Kirk Cousins’ 2 TD passes help the Falcons end a 5-game skid and beat the Saints, 24-10

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Kirk Cousins found enough vintage form to lift the Falcons out of their recent funk.

The 14-year veteran and four-time Pro Bowler passed for 199 yards and two touchdowns in his second start this season, and Atlanta ended a five-game skid with a 24-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

“It’s always gratifying to win an NFL game on the road; it’s never easy,” Cousins said. “The offense made plays, the defense allowed only three points and special teams stood up. That’s what makes it fun.”

Taking over under center because of Michael Penix Jr.’s season-ending knee injury, the 37-year-old Cousins completed 16 of 23 passes, highlighted by his 49-yard scoring pass deep down the middle to former Tulane standout Darnell Mooney in the fourth quarter.

“The key for me was knowing how Mooney can really run,” Cousins said. “When you feel like he’s getting even with somebody, he’s leavin’ and is going to hopefully blow by them. That was a big moment.”

The play gave Atlanta (4-7) a 24-10 lead with 11:04 left – a comfortable cushion on a day when the Falcons prevented the hapless Saints (2-9) from scoring an offensive touchdown.

New Orleans’ only TD came on Justin Reid’s 49-yard interception return in the second quarter on a pass that was tipped by Kool-Aid McKinstry. Reid’s first TD since his rookie season in 2018 briefly pulled the Saints within 10-7.

Saints rookie Tyler Shough, making his third start and first in the Superdome, completed 30 of 43 passes for 243 yards, but was often under pressure and was sacked five times.

The lone interception he threw on a deep pass in the final seconds was inconsequential, but his botched play fake to Alvin Kamara in the first quarter was knocked loose and recovered by Dee Alford, leading to the game’s opening points on Zane Gonzalez’s 56-yard field goal.

“It just hit (Kamara’s) elbow; it was just literally like a fluke deal,” Shough said of the lost fumble. “It’s on me at the end of the day. I’ve got to make sure I can hang onto that.”

David Sills, a 29-year-old who has spent much of his career on practice squads, scored his first career touchdown on a 9-yard pass from Cousins, giving the Falcons a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.

With Cousins on the field, “we know what we’re going to get,” Sills said. “He’s been in pretty much every situation.”

New Orleans’ Blake Grupe missed two field goals inside of 50 yards in the first half. The first, from 38 yards, came after Mason Tipton had returned a kickoff 75 yards to the Atlanta 16. The second, from 47 yards, sailed wide right with 56 seconds left in the second quarter.

The Superdome filled with boos after the second miss, and there was audible grumbling in the stands after Cousins quickly drove the Falcons for Gonzalez’s third field goal of the game to make it 16-7 at halftime.

New Orleans’ offense failed to get in the end zone despite three possessions that ended inside the Atlanta 20-yard line.

Having already failed to convert on fourth-and-goal in the third quarter, the Saints still had a chance to close within a field goal early in the fourth when they were once again inside the 5-yard line. But on third-and-goal, a direct snap to Taysom Hill was high, forcing Hill to run the ball down and throw it away. He was flagged for intentional grounding, and the Saints settled for a field goal to trim Atlanta’s lead to 16-10.

“That was a disappointing play. Look, at the end of the day it was a disappointing game,” Hill said. “We had plenty of opportunities as a team, as an offense, to put us in a great situation to win that game and we didn’t capitalize on that. So, that’s a hard thing to swallow at this point.”

The Falcons rushed for 121 yards, 70 by Bijan Robinson, who also had 37 yards receiving on two catches. Mooney finished with 74 yards on three catches.

“We did a nice job going out and establishing the run, even though there were some ugly runs early,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “That allowed us to open up the passing game.”

Chris Olave caught nine passes for 70 yards for the Saints.

Falcons: Safety Xavier Watts appeared shaken up after making a touchdown-saving tackle on Shough near the goal line early in the fourth quarter. But he returned in time to make a late interception.

Saints: Kamara left with a knee injury after being pulled down awkwardly along the sidelined by Atlanta linebacker and former Saints teammate Kaden Ellis in the first quarter.

Falcons: Visit the New York Jets next Sunday.

Saints: Visit the Miami Dolphins next Sunday.

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