By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — Dee Alford’s red-zone interception stopped a potential go-ahead drive by New Orleans, and the Atlanta Falcons beat the Saints 19-17 on Sunday to give the NFC South title to the Carolina Panthers.
By closing the season with four consecutive wins, the Falcons (8-9) finished in a three-way tie with Carolina and Tampa Bay for first place in the NFC South. The Panthers won the tiebreaker with the best record within the division.
The Falcons completed a season sweep of the Saints (6-11), who had their four-game winning streak end.
Tampa Bay stayed alive with a 16-14 home win over Carolina on Saturday. The Buccaneers needed a win or tie by the Saints on Sunday to win the division. The Panthers made the playoffs for the first time since 2017 and won the division for the first time in a decade.
Trailing 16-10, the Saints drove from their 25 to the Atlanta 20 before Alford returned his interception of Tyler Shough’s pass intended for Dante Pettis 59 yards to the Saints 27 with 3:14 remaining. The play set up Zane Gonzalez’s fourth field goal, a 38-yarder, to extend Atlanta’s lead to nine points.
Shough answered with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Ronnie Bell with 1:11 remaining, but Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts recovered an onside kick.
While the NFC South winner was the big prize in the game, the Saints and Falcons played the opening quarter as if determined to show why they had long been eliminated from postseason contention.
On the Saints’ first play from scrimmage, tight end Juwan Johnson fumbled after a 26-yard reception and Xavier Watts recovered for Atlanta.
The Falcons then gave the ball back when defensive end Carl Granderson, who already had a sack, intercepted a pass from Kirk Cousins. Later in the opening quarter, Falcons safety Jammie Robinson blocked a punt by Kai Kroeger, and Feleipe Franks recovered and returned it 3 yards to the New Orleans 5.
A Falcons penalty negated an apparent touchdown run by Bijan Robinson before Cousins’ 15-yard touchdown pass to Drake London.
Gonzalez’s 40-yard field goal increased Atlanta’s lead before Shough’s 1-yard scoring run in the second quarter.
The Saints were denied a touchdown on an apparent 1-yard scoring pass from Shough to Kevin Austin Jr. in the third quarter when Austin was called for offensive pass interference. Instead, Charlie Smyth’s 29-yard field goal trimmed Atlanta’s lead to 13-10.
Shough completed 22 of 35 passes for 259 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for a score.
Sacks record
Rookie James Pearce Jr. sacked Shough on back-to-back plays in the third quarter. It gave the Falcons four sacks in the game and a team-record 57 for the season. The Falcons entered the weekend second in the league with 53 after finishing next-to-last with 31 last season.
Pearce finished with 10 1/2 sacks to lead NFL rookies.
Injury report
Saints: LT Kelvin Banks Jr. (left ankle) was ruled out after he was carted to the locker room in the second quarter. QB/TE Taysom Hill left with a right shoulder injury.
Falcons: CB Cobee Bryant (concussion) was knocked out of the game late in the first quarter. … DL Brandon Dorlus (hamstring), CB Clark Phillips (triceps, illness) and ILB Ronnie Harrison (illness) were held out. Harrison, Cousins and DL David Onyemata were all added to the injury list on Sunday with illnesses, while CB A.J. Terrell, DL Ruke Orhorhoro and long snapper Liam McCullough were listed as questionable with illnesses.
Up next
Saints: New Orleans will look forward to the NFL draft. The Saints entered the week holding the No. 8 overall pick.
Falcons: Atlanta heads into an offseason of possible changes as there has been speculation about the futures of second-year coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot.