GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NFL: ATLANTA (1-5) at NEW ORLEANS (1-4)

NFL: ATLANTA at NEW ORLEANS

<div class="pre">NFL
ATLANTA 16
NEW ORLEANS 22 1:48 LEFT, 4TH QTR

NOR BALL ON NOR 10 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at NEW ORLEANS

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
ATLANTA 3 10 0 3 16
NEW ORLEANS 7 0 7 8 22 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER: NOR - TD, DEVERY HENDERSON 37 YD PASS FROM
DREW BREES (OLINDO MARE KICK),
7:44. Drive: 3 plays, 49 yards in
1:25. Key plays: Moore 7-yard punt
return to Atlanta 49. NEW ORLEANS
7-0
ATL - FG, MORTEN ANDERSEN 38 YD, 12:34.
Drive: 9 plays, 47 yards in 4:50.
Key plays: Norwood 30-yard run to
New Orleans 44; Leftwich 16-yard
pass to White on 3rd-and-9 to New
Orleans 27. NEW ORLEANS 7-3
2ND QUARTER: ATL - FG, MORTEN ANDERSEN 33 YD, 4:39. Drive:
9 plays, 54 yards in 4:26. Key
plays: Dunn 3-yard run on 3rd-and-2
to Atlanta 42; Leftwich 23-yard
pass to Robinson to New Orleans 35;
Leftwich 19-yard pass to Jenkins to
New Orleans 16. NEW ORLEANS 7-6
ATL - TD, RODDY WHITE 9 YD PASS FROM BYRON
LEFTWICH (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK),
11:29. Drive: 7 plays, 44 yards in
2:52. Key plays: Jennings 15-yard
punt return to New Orleans 44;
Leftwich 20-yard pass to Jenkins on
3rd-and-15 to New Orleans 29; Dunn
12-yard run to New Orleans 17.
ATLANTA 13-7
3RD QUARTER: NOR - TD, PIERRE THOMAS 24 YD RUN (OLINDO
MARE KICK), 4:45. Drive: 9 plays,
80 yards in 4:45. Key plays: Brees
21-yard pass to Johnson to New
Orleans 43; Brees 9-yard run on
4th-and-1 to Atlanta 39; Brees
15-yard pass to Johnson to Atlanta
34; Brees 10-yard pass to Moore to
Atlanta 24. NEW ORLEANS 14-13
4TH QUARTER: ATL - FG, MORTEN ANDERSEN 21 YD, 4:41. Drive:
10 plays, 37 yards in 5:31. Key
plays: Jennings 12-yard punt return
to New Orleans 40; Harrington
6-yard pass to White on 3rd-and-5
to New Orleans 29; Harrington
32-yard pass to White on 3rd-and-20
to New Orleans 7. ATLANTA 16-14
NOR - TD, REGGIE BUSH 4 YD PASS FROM DREW
BREES (REGGIE BUSH RUN FOR
TWO-POINT CONVERSION), 9:56. Drive:
11 plays, 69 yards in 5:15. Key
plays: Brees 35-yard pass to
Colston on 3rd-and-5 to Atlanta 31;
Brees 11-yard pass to Patten on
3rd-and-4 to Atlanta 14. NEW
ORLEANS 22-16

ATT: 69,994</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at NEW ORLEANS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NFL
ATLANTA 16
NEW ORLEANS 22 FINAL</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at NEW ORLEANS

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
ATLANTA 3 10 0 3 16
NEW ORLEANS 7 0 7 8 22 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

7:44 NOR - TD, DEVERY HENDERSON 37 YD PASS FROM DREW BREES (OLINDO MARE KICK).
Drive: 3 plays, 49 yards in 1:25.
Key plays: Moore 7-yard punt return to Atlanta 49. NEW ORLEANS 7-0.
12:34 ATL - FG, MORTEN ANDERSEN 38 YD.
Drive: 9 plays, 47 yards in 4:50.
Key plays: Norwood 30-yard run to New Orleans 44; Leftwich 16-yard
pass to White on 3rd-and-9 to New Orleans 27. NEW ORLEANS 7-3.

2ND QUARTER:

4:39 ATL - FG, MORTEN ANDERSEN 33 YD.
Drive: 9 plays, 54 yards in 4:26.
Key plays: Dunn 3-yard run on 3rd-and-2 to Atlanta 42; Leftwich
23-yard pass to Robinson to New Orleans 35; Leftwich 19-yard pass to
Jenkins to New Orleans 16. NEW ORLEANS 7-6.
11:29 ATL - TD, RODDY WHITE 9 YD PASS FROM BYRON LEFTWICH (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK).
Drive: 7 plays, 44 yards in 2:52.
Key plays: Jennings 15-yard punt return to New Orleans 44; Leftwich
20-yard pass to Jenkins on 3rd-and-15 to New Orleans 29; Dunn 12-yard run
to New Orleans 17. ATLANTA 13-7.

