The New Orleans Saints return home for an NFC South contest against their archrival Atlanta Falcons at 3:25 p.m. Sunday in the Caesars Superdome. This is the place to keep up with the score and live updates.
Tyler Shough will make his first career NFL start at home for the Saints, who are returning to action after their bye week. Shough got his first career win as a pro quarterback the previous week, beating the Carolina Panthers 17-7 in Charlotte.
New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson (83) is upended by Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dee Alford (20) during the second half of the game at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com)
The Saints seek to win two straight games for the first time since November 2024, when they beat the Falcons and Cleveland Browns in Darren Rizzi’s first two games as interim coach.
Follow below for the latest from the game in New Orleans.
Live game updates
UPDATED, 3:41 p.m.: The Saints go nowhere after their big special teams play, just as the Falcons did after their big defensive play.
A second-down sack of Shough from Brandon Dorbus torpedoes that drive.
And now Blake Grupe … misses from 38 yards, wide right. Just when you thought Grupe had gotten past his early-season struggles.
A disappointing turn of events for the Saints, who still trail 3-0 after an eventful start to this game.
UPDATED, 3:38 p.m.: Huge kickoff return for Mason Tipton, who’s doing his best Rashid Shaheed impression back there. He bursts open down the left sideline, and only Gonzalez, the Falcons kicker, was there to slow him up at the sideline. But it’s a 75-yard return for Tipton and a first down already in the red zone at the Atlanta 16.
UPDATED, 3:34 p.m.: Saints defense holds, with Chase Young sacking Cousins on fourth down.
It’s a 56-yard field goal try for Zane Gonzalez. And he drills it. So the Falcons do get something off the turnover, but it’s just a three-pointer.
Falcons 3, Saints 0, 10:41 left in the opening quarter.
UPDATED, 3:31 p.m.: Welp. So much for the Saints’ early momentum. Shough and Kamara don’t connect on a handoff, and the Falcons cover the fumble for an early takeaway.
It looked like Kamara might not have even realized he was supposed to be getting the ball there. He never really reached for it. Dee Alford recovers for Atlanta, which has it at the Saints’ 39 barely over two minutes into the game.
UPDATED, 3:29 p.m.: This game may well come down to who stops the run, and the Saints draw first blood in that department, stuffing Falcons star Bijan Robinson twice and then breaking up Kirk Cousins’ third-down pass to force a three-and-out.
A decent punt return from Dante Pettis gives New Orleans good field position at its 42. Could the Saints possibly be taking an early lead? That’s been a rare occurrence this season.
Pregame updates
UPDATED, 3:24 p.m.: Saints win the toss and defer. Falcons will start with the football.
And it’s Jimmy Graham for a big Who Dat chant. Time to play ball in the Dome.
UPDATED, 3:21 p.m.: A new hype video for the Saints before their starting lineup is introduced, so internally the team also feels like these last seven games — with their new shiny rookie QB — are something of a fresh start.
The offensive starters are the ones introduced, and Tyler Shough gets a nice cheer when he’s introduced (although the Saints still give Alvin Kamara deferential treatment as the last guy announced).
Speaking of big cheers, Jimmy Graham is in the house and being introduced as the Saints’ “Legend of the Game.” Drew Brees is also here as part of the Fox broadcast crew, so it’s a throwback Sunday.
UPDATED, 2:38 p.m.: Welcome to the second “half” of the Saints season and the Times-Picayune’s live Saints blog. The New Orleans Saints have seven games remaining, so it’s not half the season, but because of the timing of the bye week, it kind of feels like it.
And the Saints will start that stretch with a chance for their second straight victory for the first time since last November. They are favored for just the second time this season, facing a Falcons team without starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and leading receiver Drake London.
Meanwhile, Tyler Shough played well at Carolina two weeks ago and will look to build on that in his first home start. He’ll have to do it without Taliese Fuaga, who returned to practice this week but is a gameday inactive with his ankle injury.
One more note? The Saints and Falcons are tied, 56-56, in their all-time series. So we’ve got a little tiebreaker action today.
