Every time Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints' potent offense stumbles, a resurgent defense is there to pick up the slack.
The Saints intercepted three Matt Ryan passes, with Jabari Greer returning one 48 yards for the club's sixth defensive touchdown this season, and New Orleans stayed perfect Monday with a 35-27 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
"Obviously, the defense is playing great," Brees said. "They're doing a great job of taking the ball away.
"Our scoring defense has been unbelievable. They've had the ability to create momentum for our side of the ball."
Greer's touchdown was the Saints' fifth score on an interception this season, tying a single-season franchise mark set in 1998. The Saints (7-0) have at least one interception in every game this season and a total of 16, one more than they had all of last season.
"The way we've been able to (get turnovers) and score is a big reason we're where we're at right now," Coach Sean Payton said.
Tracy Porter's interception on the Saints 1, on a pass tipped by Jonathan Vilma, preserved a 28-24, fourth-quarter lead after Pierre Thomas' fumble had given Atlanta the ball at the New Orleans 35.
Still, the Falcons stayed in it until the end, getting a 40-yard field goal from Jason Elam with 28 seconds left, then recovering an onside kick. Ryan only had time for a desperation heave in the final seconds, and Darren Sharper turned it into his seventh interception of the season.
With big plays on both sides of the line, New Orleans has been able to get away with committing four turnovers against Miami and Atlanta in back-to-back weeks and still win.
Brees, responsible for two turnovers against the Falcons, passed for 308 yards and two scores. Thomas scored two touchdowns.
"We did a lot of things well and yet we did a lot of things that made it close at the end," Payton said.
"I'm excited to win, though.... It was an important game against a division team, and I'm proud of our players."
The Falcons, by contrast, have lost two straight in large part because they couldn't overcome mistakes. Ryan has been intercepted at least twice in three straight games, but Coach Mike Smith said he's "not concerned at all."
"We're going to be judged on 16 games -- not one game and not three games," he said.
The same applies to the Saints, of course, but as one of only two undefeated teams left in the NFL (with the Indianapolis Colts), New Orleans certainly has reason to be optimistic. Next up for the Saints -- a home game Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.
When Thomas scored the Saints' final touchdown on a 1-yard catch, flipping backward over a tackler into the end zone, the Louisiana Superdome crowd broke into chants of, "Who dat say they gonna' beat them Saints?"
Thomas scored his other touchdown on a 22-yard run in the first quarter. Marques Colston added an 18-yard scoring catch, and Reggie Bush had a 1-yard TD run late in the first half as the Saints took a lead they never lost.
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