3RD QUARTER:

4:45 NOR - TD, PIERRE THOMAS 24 YD RUN (OLINDO MARE KICK).
Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards in 4:45.
Key plays: Brees 21-yard pass to Johnson to New Orleans 43; Brees
9-yard run on 4th-and-1 to Atlanta 39; Brees 15-yard pass to Johnson to
Atlanta 34; Brees 10-yard pass to Moore to Atlanta 24. NEW ORLEANS 14-13.

4TH QUARTER:

4:41 ATL - FG, MORTEN ANDERSEN 21 YD.
Drive: 10 plays, 37 yards in 5:31.
Key plays: Jennings 12-yard punt return to New Orleans 40;
Harrington 6-yard pass to White on 3rd-and-5 to New Orleans 29; Harrington
32-yard pass to White on 3rd-and-20 to New Orleans 7. ATLANTA 16-14.
9:56 NOR - TD, REGGIE BUSH 4 YD PASS FROM DREW BREES (REGGIE BUSH RUN FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION).
Drive: 11 plays, 69 yards in 5:15.
Key plays: Brees 35-yard pass to Colston on 3rd-and-5 to Atlanta 31;
Brees 11-yard pass to Patten on 3rd-and-4 to Atlanta 14. NEW ORLEANS
22-16.

ATLANTA - NEW ORLEANS Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS ATLANTA NEW ORLEANS

FIRST DOWNS 18 14
Rushing 5 5
Passing 13 9
Penalty 0 0
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 9-18-50% 4-12-33%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0-0-0% 1-3-33%
TOTAL NET YARDS 334 310
Total offensive plays 68 56
Average gain per play 4.9 5.5
NET YARDS RUSHING 75 91
Rushing attempts 24 22
Average gain per rush 3.1 4.1
Tackles for loss-yards 5-9 1-1
NET YARDS PASSING 259 219
Times sacked: Number-Yards 3-14 0-0
Gross passing yards 273 219
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 41-27-0 34-22-1
Avg gain per pass play 5.9 6.4
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 5-2-1 4-2-2
PUNTS: Number and Average 6-44.2 5-38.8
Had blocked 0 0
Net punting average 38.0 27.8
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 71 55
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 4-37 3-55
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 2-38 3-78
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 1-34 0-0
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 9-52 6-49
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 3-0 0-0
TOUCHDOWNS 1 3
Rushing 0 1
Passing 1 2
Interceptions 0 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 0 0
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 1-1 3-3
Kicking: Made-Attempts 1-1 2-2
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 1-1
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 3-3 0-0
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-0
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 1-3-33% 1-1-100%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 0-1-0% 1-1-100%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 35:27 24:33


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

ATLANTA NEW ORLEANS

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J NORWOOD 6 38 6.3 30 0 R BUSH 17 54 3.2 9 0
W DUNN 13 28 2.2 12 0 P THOMAS 2 28 14.0 24 1
B LEFTWICH 3 6 2.0 7 0 D BREES 2 8 4.0 9 0
O MUGHELLI 1 3 3.0 3 0 A STECKER 1 1 1.0 1 0
J HARRINGT 1 0 0.0 0 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B LEFTWICH 15-23-145 0 1 23 D BREES 22-34-219 1 2 37
J HARRINGT 12-18-128 0 0 32

Sacked-Yards Lost: J HARRINGT 2-7, Sacked-Yards Lost: None
B LEFTWICH 1-7. Sacked-Yards Lost: None

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
R WHITE 8 110 13.8 32 1 E JOHNSON 5 54 10.8 21 0
M JENKINS 6 69 11.5 20 0 R BUSH 5 19 3.8 8 1
L ROBINSON 3 53 17.7 25 0 M COLSTON 3 45 15.0 33 0
J HORN 3 25 8.3 12 0 D PATTEN 2 29 14.5 18 0
J NORWOOD 3 1 0.3 3 0 A STECKER 2 11 5.5 6 0
M MILNER 2 10 5.0 8 0 M KARNEY 2 7 3.5 5 0
D BLAKELY 1 4 4.0 4 0 D HENDERSO 1 37 37.0 37 1
W DUNN 1 1 1.0 1 0 L MOORE 1 10 10.0 10 0
B MILLER 1 7 7.0 7 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
D WILLIAMS 1 -5 -5.0 0 0

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
M KOENEN 6 265 44.2 0 3 51 S WEATHERF 5 194 38.8 0 1 45

