Saints stay unbeaten

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Nov 3, 2009 - Page: 1C

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NEW ORLEANS — For the second week in a row, the undefeated New Orleans Saints got a real scare.

For the second straight week, they survived.

The Saints turned the ball over three times on two fumbles and an interception and John Carney missed a 37-yard field goal, but they held on for a 35-27 win over the Atlanta Falcons before 70,088 raucous fans in the Superdome.

As a result, the Saints joined the Indianapolis Colts as the only remaining unbeaten teams at 7-0. It’s only the second time in the 43-year history of the franchise that the Saints have started a season with seven straight wins — the other time was in 1991 when they went on to win the NFC West title.

The Saints, who led 28-14 at halftime, were clinging to a 28-24 advantage with less than nine minutes to play when middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma tipped a pass and former Port Allen High School standout Tracy Porter intercepted at the Saints’ 1 and returned it 18 yards to end the threat.

Drew Brees and the Saints’ offense did the rest, marching 81 yards in 11 yards to the game-clinching touchdown — a 1-yard pass from Brees to running back Pierre Thomas — with 3:03 remaining in the contest.

The late touchdown catch by Thomas, who dove into the end zone as Falcons’ defenders closed in on him at the goal line, was sweet redemption for the third-year pro.

Thomas fumbled at the end of a 1-yard run to the Saints’ 35 would have given his team a first down with 10:00 to play after the Falcons’ Jason Elam booted a 25-yard field goal to pull the Falcons to within 28-24 with 11:33 to go.

But Porter and the Saints’ defense bailed Thomas out.

After Falcons running back Michael Turner bolted for a 24-yard run on first down to the Saints’ 11, he gained 1 yard on the next play before Matt Ryan tried to hit tight end Tony Gonzalez near the pylon.

But Vilma leaped high to get a hand on the ball and it went right to Porter.

The Saints escaped with the victory even though their NFL’s top-ranked offense was stymied in the second half.

They had three touchdown drives of 80 yards in the first half, getting a 22-yard scoring run by Thomas, an 18-yard TD pass from Brees to Marques Colston and a 1-yard dash by Reggie Bush.