Derek Carr threw a season-high four touchdown passes and the host New Orleans Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons 48-17 on Sunday afternoon.
Carr passed for 264 yards while Kendre Miller had his biggest workload of the season in the absence of injured Alvin Kamara and rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
Despite picking up the victory, New Orleans was eliminated from playoff contention when the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 17-9 later Sunday. The Saints (9-8) tied Tampa Bay for first place in the NFC South, but the Buccaneers won the division in a tiebreaker.
Desmond Ridder, starting in place of injured Taylor Heinicke (ankle), passed for 291 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Falcons (7-10). Bijan Robinson rushed for just 28 yards, but he caught seven passes that went for 103 yards and a touchdown.
The first possession of the second half ended when Alontae Taylor intercepted Ridder, giving the Saints a first down at the Falcons 25. Two plays later, Carr threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave to give New Orleans a 24-17 lead.
The Saints pushed the lead to 31-17 when Carr threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Rashid Shaheed.
Atlanta had a chance to make it a one-score game, but on fourth-and-goal from the 2, Ridder threw an incompletion, leaving the Saints with a 14-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
Blake Grupe kicked a 24-yard field goal after a 92-yard drive, then Carr threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to A.T. Perry and Jamaal Williams rushed 1 yard for a touchdown to close the scoring outburst in the fourth.
On the Falcons’ first possession of the game, Ridder’s 56-yard completion to Scotty Miller set up his 15-yard touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith for a 7-0 lead.
The Saints answered on the ensuing possession when Carr threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Perry.
Two plays later, Ridder threw a short pass to Robinson, who broke free for a 71-yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Kendre Miller’s 3-yard touchdown run tied the score before Grupe kicked a 24-yard field goal and Younghoe Koo kicked a 30-yard field goal to produce a 17-all tie at halftime.
–Field Level Media