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
A JENNINGS 4 37 9.3 15 0 L MOORE 2 55 27.5 48 0
J CRAFT 1 0 0.0 0 0

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J NORWOOD 2 38 19.0 20 0 P THOMAS 3 78 26.0 32 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M ANDERSEN 1/1 3/3 O MARE 2/2 0/0
Dist.: 38 33 21

O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
B LEFTWICH 2 0 0 0-0 C GRANT 0 0 1 0-0
T MCCLURE 1 0 0 0-0
W DUNN 0 0 0 1-0
O MUGHELLI 0 0 0 1-0
K FORNEY 0 0 0 1-0

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
K BROOKING 10 8 2 0-0 R HARPER 6 6 0 0-0
M BOLEY 9 7 2 0-0 M SIMONEAU 6 5 1 0-0
D WILLIAMS 7 4 3 0-0 S SHANLE 6 3 3 0-0
D HALL 6 5 1 0-0 C GRANT 5 5 0 1-7
C HOUSTON 4 4 0 0-0 H THOMAS 5 4 1 0-0
C CROCKER 2 2 0 0-0 S FUJITA 5 4 1 0-0
J ANDERSON 2 2 0 0-0 W SMITH 5 3 2 0-0
L MILLOY 1 1 0 0-0 J CRAFT 4 4 0 0-0
T LEWIS 1 1 0 0-0 U YOUNG 4 4 0 0-0
R COLEMAN 1 1 0 0-0 M MCKENZIE 4 4 0 0-0
J WILLIAMS 1 1 0 0-0 J BULLOCKS 4 3 1 0-0
L SANDERS 1 1 0 0-0 B YOUNG 3 3 0 1-6
C DAVIS 1 1 0 0-0 F THOMAS 3 3 0 0-0
J ABRAHAM 1 1 0 0-0 K CLANCY 2 1 1 1-1
G JACKSON 1 1 0 0-0 J COOPER 1 1 0 0-0

Att: 69,994</div>

 

NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- Reggie Bush displayed both power andspeed to propel the New Orleans Saints to their second straightvictory.


Bush bulled his way in for a touchdown from 4 yards out and thentook an end-around and raced into the end zone for theconversion as the Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 22-16, onSunday.


Held in check throughout much of the day, Bush took a quickswing pass from Drew Brees and powered his way around cornerbackLewis Sanders with a second-effort lunge at the goal line.

The 4-yard score capped an 11-play, 69-yard drive with just overfive minutes remaining in the game.


Bush, who finished with 54 yards on 17 carries, raced in for thetwo-point conversion to cap the scoring.


Morten Andersen kicked three field goals - the final one from 21yards - to give the Falcons a 16-14 lead with 10:19 remainingin the fourth quarter. He also hit from 38 and 33 yards.

Byron Leftwich was 15-of-23 for 145 yards and a touchdown in hisfirst start with the Falcons. His 9-yard scoring strike toRoddy White capped a seven-play, 44-yard drive to give theFalcons a 13-7 lead in the second quarter.


Leftwich, however, did not finish the game. He injured hisright ankle in the third quarter after getting hit by Saintsdefensive end Will Smith. Leftwich has missed 15 games due toinjuries over the last two seasons.


Joey Harrington, who was benched after leading the Falcons totheir one win, replaced Leftwich and had moderate success.

Harrington finished 12-of-18 for 128 yards, but was unable toprevent the Falcons (1-6) from absorbing their third straightdefeat.


The Saints (2-4) opened the scoring when Brees rolled out andfound Devery Henderson for a 37-yard touchdown to give theSaints a 7-0 lead with 7:16 remaining in the first quarter.

After a pair of field goals and Leftwich's touchdown pass gavethe Falcons a 13-7 lead, the Saints responded quickly.

Rookie Pierre Thomas took his first carry of the game 24 yardsfor a touchdown to give New Orleans a 14-13 advantage.

 

NFL: ATLANTA at NEW ORLEANS

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
ATLANTA 3 10 0 3 16
NEW ORLEANS 7 0 7 8 22 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

7:44 NOR - TD, DEVERY HENDERSON 37 YD PASS FROM DREW BREES (OLINDO MARE KICK).
Drive: 3 plays, 49 yards in 1:25.
Key plays: Moore 7-yard punt return to Atlanta 49; Bush 9-yard run
to Atlanta 40. NEW ORLEANS 7-0.
12:34 ATL - FG, MORTEN ANDERSEN 38 YD.
Drive: 9 plays, 47 yards in 4:50.
Key plays: Norwood 30-yard run to New Orleans 44; Leftwich 16-yard
pass to White on 3rd-and-9 to New Orleans 27. NEW ORLEANS 7-3.

