Falcons throttle Saints 24-10 to snap five-game losing streak

NEW ORLEANS — Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins breathed some life back into the Falcons’ dormant offense.

Using big plays in place of sustained drives, the Falcons defeated the New Orleans Saints, 24-10, to stop their five-game losing streak on Sunday before 70,005 fans at Caesars Superdome.

The Falcons improved to 4-7 on the season; the Saints dropped to 2-9.

Cousins was starting in place of Michael Penix Jr., who was placed on injured reserve with a season-ending left knee injury.

Cousins tossed two touchdown passes, including a 49-yarder to wide receiver Darnell Mooney, and maneuvered them into field-goal range three times.

Cousins finished 16-of-23 for 199 yards and finished with a passer rating of 107.0. Running back Bijan Robinson added a two-point conversion run after the Mooney TD to give the Falcons a 14-point lead.

Robinson rushed 14 times for 70 yards and caught two passes for 37 yards.

Falcons linebacker Divine Deablo returned to the lineup and finished with eight tackles, and Xavier Watts had an interception in the end zone late in the fourth quarter that sealed the victory.

Cousins’ two touchdown passes gave him 290 in his career, tying him with the great Johnny Unitas at 16th all-time. Warren Moon is next up, with 291.

The Saints, who were coming off a bye, looked pitiful on offense behind rookie Tyler Shough, and especially so after running back Alvin Kamara suffered a knee injury and did not return to the game.

Cousins tossed a touchdown pass and guided the field-goal unit into range three times as the Falcons built 16-7 halftime lead.

With leading wide receiver Drake London out with a knee injury, Cousins moved the ball around to seven different receivers in the first half, led by Charlie Woerner and Dylan Drummond, who had three catches each. Tight end Kyle Pitts had the most targets with five, but also had two drops.

The Falcons had a three-and-out to open the game, but the Saints fumbled on their first possession. Cornerback Dee Alford recovered and returned it 3 yards to the Saints’ 39. After picking up 6 yards, Zane Gonzalez and made a 54-yard field goal with 10:41 left in the first quarter.

The Falcons promptly gave up a 75-yard kickoff return, but Saints kicker Blake Grupe missed a 38-yard field goal wide right.

After an exchange of punts, the Falcons had the ball with 17 seconds left in the first quarter. Cousins had a pass play of 23 yards to Pitts and a 32-yard run by Robinson to finally get moving. Cousins tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver David Sills V, his first NFL career TD, to cap an eight-play, 77-yard drive. Gonzalez’s extra point made it 10-0.

The Falcons’ defense held and got the ball back to Cousins. A pass intended for Pitts was tipped by Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry and intercepted by safety Justin Reid, who returned it 49 yards for a touchdown to make it 10-7.

Gonzalez added a 41-yard field goal and then a 54-yarder at the buzzer for the halftime margin. The second field goal came after Grupe missed a 47-yarder wide right.