New Orleans Saints hope improvement in visit to Atlanta

Both Atlanta and New Orleans were able to avoid 0-2 starts with second-week victories, but only the Falcons could feel good about the performance.

Both Atlanta and New Orleans were able to avoid 0-2 starts with second-week victories, but only the Falcons could feel good about the performance.

If the Saints are going to join Atlanta as a playoff team again this season, they are going to have to play a lot better than they did the first two weeks.

New Orleans comes into the NFC South matchup of heated long-time rivals on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium after being torched defensively for 529 yards by Tampa Bay in the opener and then struggling offensively before edging Cleveland last week.

"I'm encouraged we won, but let's not kid ourselves," Saints coach Sean Payton said after New Orleans edged the lowly Browns 21-18 thanks to a late field goal and four missed kicks (two field goals, two PATs) by Cleveland.

After amassing 475 yards in the opening 48-40 loss to Tampa Bay, New Orleans could get nothing going until the fourth quarter against Cleveland, losing two fumbles.

"Everyone made plays when we needed to, but we also need to understand that that wasn't good," quarterback Drew Brees said. "That's not our standard, the way we played the first three quarters offensively."

After a continuation of their red-zone struggles from a season ago cost the Falcons in an opening 18-12 loss to defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia, they turned all four trips inside the 20-yard line into touchdowns while rebounding for a 31-24 victory over Carolina.

It was a bounce-back for quarterback Matt Ryan, who was the target of criticism after a subpar performance in the loss to the Eagles.

"They're all tough after you lose," said Ryan, who passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more against Carolina. "How you process that (and) how you put it aside and work on your craft, to me, that determines the mindset of your team. Our mindset is really good. We did a good job of that."

The Falcons were missing three Pro Bowl players against the Panthers, and their injury woes grew even worse during the game, with guard Andy Levitre and defensive ends Takk McKinley and Derrick Shelby going down.

Tevin Coleman rushed for 107 yards filling in for Devonta Freeman at running back, but the losses of inside linebacker Deion Jones and strong safety Keanu Neal during the opener leave the defense severely handicapped.

Freeman (knee), McKinley (groin) and Shelby (groin) will all miss Sunday's game. Of the group, only McKinley practiced this week, getting in a limited session on Friday.

The Falcons joined the NFL in 1966 and the Saints a year later, making for a long and intense rivalry. Atlanta leads the series 52-46.

The teams split last season, with the Falcons winning at home 20-17 thanks to a late end-zone interception by the now-injured Jones, and the Saints bouncing back for a 23-13 victory in New Orleans that ended a three-game losing streak to Atlanta.

Brees and Ryan have played head-to-head 19 times, with the Saints quarterback coming out on top 11 times. Overall, Brees is 16-9 with 46 touchdown passes against the Falcons. Ryan has thrown 32 TD passes against New Orleans.

The Saints are playing their first road game of the season, while the Falcons are in the middle of three home games in a row.

Maybe the Saints should be glad to get away from New Orleans after nearly slipping to a 0-2 start against the Browns.

Wide receiver Michael Thomas had 12 catches -- giving him an NFL record 28 through two games -- and scored twice against Cleveland, but lost a fumble for the second straight game. The fumble against the Browns came on his team's first possession.

"I like his resilience, but I like the ball, too," Payton said.