2ND QUARTER:

4:39 ATL - FG, MORTEN ANDERSEN 33 YD.
Drive: 9 plays, 54 yards in 4:26.
Key plays: Dunn 3-yard run on 3rd-and-2 to Atlanta 42; Leftwich
23-yard pass to Robinson to New Orleans 35; Leftwich 19-yard pass to
Jenkins to New Orleans 16. NEW ORLEANS 7-6.
11:29 ATL - TD, RODDY WHITE 9 YD PASS FROM BYRON LEFTWICH (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK).
Drive: 7 plays, 44 yards in 2:52.
Key plays: Jennings 15-yard punt return to New Orleans 44; Leftwich
20-yard pass to Jenkins on 3rd-and-15 to New Orleans 29; Dunn 12-yard run
to New Orleans 17. ATLANTA 13-7.

3RD QUARTER:

4:45 NOR - TD, PIERRE THOMAS 24 YD RUN (OLINDO MARE KICK).
Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards in 4:45.
Key plays: Brees 21-yard pass to Johnson to New Orleans 43; Brees
9-yard run on 4th-and-1 to Atlanta 39; Brees 15-yard pass to Johnson to
Atlanta 34; Brees 10-yard pass to Moore to Atlanta 24. NEW ORLEANS 14-13.

4TH QUARTER:

4:41 ATL - FG, MORTEN ANDERSEN 21 YD.
Drive: 10 plays, 37 yards in 5:31.
Key plays: Jennings 12-yard punt return to New Orleans 40;
Harrington 6-yard pass to White on 3rd-and-5 to New Orleans 29; Harrington
32-yard pass to White on 3rd-and-20 to New Orleans 7. ATLANTA 16-14.
9:56 NOR - TD, REGGIE BUSH 4 YD PASS FROM DREW BREES (REGGIE BUSH RUN FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION).
Drive: 11 plays, 69 yards in 5:15.
Key plays: Brees 33-yard pass to Colston on 3rd-and-5 to Atlanta 31;
Brees 11-yard pass to Patten on 3rd-and-4 to Atlanta 14. NEW ORLEANS
22-16.

ATLANTA - NEW ORLEANS Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS ATLANTA NEW ORLEANS

FIRST DOWNS 18 14
Rushing 5 5
Passing 13 9
Penalty 0 0
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 9-18-50% 4-12-33%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0-0-0% 1-3-33%
TOTAL NET YARDS 334 310
Total offensive plays 68 56
Average gain per play 4.9 5.5
NET YARDS RUSHING 75 91
Rushing attempts 24 22
Average gain per rush 3.1 4.1
Tackles for loss-yards 5-9 1-1
NET YARDS PASSING 259 219
Times sacked: Number-Yards 3-14 0-0
Gross passing yards 273 219
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 41-27-0 34-22-1
Avg gain per pass play 5.9 6.4
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 5-2-1 4-2-2
PUNTS: Number and Average 6-44.2 5-38.8
Had blocked 0 0
Net punting average 38.0 27.8
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 39 55
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 4-37 3-55
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 2-38 3-78
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 1-2 0-0
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 9-52 6-49
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 3-0 0-0
TOUCHDOWNS 1 3
Rushing 0 1
Passing 1 2
Interceptions 0 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 0 0
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 1-1 3-3
Kicking: Made-Attempts 1-1 2-2
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 1-1
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 3-3 0-0
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-0
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 1-3-33% 1-1-100%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 0-1-0% 1-1-100%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 35:27 24:33


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

ATLANTA NEW ORLEANS

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J NORWOOD 6 38 6.3 30 0 R BUSH 17 54 3.2 9 0
W DUNN 13 28 2.2 12 0 P THOMAS 2 28 14.0 24 1
B LEFTWICH 3 6 2.0 7 0 D BREES 2 8 4.0 9 0
O MUGHELLI 1 3 3.0 3 0 A STECKER 1 1 1.0 1 0
J HARRINGT 1 0 0.0 0 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B LEFTWICH 15-23-145 0 1 23 D BREES 22-34-219 1 2 37
J HARRINGT 12-18-128 0 0 32

Sacked-Yards Lost: J HARRINGT 2-7, Sacked-Yards Lost: None
B LEFTWICH 1-7. Sacked-Yards Lost: None

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
R WHITE 8 110 13.8 32 1 E JOHNSON 5 54 10.8 21 0
M JENKINS 6 69 11.5 20 0 R BUSH 5 19 3.8 8 1
L ROBINSON 3 53 17.7 25 0 M COLSTON 3 45 15.0 33 0
J HORN 3 25 8.3 12 0 D PATTEN 2 29 14.5 18 0
J NORWOOD 3 1 0.3 3 0 A STECKER 2 11 5.5 6 0
M MILNER 2 10 5.0 8 0 M KARNEY 2 7 3.5 5 0
D BLAKELY 1 4 4.0 4 0 D HENDERSO 1 37 37.0 37 1
W DUNN 1 1 1.0 1 0 L MOORE 1 10 10.0 10 0
B MILLER 1 7 7.0 7 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
D WILLIAMS 1 -5 -5.0 0 0

