Saints make nine sacks to beat Falcons, clinch division

Nov. 29 (UPI) -- The New Orleans Saints used nine sacks to clinch the NFC South and beat the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football.

Cameron Jordan led the way with four takedowns of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan in the 26-18 win Thursday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Marcus Davenport collected two sacks and two forced fumbles. Craig Robertson, Sheldon Rankins and Trey Hendrickson also sacked Ryan. The Saints (10-2) played turnover-free football, while Atlanta (3-9) gave the ball back to New Orleans three times.

Tayson Hill had a blocked punt, a receiving score and a rushing touchdown in the victory. The Saints have now won three consecutive NFC South titles.

"This was objective No. 1, winning the division, but I think you know our mindset ... we've got bigger fish to fry," Saints quarterback Drew Brees told reporters.

The Falcons went three-and-out on the game's opening drive before punting to the Saints. Brees then connected with Hill for a three-yard score, giving the Saints a 7-0 lead.

The Falcons scored their first touchdown with Ryan connecting with Jaeden Graham on an 18-yard pass about two minutes into the second quarter. New Orleans got a 22-yard field goal from Wil Lutz on the next possession to take a 10-6 lead. The Saints got a 30-yard rushing score from Hill on their next drive before the Falcons answered with a Younghoe Koo field goal to make the score 17-9 at halftime.

New Orleans and Atlanta exchanged punts at the start of the second half before Lutz made three field goals, pushing the Saints' lead to 26-9. The Falcons had three consecutive turnovers after punting on their first drive of the second half.

The Falcons scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter with the help of two consecutive recovered onside kicks, but could not close the gap with the late rally.

Brees completed 18 of 30 passes for 184 yards and a score in the win. Alvin Kamara had 84 yards from scrimmage for the Saints. Ryan completed 35 of 50 passes for 312 yards, two scores and two interceptions.

"It was a tough game, back and forth," Ryan said. "I was proud of the way everybody battled. There was no give up in anyone, through some tough circumstances. That was the way the game went. We had to drop back and pass at the end. When you do that, and there is really no threat of running, it is tough."

The Saints host the San Francisco 49ers at 1 p.m. EST Dec. 8 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. The Falcons host the Carolina Panthers in another NFC South clash at 1 p.m. that day in Atlanta.