Falcons push past Saints on Younghoe Koo's 58-yard field goal: Key takeaways

By Hunter Patterson, Josh Kendall and Larry Holder

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Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, who signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the franchise in March, earned his second game-winning win with Atlanta on Sunday with a 26-24 win over the New Orleans Saints.

Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo capped the drive with a career-high 58-yard field goal to win. A pass interference call on Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo on a pass intended for Darnell Mooney moved Atlanta from its 30-yard line to New Orleans' 40-yard line. After three straight incomplete passes from Cousins, Koo sealed the victory.

YOUNGHOE KOO FROM 58 YARDS TWO SECONDS YOU STAY IN THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/8b2A4SlWKm

– NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2024

Although Cousins ​​led the Falcons on the drive, the quarterback threw for 238 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Atlanta's defense and special teams were responsible for two touchdowns, one coming from linebacker Troy Anderson and the other from KhaDarel Hodge on a punt return fumble recovery.

Koo salvaged a somewhat shaky performance to put the Falcons (2-2) a game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who came to town on Thursday night.

Penalties plague the Falcons

Atlanta converted a season-high four third-down attempts and rushed for 315 yards on Sunday, but was continually undone by penalties.

The Falcons were charged eight times, most of them against the offense. The costliest flag came in the fourth quarter when a 19-yarder Bijan Robinson, who scored a touchdown on a screen pass, was called back for a holding penalty on Jake Matthews.

Koo's four field goals saved the offense, but Atlanta didn't spend much on them in the offseason. — Josh Kendall, Falcons beat writer

Troy Anderson's career day

Andersen had a busy day, recording a career-best 17 tackles and scoring his first NFL touchdown on a 47-yard interception return. Andersen's touchdown was the Falcons' second non-offensive touchdown of the day. Atlanta's first points came when Hodge recovered a punt return muffed by Rashid Shaheed in the end zone for a touchdown.

It was the first time since Week 3 of 2014 that the Falcons had a defensive touchdown and a special teams touchdown in the same game.

However, Andersen had to be helped off the field after a punt coverage snap in the fourth quarter, leaving Atlanta with Kaden Elliss and JD Bertrand as the only inside linebackers on the active roster. — Kendall

Taysom Hill shines but has to retire with an injury

New Orleans' Taysom Hill only played half the game and still gave the Falcons trouble. Hill scored two rushing touchdowns in the first half, giving him 11 touchdowns against Atlanta since joining the league in 2017. Only Tom Brady, Jameis Winston and Drew Brees recorded more touchdowns during that time.

Hill, who missed the second half with an abdominal injury, has rushed for six touchdowns, caught four touchdown passes and thrown one touchdown in his career against the Falcons. — Kendall

For saints, mistakes accumulate

It's hard to compensate for two mistakes by offensive, defensive and special teams with a loss of points. It started when Shaheed inexplicably tried to make an over-the-shoulder catch on a punt return inside the Saints' 5 in the first quarter. He parried the punt and allowed the Falcons to recover in the end zone. The Saints managed to recover from that.

Then Derek Carr saw a batted pass, intercepted it and returned it for a touchdown midway through the second quarter. New Orleans once again held on despite another Hill injury problem, with Alvin Kamara giving the Saints the lead with about a minute left.

But an Adebo pass interference penalty on the ensuing drive set up Koo's game-winning 58-yard field goal.

Overall, the Saints, who started with a 2-2 record, may not have seemed so bad at the start of the season. But after a 2-0 start with overwhelming wins against Carolina and Dallas, this start is disappointing due to narrow losses against Philadelphia and Atlanta.

And who's next? Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. — Larry Holder, senior NFL writer

Required reading

(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)