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
M KOENEN 6 265 44.2 0 3 51 S WEATHERF 5 194 38.8 0 1 45

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
A JENNINGS 4 37 9.3 15 0 L MOORE 2 55 27.5 48 0
J CRAFT 1 0 0.0 0 0

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J NORWOOD 2 38 19.0 20 0 P THOMAS 3 78 26.0 32 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M ANDERSEN 1/1 3/3 O MARE 2/2 0/0
Dist.: 38 33 21

O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
B LEFTWICH 2 0 0 0-0 C GRANT 0 0 1 0-0
T MCCLURE 1 0 0 0-0
W DUNN 0 0 0 1-0
O MUGHELLI 0 0 0 1-0
K FORNEY 0 0 0 1-0

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
K BROOKING 10 8 2 0-0 R HARPER 6 6 0 0-0
M BOLEY 9 7 2 0-0 M SIMONEAU 6 5 1 0-0
D WILLIAMS 7 4 3 0-0 S SHANLE 6 3 3 0-0
D HALL 6 5 1 0-0 C GRANT 5 5 0 1-7
C HOUSTON 4 4 0 0-0 H THOMAS 5 4 1 0-0
C CROCKER 2 2 0 0-0 S FUJITA 5 4 1 0-0
J ANDERSON 2 2 0 0-0 W SMITH 5 3 2 0-0
L MILLOY 1 1 0 0-0 J CRAFT 4 4 0 0-0
T LEWIS 1 1 0 0-0 U YOUNG 4 4 0 0-0
R COLEMAN 1 1 0 0-0 M MCKENZIE 4 4 0 0-0
J WILLIAMS 1 1 0 0-0 J BULLOCKS 4 3 1 0-0
L SANDERS 1 1 0 0-0 B YOUNG 3 3 0 1-6
C DAVIS 1 1 0 0-0 F THOMAS 3 3 0 0-0
J ABRAHAM 1 1 0 0-0 K CLANCY 2 1 1 1-1
G JACKSON 1 1 0 0-0 J COOPER 1 1 0 0-0

Officials: Referee-Walt Anderson, Umpire-Butch Hannah, Head
Linesman-Phil Mckinnely, Line Judge-Byron Boston, Field Judge-Terry
Brown, Side Judge-Rick Patterson, Back Judge-Billy Smith.

Att: 69,994 Time of Game: 3:02</div>

 

NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- Reggie Bush displayed both power andspeed to propel the New Orleans Saints to their second straightvictory.


Bush bulled his way in for a touchdown from 4 yards out and thentook an end-around and raced into the end zone for theconversion as the Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 22-16, onSunday.


Held in check throughout much of the day, Bush took a quickswing pass from Drew Brees and powered his way around cornerbackLewis Sanders with a second-effort lunge at the goal line.

"How about Reggie Bush today?" Saints linebacker Scott Fujitasaid. "That was unbelievable. You hear about all the crap he'staken from people for not being able to run downhill and allthese different things. That guy competes more than many peopleI've seen in this league.


"And (Bush), he's impressive. His leg drive - he did it a fewtimes carrying the pile last year. But that play, there was nochance he wasn't going to score on that. And to come back onthe two-point conversion and get in the way he did - that wasunbelievable. I'm glad he's on my team, that's for sure."

The 4-yard score capped an 11-play, 69-yard drive with just overfive minutes remaining in the game.


"That was a play we run a lot. We were just trying to catch thedefense off guard," Bush said. "I didn't know I was going toget away (from Sanders). I just kept fighting and kept my feetmoving. I just refused to go down."


Bush, who finished with 54 yards on 17 carries, raced in for thetwo-point conversion to cap the scoring.


The Falcons moved as far as the New Orleans 48-yard line on theensuing possession, but punted with 1:48 remaining and threetimeouts to use. Atlanta never got the ball back, thanks toBush running seven yards for a first down with 1:36 remaining.

Morten Andersen kicked three field goals - the final one from 21yards - to give the Falcons a 16-14 lead with 10:19 remainingin the fourth quarter. He also hit from 38 and 33 yards.

Byron Leftwich was 15-of-23 for 145 yards and a touchdown in hisfirst start with the Falcons. His 9-yard scoring strike toRoddy White capped a seven-play, 44-yard drive to give theFalcons a 13-7 lead in the second quarter.


