Bijan Robinson rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns, Brian Robinson Jr. ran for three scores and the visiting Atlanta Falcons defeated the New Orleans Saints 45-24 on Monday night.
Bijan Robinson set the tone with a 59-yard touchdown run on the third play from scrimmage, deflating a sellout crowd that was celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Saints’ 23-3 Monday Night Football victory over the Falcons in the first game in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina.
Brian Robinson added 62 rushing yards for the Falcons (2-2), who had a second consecutive lopsided road victory, 11 days after a 35-14 win against Green Bay.
Tyler Shough passed for 286 yards but needed 48 attempts to do so as the Saints (1-3) failed to score through the air until the final two minutes.
The Saints received the second-half kickoff and produced a 13-play drive before stalling at the 8, and Daniel Carlson kicked a 27-yard field goal to cut the Falcons’ lead to 24-10.
Atlanta answered with Brian Robinson’s 8-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 31-10 at the end of the third quarter.
Alvin Kamara ran 5 yards for his second touchdown in the fourth, but New Orleans had just 50 yards on the ground against the Falcons’ top-ranked run defense.
Michael Penix Jr., who completed 15 of 20 passes for 223 yards, threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson, and Brian Robinson ran 11 yards for Atlanta’s final score. Shough threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Devaughn Vele with 1:13 left.
After Kendre Miller’s fumble on the Saints’ third possession, Bijan Robinson ran 4 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Shough’s 44-yard pass completion to Chris Olave on the penultimate play of the first quarter led to Kamara’s 3-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter, trimming the Saints’ deficit to 14-7.
The Falcons answered on the ensuing possession with Brian Robinson’s 4-yard scoring run to regain a 14-point lead. Nick Folk added a 29-yard field goal to extend the lead to 24-7 at halftime.
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