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

The Atlanta Falcons suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 31-21 on the road Thursday night at the hands of the New Orleans Saints.

Drew Brees was an impressive 30-of-39 for 312 yards and a touchdown in the victory, but tight end Ben Watson provided the biggest offensive performance of the night. He caught 10 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, it's only the third time Watson has eclipsed 100 receiving yards in his career and the first time since 2010. The Falcons should've listened to Captain Obvious:

Sports Illustrated's Doug Farrar added this observation about a tight end no longer with the Saints:

Devonta Freeman was one of the few bright spots for the Falcons. The second-year running back finished with 100 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground, inflating his fantasy totals with eight receptions for 56 yards and a TD.

Julio Jones also caught six passes for 93 yards, but RotoWire.com's Christopher Liss came away concerned about the Pro Bowl wideout:

If Jones is indeed carrying an injury, that would be a big blow for the Falcons offense.

On the other sideline, New Orleans' stock looks to be trending upward—albeit only slightly.

While not a consensus favorite to win the NFC South, the Saints entered the 2015 with realistic hopes of possibly making the playoffs. But their 1-4 start to the season has them on the outside looking in on the postseason picture.

The Saints also entered Thursday night coming off their worst loss of a season, falling 39-17 to the Philadelphia Eagles while allowing 519 total yards.

"He was just like this whole speech about just take a look in the mirror, everybody, coaches, players, everybody and get it corrected," said safety Kenny Vaccaro about what head coach Sean Payton told his team after that defeat, per Katherine Terrell of NOLA.com. "He wants to see the leaders on this team step up in times like this and get us out of this hole. That's what it's gonna take. Somebody."

Payton got his wish after New Orleans jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

On the Saints' first possession of the game, Mark Ingram carried the ball two yards into the end zone. It was the first time this year New Orleans registered a touchdown in its opening drive, per NFL on ESPN.

With two minutes and six seconds left in the first quarter, Saints linebacker Michael Mauti doubled the home team's advantage after blocking a Matt Bosher punt and taking the ball four yards the other way for a touchdown (h/t NFL Network):

The score was particularly poignant with Steve Gleason in attendance for Thursday's game. Gleason, who suffers from ALS, is famous for his role in the Saints' first TD in their first game back in the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina.

He certainly relished in the nature of the TD:

A seven-yard touchdown reception for Roddy White halved the deficit for Atlanta in the second quarter. The Falcons could've easily owned the halftime lead were it not for their two first-half turnovers. And that doesn't take into account Atlanta's turnover on downs in the first quarter, which came after a fumbled snap on fourth down.

Tevin Coleman was responsible for the first turnover after he coughed up the ball in the second quarter on the New Orleans 9-yard line, negating what at the very least would've been a first-and-goal situation for the Falcons. A little later in the quarter, Ryan had his second bad snap, and this time Dannell Ellerbe recovered to give the Saints the ball.

ESPN's Chris Sprow was almost impressed by the way Atlanta managed to shoot itself in the foot on that play:

Rather than getting too down about the score, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution opted for a more optimistic mindset for the second half:

Things didn't turn around for the Falcons. Instead, they dug themselves into a 17-7 hole after Zach Hocker connected on a 31-yard field goal. Then, Watson caught a two-yard touchdown pass to make it a three-score game, 24-7.

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller was surprised to see the Falcons secondary still giving Watson a rather wide berth:

Freeman got the Falcons back into the game with an impressive 25-yard touchdown run, but Ingram answered with his second TD of the game to maintain New Orleans' 17-point lead, 31-14, in the fourth quarter.

Freeman added another touchdown with 1:29 left in the game, but the Falcons' hopes of a comeback evaporated when they failed to recover the ensuing onside kick.

While it's too early to say the Saints have turned a corner following this win, the schedule certainly plays in their favor over the next few weeks.

New Orleans plays the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 25, a game that could go either way with how the Colts have blown hot and cold this year. After that, matchups with the New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins and Houston Texans loom before the Saints get the Carolina Panthers on Dec. 6.

Each of those games is winnable, and sitting at 5-6 or 6-5 going into that date with the Panthers wouldn't be a bad place for the Saints considering how poorly they have started. However, even a 6-5 mark leaves New Orleans with little margin for error the rest of the way if it wants to have any say in the division race.

That problem is compounded by Atlanta's easy slate of games ahead.

Going off their first five wins, the Falcons should beat the Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers—their next three opponents. The Colts will be tricky in Week 11, but Atlanta gets the Minnesota Vikings and a return game with the Bucs in the subsequent two weeks.

The Saints and Falcons play each other again in Week 17, but by the time that happens, the NFC South may already be decided.

Post-Game Reaction

"I thought we played with a lot of emotion," said Payton, per Mike Triplett of ESPN.com.

Payton added "starting off fast" really helped his team pick up the victory. The Saints had the Falcons reeling 15 minutes into the game, and jumping out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter also alleviated some of the pressure New Orleans carried into Thursday.

Part of that hot start included Mauti's blocked punt. The backup linebacker talked about the play after the game, per the Saints' Twitter account:

The win on its own was a pleasant surprise for New Orleans fans, but nobody could've foresee Watson having such a great game. It's easy to allude to Jimmy Graham's departure, but Watson's 10 catches are impressive irrespective of the guy he replaced.

"He's one of the greatest teammates you could ever ask for," said Brees of his tight end in an interview with CBS after the game (h/t NFL.com' Gregg Rosenthal). "He motivates me and inspires me every day."