NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana: The New Orleans Saints handed the high-flying Atlanta Falcons their first defeat of the NFL season on Sunday, the Saints defense holding firm in the waning minutes of a 31-27 triumph.
The Saints stopped Atlanta twice in the closing minutes to stun their National Conference South division rivals.
Atlanta, who fell to 8-1, trailed by four at 31-27 when quarterback Matt Ryan led the Falcons to the Saints’ one-yard line with two minutes remaining. The Saints kept them out of the end zone, but Atlanta got the ball back one more time with 37 seconds remaining, and again were unable to score.
“Big win for our football team — we played a heck of a team in Atlanta,” said Saints coach Joe Vitt.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees completed 21-of-32 passes for 298 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in guiding New Orleans to their second straight victory.
“I felt like this was a very hard-fought football game in terms of the effort,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “We made way too many mistakes.”
In San Francisco, David Akers and Greg Zuerlein both missed field goals in overtime and the San Francisco 49ers and the St. Louis Rams played to a 24-24 tie, the first tie in the NFL since November of 2008.
The 49ers’ Akers had sent the game into overtime with a 33-yard field goal with three seconds left in regulation. His overtime effort was wide left.
Zuerlein initially nailed a 53-yard attempt on St. Louis’ ensuing series, but a delay of game penalty was called. The rookie kicker then missed from 58 yards.
San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith ended the game on the sidelines, throwing for 72 yards and a touchdown before departing with a concussion late in the first quarter.
Chicago and Philadelphia also saw their signal-callers exit early with concussions.
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler took a hard hit to the head in the second quarter and didn’t come back after halftime in a 13-6 loss to Houston — who improved to 8-1 with the victory.
Eagles quarterback Michael Vick departed with a concussion in the second quarter of a 38-23 loss to NFC East rivals Dallas.
Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant made a spectacular touchdown catch on the final play of the third quarter.
Dwayne Harris then returned a punt 78 yards for a go-ahead score 1:25 into the fourth, and Brandon Carr picked off a pass by back-up Falcons quarterback Nick Foles and returned it for a touchdown.
The victory allowed the Cowboys to gain on division leaders the New York Giants, who were stunned 31-13 by the Cincinnati Bengals.
In Minneapolis, Adrian Peterson ran for 171 yards and a touchdown as the Minnesota Vikings posted a 34-24 victory over NFC North division rivals Detroit.
The Baltimore Ravens set a new club record for points scored in a game with a 55-20 triumph over Oakland.
New England continued their home dominance of Buffalo with a 37-31 victory.
Tom Brady threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns for the Patriots, who won their third straight game and their 11th straight against the Bills at Gillette Stadium.
In other games, Tennessee thumped Miami 37-3, Denver downed Carolina 36-14, Tampa Bay beat San Diego 34-24 and Seattle beat the New York Jets 28-7.
Saints end Falcons’ unbeaten run
Saints end Falcons’ unbeaten run
Warriorz beat Knight Riders on final delivery in low-scoring thriller to remain in ILT20 playoff hunt
- Chasing 135, and needing 12 from the final over, Sharjah claim victory thanks largely to unbeaten 42 from James Rew and a supporting knock of 28 by Sikandar Raza
ABU DHABI: Sharjah Warriorz held their nerve in a tense, low-scoring encounter to secure a dramatic four-wicket victory over Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Monday, a win that keeps their International League T20 playoff hopes alive.
Chasing just 135 for victory, the Warriorz reached the target off the final ball, thanks in large part to a composed, unbeaten 42 from James Rew and a crucial supporting knock of 28 from Sikandar Raza.
Sharjah are still at the foot of the table in sixth place but the victory left them on six points with two matches remaining, level with the Knight Riders, who have played one game more, and Gulf Giants. With Dubai Capitals just two points ahead in third place, it sets up a tight race for the remaining playoff places.
A blistering opening bowling spell from Taskin Ahmed and Wasim Akram put the Knight Riders on the back foot from the start after they were asked to bat first. The pair ripped through the top order to leave Abu Dhabi reeling on 10/4 inside four overs.
Ahmed struck in the opening over to dismiss Phil Salt before Akram removed Brandon McMullen LBW. Ahmed then claimed the wicket of Alex Hales, and Akram followed it up with a historic wicket maiden in the fourth over, trapping Liam Livingstone for a duck. It was the first wicket maiden by a UAE player in the four-season history of the competition.
Sherfane Rutherford attempted to stabilize the innings with a counterattacking 44 off 36 balls, and Alishan Sharafu added 19, but scoring remained difficult as the Warriorz bowlers tightened their grip once again. Raza broke Rutherford and Sharafu’s 38-run stand, and despite a late partnership of 52 between Rutherford and Unmukt Chand, who contributed 24, the Knight Riders were restricted to a total of 134/9. Adil Rashid removed both Jason Holder and Andre Russell at the death, finishing the day with three wickets.
The Warriorz chase began in shaky fashion as they lost Johnson Charles and Monank Patel early, before Tom Kohler-Cadmore steadied the innings with a patient 30. Sunil Narine and Olly Stone applied pressure through the middle overs, however, leaving Sharjah on 58/3 at the halfway stage.
Narine eventually removed Kohler-Cadmore, but Raza and Rew then combined in a vital 57-run partnership to keep the chase on track. The latter found the boundary at key moments and rotated the strike calmly as the equation tightened.
Holder bowled a superb penultimate over to leave the Warriorz requiring 12 from the final six balls but Rew and Rashid held their nerve to guide the Warriorz to the winning run on the last delivery.
Player of the match Rashid praised his teammates for their composure in the closing stages: “It was pleasing to contribute in a situation where things could easily have gone the other way, especially bowling the 18th and 20th overs.
“Having played against Jason and Andre for a long time does help, but thankfully the plans came off.”
Holder, the Knight Riders captain, admitted his side fell short with the bat.
“We didn’t put enough runs on the board, although full credit goes to our bowlers for the way they fought and took the game deep,” he said.
“We needed to keep wickets intact during the powerplay, and if one or two moments had gone our way, the momentum could have shifted.”
