Falcons vs. Saints: Score and Twitter Reaction for Monday Night Football

The Atlanta Falcons last made the playoffs in the 2012 season, but their offense appeared primed to change that drought during Monday's 45-32 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Atlanta is now 2-1 and alone in first place in the NFC South following its win at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

The Saints are 0-3 and looking up at the Falcons and the rest of the division. 

The Falcons handled the Saints with a three-headed offensive attack Monday. Quarterback Matt Ryan threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns, adding 23 yards on the ground. Running back Tevin Coleman scored three times on 12 carries, while running back Devonta Freeman tallied a game-high 152 rushing yards on 14 carries.

Freeman also had 55 receiving yards and a touchdown catch, while Coleman added 47 receiving yards. They were Atlanta's leading receivers, as Julio Jones finished with just one catch for 16 yards.

ESPN Stats & Info and Elias Sports demonstrated just how long it's been since the Falcons earned such a road win:

New Orleans was impressive on offense as well, but it didn't have enough to overcome the lackluster effort from its defense.

Drew Brees threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns, but he made a critical mistake in the fourth quarter when Deion Jones intercepted a pass and ran it back for a score. Tight end Coby Fleener led the Saints' pass-catchers with 109 receiving yards and a touchdown in the loss.

Atlanta and New Orleans made news prior to kickoff when they spread a "message of togetherness" by joining arms, as the Saints shared:

On the field, it didn't take long for either offense to find the end zone. New Orleans scored a touchdown on the opening possession when Brees hit Fleener to cap off an 11-play, 75-yard march. The defense forced Atlanta to punt on the subsequent possession, but returner De'Vante Harris fumbled and set the Falcons up inside the red zone.

Atlanta took advantage of the opportunity and scored on a two-yard run from Coleman three plays later. It was Coleman's second touchdown of the year, surpassing his total from all of last season.

The Falcons took the lead on their next drive when Ryan found Freeman for a 13-yard touchdown pass. Josh Katzenstein of the Times-Picayune noted the Saints defense appeared helpless:

New Orleans seized momentum right back when Brees connected with Michael Thomas for the rookie receiver's first touchdown of his career. It was another 75-yard touchdown drive for the Saints, and they received some help when the Falcons roughed the punter on a fourth down.

The NFL captured the score from the former Ohio State Buckeye:

Even with Brees putting up points on the other side, New Orleans' defense continued to struggle. Coleman scored again from two yards out, and Larry Holder of the Times-Picayune pointed out the Saints defense was fighting an uphill battle with so much attrition:

That injury-plagued group fell behind 28-14 after Justin Hardy scored on a shovel pass from Ryan. The Saints responded with a 57-yard field goal from Wil Lutz, but the Falcons still took a 28-17 lead into halftime.

Things continued to go downhill for the Saints defense on the first possession of the second half, as Coleman finished a 75-yard drive with his third touchdown. He also set up the score on the previous play with a 34-yard reception on fourth down.

D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution weighed in on New Orleans' questionable defensive strategy:

Mike Triplett of ESPN said the fans were booing the defense, and commentator Jon Gruden didn't hold back when evaluating the unit's effort, per NFL on ESPN:

Fortunately for New Orleans, its talented offense kept it within striking distance. John Kuhn punched it in from three yards out, and a two-point conversion trimmed Atlanta's lead to 35-25.

The defense maintained some of that momentum by holding the Falcons to a field goal and ending their touchdown streak at five straight possessions. They drove inside the 5-yard line, but it was a win for the beleaguered defense to keep the deficit at two scores.

However, Brees couldn't capitalize on the chance to climb within a single score. Instead, he threw the pick-six that Jones returned 90 yards for a comeback-crushing touchdown. Jeff Duncan of the Times-Picayune said the New Orleans native "will definitely keep that football," and NFL on ESPN illustrated Jones' connection with the area:

Duncan noted the interception snapped Brees' streak of 305 consecutive passes without a pick. To the quarterback's credit, he quickly answered with a touchdown drive and found Mark Ingram for a five-yard score. The extra point cut Atlanta's lead to 45-32 in the offensive shootout.

Despite the high-scoring affair, Jones' pick-six wasn't the only critical play Atlanta's defense made in the fourth quarter. Dwight Freeney sacked Brees after the Saints moved inside the Falcons' 30-yard line, and New Orleans couldn't make up the lost ground and turned it over on downs three plays later with 2:51 remaining.

Atlanta ran out the rest of the clock from there with some help from a 48-yard run from Freeman and clinched its second win of the season. 

What's Next?

The upcoming schedule is daunting for the Falcons.

They play last season's Super Bowl participants in the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos in the next two weeks and then travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks. Seattle has made the playoffs in each of the last four years and the Super Bowl twice in that span.

As for the Saints, they also face a difficult stretch in the coming weeks. They travel to San Diego to play the Chargers before squaring off with the Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs and Seahawks in the following three games. All three of those opponents were playoff teams last season.

It is still early in the 2016 campaign, but both NFC South teams are facing defining stretches in the coming weeks.

Postgame Reaction

Postgame discussion turned to the pregame gesture, and Brees said, per the Saints, “violence and what’s happening in our country is a serious issue. It was an appropriate way to show our unity."

Katzenstein shared Ingram’s response to the demonstration:

The Saints recognized their defense needs to improve. Safety Roman Harper said, per Nick Underhill of The Advocate, “There’s no excuses. Of course we’ll talk, we’ll get things corrected. How many more times are we going to have to go through this?"

As for the Falcons' strong rushing attack, Freeman said, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com, “Most of the credit goes to the offensive line."

Ryan praised Freeman and Coleman when he said, per McClure, “I thought our running backs were awesome tonight."

On the other side, Brees said, per Doug Mouton of WWL-TV in New Orleans, “We have the right type of guys to turn this around."

That may be the case, but the Saints will be chasing the Falcons as they attempt the 180 after Monday’s statement showing.