Saints in seventh heaven

Making his mark: Colston scored one of the Saints' three second-quarter touchdowns

People are talking about us going undefeated, the likelihood of that happening is not very good but we're going to keep trying one game at a time.

Darren Sharper
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The New Orleans Saints equalled their best start to an NFL season with a 35-27 victory over divisional rivals the Atlanta Falcons on Monday evening.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees engineered an 81-yard drive that culminated in a one-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Thomas with just over three minutes remaining to give the hosts a 35-24 cushion in the Superdome.

Atlanta kicker Jason Elam made a 40-yard field goal with 28 seconds left and the Falcons recovered an onside kick to set up a final "Hail Mary" play which was intercepted.

Brees finished with 308 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Thomas had 91 yards on the ground, including a 22-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

The unbeaten Saints (7-0) have now opened the season with seven straight wins for the first time since 1991 and hold a three-game lead over Atlanta (4-3) in the NFC South.

Slow start

New Orleans made a slow start, falling 7-0 behind on Michael Turner's 21-yard run and then 14-7 when Atlanta defensive lineman Kroy Biermann recovered a Brees fumble and ran it in for a four-yard score with two minutes and 14 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

However, the Saints found their groove to register 21 straight points to take a 28-14 lead by half-time.

Wide receiver Marques Colston hauled in an 18-yard touchdown catch and running back Reggie Bush went in from short range as the home side took control.

Jabari Greer capped the second-quarter spurt when he returned an interception 48 yards - the team's fifth touchdown from an interception this campaign, tying a single-season franchise mark set in 1998.

The Falcons rallied after the break with quarterback Matt Ryan - who finished with three interceptions - hooking up with Roddy White on a 68-yard touchdown play.

Interception

Elam's chip shot field goal reduced Atlanta's deficit to 28-24 but the charge was ended when Ryan was picked off by Tracy Porter in the red zone.

"People are talking about us going undefeated, the likelihood of that happening is not very good but we're going to keep trying one game at a time," Saints safety Darren Sharper said after making the game-ending interception, his seventh of the season.

"This is a big win because it gives us a cushion that will help us."