Leftwich, however, did not finish the game. He injured hisright ankle in the third quarter after getting hit by Saintsdefensive end Will Smith. Leftwich has missed 15 games due toinjuries over the last two seasons.


After the game, Leftwich answered two questions from the media,then departed when asked to comment on his frustrating,injury-filled career.


"I'm sorry, but I just can't do this," said Leftwich, who was oncrutches.


Falcons coach Bobby Petrino was unable to give more detail onLeftwich's condition.


"We were playing well when Byron was in there. I was happy withthe way he was performing," Falcons coach Bobby Petrino said."We just didn't make enough plays in the fourth quarter to winthe game."


Joey Harrington, who was benched after leading the Falcons totheir one win, replaced Leftwich and had moderate success.

Harrington finished 12-of-18 for 128 yards, but was unable toprevent the Falcons (1-6) from absorbing their third straightdefeat.


The Saints (2-4) opened the scoring when Brees rolled out andfound Devery Henderson for a 37-yard touchdown to give theSaints a 7-0 lead with 7:16 remaining in the first quarter.

After a pair of field goals and Leftwich's touchdown pass gavethe Falcons a 13-7 lead, the Saints responded quickly.

Rookie Pierre Thomas took his first carry of the game 24 yardsfor a touchdown to give New Orleans a 14-13 advantage. It wasThomas' second NFL touchdown; the first was a 5-yard return of afumbled punt snap at Seattle last week.


Both teams wasted opportunities.


The Saints couldn't score on their first possession after LanceMoore's 48-yard punt return to the Atlanta 41.


The Falcons recovered their onside kick after their second fieldgoal, but punted five plays later. New Orleans also movedinside the Atlanta 35 in the closing moments of the first half,but Demorrio Williams intercepted Brees to end the threat.

 

NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- Reggie Bush displayed both power andspeed to propel the New Orleans Saints to their second straightvictory.


Bush bulled his way in for a touchdown from 4 yards out and thentook an end-around and raced into the end zone for theconversion as the Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 22-16, onSunday.


Held in check throughout much of the day, Bush took a quickswing pass from Drew Brees and powered his way around cornerbackLewis Sanders with a second-effort lunge at the goal line.

"How about Reggie Bush today?" Saints linebacker Scott Fujitasaid. "That was unbelievable. You hear about all the crap he'staken from people for not being able to run downhill and allthese different things. That guy competes more than many peopleI've seen in this league.


"And (Bush), he's impressive. His leg drive - he did it a fewtimes carrying the pile last year. But that play, there was nochance he wasn't going to score on that. And to come back onthe two-point conversion and get in the way he did - that wasunbelievable. I'm glad he's on my team, that's for sure."

The 4-yard score capped an 11-play, 69-yard drive with just overfive minutes remaining in the game.


"That was a play we run a lot. We were just trying to catch thedefense off guard," Bush said. "I didn't know I was going toget away (from Sanders). I just kept fighting and kept my feetmoving. I just refused to go down."


Bush, who finished with 54 yards on 17 carries, raced in for thetwo-point conversion to cap the scoring.


The Falcons moved as far as the New Orleans 48-yard line on theensuing possession, but punted with 1:48 remaining and threetimeouts to use. Atlanta never got the ball back, thanks toBush running seven yards for a first down with 1:36 remaining.

Morten Andersen kicked three field goals - the final one from 21yards - to give the Falcons a 16-14 lead with 10:19 remainingin the fourth quarter. He also hit from 38 and 33 yards.

Byron Leftwich was 15-of-23 for 145 yards and a touchdown in hisfirst start with the Falcons. His 9-yard scoring strike toRoddy White capped a seven-play, 44-yard drive to give theFalcons a 13-7 lead in the second quarter.


Leftwich, however, did not finish the game. He injured hisright ankle in the third quarter after getting hit by Saintsdefensive end Will Smith. Leftwich has missed 15 games due toinjuries over the last two seasons.


After the game, Leftwich answered two questions from the media,then departed when asked to comment on his frustrating,injury-filled career.


"I'm sorry, but I just can't do this," said Leftwich, who was oncrutches.


Falcons coach Bobby Petrino was unable to give more detail onLeftwich's condition.


"We were playing well when Byron was in there. I was happy withthe way he was performing," Petrino said. "We just didn't makeenough plays in the fourth quarter to win the game."

Joey Harrington, who was benched after leading the Falcons totheir one win, replaced Leftwich and had moderate success.

Harrington finished 12-of-18 for 128 yards, but was unable toprevent the Falcons (1-6) from absorbing their third straightdefeat.


The Saints (2-4) opened the scoring when Brees rolled out andfound Devery Henderson for a 37-yard touchdown to give theSaints a 7-0 lead with 7:16 remaining in the first quarter.

