
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