By Hunter Patterson, Josh Kendall and Larry Holder

NFL Week 4 live updates: Inactives, schedule, kickoff times, matchups, odds and predictions

Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, who signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the franchise in March, authored his second game-winning drive with Atlanta in a 26-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo capped the drive with a career-high 58-yard field goal to win it. A pass interference call on Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo, on a pass intended for Darnell Mooney, moved Atlanta from the 30-yard line to New Orleans’ 40. After three consecutive incomplete passes from Cousins, Koo sealed the victory.

YOUNGHOE KOO FROM 58 METERS FOR THE LEAD WITH TWO SECONDS LEFT! pic.twitter.com/8b2A4SlWKm

—NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2024

Although Cousins ​​led the Falcons on the drive, the quarterback threw for 238 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. Atlanta’s defense and special teams were responsible for two touchdowns, one coming from linebacker Troy Anderson and the other from KhaDarel Hodge on a fumble punt return.

Koo salvaged a somewhat shaky performance to put the Falcons (2-2) one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who come to town on Thursday night.

Penalties are a plague for Falcons

Atlanta converted a season-high four third-down attempts and had 315 yards on Sunday, only to be undone by penalties time and time again.

The Falcons were flagged eight times, most of which were against the offense. The costliest flag came in the fourth quarter when a 19-yard Bijan Robinson receiving touchdown on a screen pass was called back due to a holding penalty on Jake Matthews.

Koo’s four field goals saved the offense, but it’s not what Atlanta spent big on this offseason. — Josh Kendall, Falcons beat writer

Troy Anderson’s career day

Andersen had a busy day, recording a career-high 17 tackles and scoring his first NFL touchdown on a 47-yard interception return. Andersen’s touchdown was the second non-offensive touchdown of the day for the Falcons. Atlanta’s first points came when Hodge recovered a cushioned punt return from Rashid Shaheed in the end zone for a touchdown.

It was the first time since Week 3 of 2014 that the Falcons had a defensive touchdown and a special teams touchdown in the same game.

However, Andersen had to be helped off the field after a punt coverage in the fourth quarter, leaving Atlanta with Kaden Elliss and J.D. Bertrand as the only inside linebackers on the active roster. — Kendal

Taysom Hill shines but leaves injured

New Orleans’ Taysom Hill played only half the game and still confused the Falcons. Hill scored two rushing touchdowns in the first half, giving him 11 touchdowns against Atlanta since joining the league in 2017. Only Tom Brady, Jameis Winston and Drew Brees accounted for more touchdowns in that time.

Hill, who missed the second half with an abdominal injury, rushed for six touchdowns, caught four touchdown passes and threw for one career touchdown against the Falcons. — Kendal

Mistakes pile up for saints

It’s hard to overcome two offensive, defensive and special teams blunders in a one-point loss. It started when Shaheed inexplicably tried to make an over-the-shoulder catch on a punt return at the Saints’ 5 in the first quarter. He muffed the kick, allowing the Falcons to recover in the end zone. The Saints managed to recover from that.

Then Derek Carr saw a pass batted, intercepted and returned for a touchdown midway through the second quarter. New Orleans was again hung up by another Hill injury problem, with Alvin Kamara putting the Saints ahead with about a minute left.

But an Adebo pass interference penalty on the ensuing drive set up Koo’s winning 58-yard field goal.

Overall, the Saints starting the season with a 2-2 record might not have seemed so bad. But after starting 2-0 with resounding wins against Carolina and Dallas, the losing games against Philadelphia and Atlanta make this start disappointing.

And who’s next? Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. — Larry Holder, NFL senior writer

Required reading

(Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)