Falcons 37, Saints 34 (OT)
Matt Bryant booted through the game-winning 52-yard field goal in overtime after connecting from 51 as time expired in regulation to lift Atlanta past visiting New Orleans.
Matt Ryan went 31-for-43 for 448 yards and three touchdowns for the Falcons (1-0), who overcame a 13-point first-half deficit. Julio Jones hauled in seven catches for 116 yards and newcomer Devin Hester recorded 99 yards receiving while Roddy White, Antone Smith and Levine Toilolo each grabbed a TD reception.
Mark Ingram ran for 60 yards and a pair of fourth-quarter TDs while Drew Brees went 29-of-42 for 333 yards and a score to lead the Saints (0-1). New Orleans had a chance with the ball at the start of overtime but Marques Colston fumbled and Atlanta needed only three plays to set up Bryant’s winning field goal.
Ingram’s 3-yard TD run with 8:46 left put the Saints in front 27-24, but the Falcons came back with an eight-play, 94-yard drive capped by Jacquizz Rodgers’ 17-yard scoring run with 2:50 to play. Brees marched New Orleans right back down the field and Ingram punched it in again for a 3-yard TD with 1:20 remaining before Atlanta knotted it up at the whistle.
The Saints raced out to a 13-0 lead and were up 20-7 after Brees found rookie Brandin Cooks for a 3-yard score with 20 seconds left in the first half, but the Falcons gained some momentum by using that 20 seconds to set up a 40-yard field goal as time expired. Ryan drove the team 80 yards on the opening drive of the third and found Toilolo for a 1-yard TD pass before giving Atlanta its first lead of the game with a 54-yard strike to Smith with 21 seconds left in the third.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Cooks finished with seven catches for 77 yards and a score in his NFL debut while Colston had five receptions for 110 yards to lead the New Orleans receiving corps. … Ryan, who threw a career-high 17 interceptions while being sacked a career-most 44 times in 2013, did not throw a pick and was sacked once by the Saints. … Stephen Jackson led the Atlanta running attack with 52 yards on 12 carries.