After a pair of field goals and Leftwich's touchdown pass gavethe Falcons a 13-7 lead, the Saints responded quickly.

Rookie Pierre Thomas took his first carry of the game 24 yardsfor a touchdown to give New Orleans a 14-13 advantage. It wasThomas' second NFL touchdown; the first was a 5-yard return of afumbled punt snap at Seattle last week.


Both teams wasted opportunities.


The Saints couldn't score on their first possession after LanceMoore's 48-yard punt return to the Atlanta 41.


The Falcons recovered their onside kick after their second fieldgoal, but punted five plays later. New Orleans also movedinside the Atlanta 35 in the closing moments of the first half,but Demorrio Williams intercepted Brees to end the threat.

 

NFL: ATLANTA at NEW ORLEANS

<div class="pre">NFL ATLANTA AT NEW ORLEANS
NOTE: RESENDING TO CORRECT SACKS FOR SEVERAL NEW
ORLEANS' PLAYERS.</div>

 

NFL: ATLANTA at NEW ORLEANS

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
ATLANTA 3 10 0 3 16
NEW ORLEANS 7 0 7 8 22 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

7:44 NOR - TD, DEVERY HENDERSON 37 YD PASS FROM DREW BREES (OLINDO MARE KICK).
Drive: 3 plays, 49 yards in 1:25.
Key plays: Moore 7-yard punt return to Atlanta 49; Bush 9-yard run
to Atlanta 40. NEW ORLEANS 7-0.
12:34 ATL - FG, MORTEN ANDERSEN 38 YD.
Drive: 9 plays, 47 yards in 4:50.
Key plays: Norwood 30-yard run to New Orleans 44; Leftwich 16-yard
pass to White on 3rd-and-9 to New Orleans 27. NEW ORLEANS 7-3.

2ND QUARTER:

4:39 ATL - FG, MORTEN ANDERSEN 33 YD.
Drive: 9 plays, 54 yards in 4:26.
Key plays: Dunn 3-yard run on 3rd-and-2 to Atlanta 42; Leftwich
23-yard pass to Robinson to New Orleans 35; Leftwich 19-yard pass to
Jenkins to New Orleans 16. NEW ORLEANS 7-6.
11:29 ATL - TD, RODDY WHITE 9 YD PASS FROM BYRON LEFTWICH (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK).
Drive: 7 plays, 44 yards in 2:52.
Key plays: Jennings 15-yard punt return to New Orleans 44; Leftwich
20-yard pass to Jenkins on 3rd-and-15 to New Orleans 29; Dunn 12-yard run
to New Orleans 17. ATLANTA 13-7.

3RD QUARTER:

4:45 NOR - TD, PIERRE THOMAS 24 YD RUN (OLINDO MARE KICK).
Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards in 4:45.
Key plays: Brees 21-yard pass to Johnson to New Orleans 43; Brees
9-yard run on 4th-and-1 to Atlanta 39; Brees 15-yard pass to Johnson to
Atlanta 34; Brees 10-yard pass to Moore to Atlanta 24. NEW ORLEANS 14-13.

4TH QUARTER:

4:41 ATL - FG, MORTEN ANDERSEN 21 YD.
Drive: 10 plays, 37 yards in 5:31.
Key plays: Jennings 12-yard punt return to New Orleans 40;
Harrington 6-yard pass to White on 3rd-and-5 to New Orleans 29; Harrington
32-yard pass to White on 3rd-and-20 to New Orleans 7. ATLANTA 16-14.
9:56 NOR - TD, REGGIE BUSH 4 YD PASS FROM DREW BREES (REGGIE BUSH RUN FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION).
Drive: 11 plays, 69 yards in 5:15.
Key plays: Brees 33-yard pass to Colston on 3rd-and-5 to Atlanta 31;
Brees 11-yard pass to Patten on 3rd-and-4 to Atlanta 14. NEW ORLEANS
22-16.

ATLANTA - NEW ORLEANS Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS ATLANTA NEW ORLEANS

