Falcons’ James Pearce Jr., Jalon Walker continue strong play

NEW ORLEANS – Rookies James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker both turned in key plays in the 24-10 win over the Saints on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome.

Pearce had 1.5 sacks and Walker added a sack as the Falcons finished with five sacks and nine quarterback hits.

“I felt like we were getting home to the quarterback pretty good,” said Pearce, who was selected 26th overall in the first-round of the NFL draft. “We let out 10 points, a pick-six and a field goal. Once the offense scores and we’ve got enough points to win, our job is to stop them from there.”

The defense held on against the Saints and were able to close out the victory.

It was uplifting for the unit because they could not hold late leads in the previous two losses to the Colts and the Panthers. The Falcons led with 1:44 to play against the Colts and let them get into position for a field goal to force overtime.

Last week against the Panthers, the Falcons took a 24-19 lead with 2:43 to play but the defense couldn’t hold the lead. The Falcons would go on to lose in overtime.

‘Winning, doing your job and playing with your brothers is always contagious,” Pearce said. “That’s what we just bonded over right there.”

The Falcons snapped their five-game losing streak and were jubilant in the locker room after the game.

“Winning is always the main priority,” Pearce said. “It’s great that we got a win and got something on the board. Hopefully we can keep building off it and keep stacking.”

The Falcons received a boost from the return of linebacker Divine Deablo, who suffered a fractured left forearm against the 49ers on Oct. 19. He finished with eight tackles and put some teeth back into the run defense.

“It felt great,” Deablo said about returning to action. “It felt amazing to be out there. I was a little out of shape, but it felt good.”

The Falcons believe the defense can continue to get better over the final six games of the regular season.

“We still have so much room to grow,” Deablo said.

The unit was determined to shut down the Saints’ rushing attack. They held the Saints to 79 yards rushing on 28 carries for 2.8 yards per carry.

“Kaden Elliss stepped up for us,” Deablo said. “He looked at us and said, ‘hey, let’s go guys.’”

Rookie safety Xavier Watts closed out the game with a late interception to help the defense close out the win.

“It’s been a struggle the last couple of weeks because we’ve been so close about finishing the games,” Watts said. “But just getting back on track and getting a win this week feels real good.”

The Falcons now have 39 sacks on the season.

Brandon Dorlus leads the team with six, followed by Walker with five. Pearce has four. Zach Harrison, who went on injured reserve, has 4.5.

“I’m glad that they are balling,” Deablo said. “They are still young guys. We still have so much room to grow. I’m excited to see what’s to come.”

The Falcons hope to build off the big win.

“Just keep going,” Deablo said. “One game at a time. Hopefully, we can continue to stack next week.”

Floyd finished with three tackles, a quarterback hit and a pass breakup.

“Those guys are getting after the quarterback,” Watts said. “Making them uncomfortable. Making them (make) bad decisions. Just having that type of pressure is real good for the defensive backs.”

Saints quarterback Tyler Shough completed 30-of-43 passes for 243 yards and one interception. He finished with a passer rating of 74.1.

With the Saints trying to get back in the game, the defense came up with a fourth-down stop on the 15th play of the drive in the third quarter.

“You demoralize the offense when you get a stop like that,” Watts said. “They drove all the way down the field and came up with nothing.”