FIRST DOWNS 18 14
Rushing 5 5
Passing 13 9
Penalty 0 0
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 9-18-50% 4-12-33%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0-0-0% 1-3-33%
TOTAL NET YARDS 334 310
Total offensive plays 68 56
Average gain per play 4.9 5.5
NET YARDS RUSHING 75 91
Rushing attempts 24 22
Average gain per rush 3.1 4.1
Tackles for loss-yards 5-9 1-1
NET YARDS PASSING 259 219
Times sacked: Number-Yards 3-14 0-0
Gross passing yards 273 219
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 41-27-0 34-22-1
Avg gain per pass play 5.9 6.4
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 5-2-1 4-2-2
PUNTS: Number and Average 6-44.2 5-38.8
Had blocked 0 0
Net punting average 38.0 27.8
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 39 55
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 4-37 3-55
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 2-38 3-78
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 1-2 0-0
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 9-52 6-49
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 3-0 0-0
TOUCHDOWNS 1 3
Rushing 0 1
Passing 1 2
Interceptions 0 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 0 0
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 1-1 3-3
Kicking: Made-Attempts 1-1 2-2
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 1-1
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 3-3 0-0
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-0
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 1-3-33% 1-1-100%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 0-1-0% 1-1-100%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 35:27 24:33


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

ATLANTA NEW ORLEANS

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J NORWOOD 6 38 6.3 30 0 R BUSH 17 54 3.2 9 0
W DUNN 13 28 2.2 12 0 P THOMAS 2 28 14.0 24 1
B LEFTWICH 3 6 2.0 7 0 D BREES 2 8 4.0 9 0
O MUGHELLI 1 3 3.0 3 0 A STECKER 1 1 1.0 1 0
J HARRINGTON 1 0 0.0 0 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B LEFTWICH 15-23-145 0 1 23 D BREES 22-34-219 1 2 37
J HARRINGTON 12-18-128 0 0 32

Sacked-Yards Lost: J HARRINGTON 2-7, Sacked-Yards Lost: None
B LEFTWICH 1-7. Sacked-Yards Lost: None

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
R WHITE 8 110 13.8 32 1 E JOHNSON 5 54 10.8 21 0
M JENKINS 6 69 11.5 20 0 R BUSH 5 19 3.8 8 1
L ROBINSON 3 53 17.7 25 0 M COLSTON 3 45 15.0 33 0
J HORN 3 25 8.3 12 0 D PATTEN 2 29 14.5 18 0
J NORWOOD 3 1 0.3 3 0 A STECKER 2 11 5.5 6 0
M MILNER 2 10 5.0 8 0 M KARNEY 2 7 3.5 5 0
D BLAKELY 1 4 4.0 4 0 D HENDERSON 1 37 37.0 37 1
W DUNN 1 1 1.0 1 0 L MOORE 1 10 10.0 10 0
B MILLER 1 7 7.0 7 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
D WILLIAMS 1 -5 -5.0 0 0

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
M KOENEN 6 265 44.2 0 3 51 S WEATHERFORD 5 194 38.8 0 1 45

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
A JENNINGS 4 37 9.3 15 0 L MOORE 2 55 27.5 48 0
J CRAFT 1 0 0.0 0 0

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J NORWOOD 2 38 19.0 20 0 P THOMAS 3 78 26.0 32 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M ANDERSEN 1/1 3/3 O MARE 2/2 0/0
Dist.: 38 33 21

O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
B LEFTWICH 2 0 0 0-0 S FUJITA 0 0 1 0-0
T MCCLURE 1 0 0 0-0
W DUNN 0 0 0 1-0
O MUGHELLI 0 0 0 1-0
K FORNEY 0 0 0 1-0

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
K BROOKING 10 8 2 0-0 R HARPER 6 6 0 0-0
M BOLEY 9 7 2 0-0 S FUJITA 6 5 1 1-7
D WILLIAMS 7 4 3 0-0 M SIMONEAU 6 5 1 0-0
D HALL 6 5 1 0-0 S SHANLE 6 3 3 0-0
C HOUSTON 4 4 0 0-0 C GRANT 5 4 1 .5-.5
C CROCKER 2 2 0 0-0 H THOMAS 5 4 1 0-0
J ANDERSON 2 2 0 0-0 W SMITH 5 3 2 0-0
L MILLOY 1 1 0 0-0 J CRAFT 4 4 0 0-0
T LEWIS 1 1 0 0-0 U YOUNG 4 4 0 0-0
R COLEMAN 1 1 0 0-0 M MCKENZIE 4 4 0 0-0
J WILLIAMS 1 1 0 0-0 J BULLOCKS 4 3 1 0-0
L SANDERS 1 1 0 0-0 B YOUNG 3 3 0 1-6
C DAVIS 1 1 0 0-0 F THOMAS 3 3 0 0-0
J ABRAHAM 1 1 0 0-0 K CLANCY 2 0 2 .5-.5
G JACKSON 1 1 0 0-0 J COOPER 1 1 0 0-0

Officials: Referee-Walt Anderson, Umpire-Butch Hannah, Head
Linesman-Phil Mckinnely, Line Judge-Byron Boston, Field Judge-Terry
Brown, Side Judge-Rick Patterson, Back Judge-Billy Smith.

Att: 69,994 Time of Game: 3:02</div>