National Football League

Jessie Bates’ 92-yard pick-six keys Falcons in 24-15 win over Saints

Published Nov. 26, 2023 6:37 p.m. ET

ATLANTA — Falcons safety Jessie Bates had just run 92 yards for a pick-six, so he was far too excited and/or tired to contemplate a celebration, but teammate Bud Dupree made a suggestion.

"We've been talking about doing a celebration all year: Throw the ball up like a bomb and everybody falls," Bates said. "I was so hyped I couldn't even think about anything, but I saw Bud, and he was like 'Do the bomb! Do the bomb!' So I throw the ball up for everybody and we were really [choreographed]. Just shows how well-connected this team is getting."

Atlanta ended a three-game losing streak with a 24-15 win over the Saints, and even though the Falcons are 5-6 on the season, that's good enough for first place in the NFC South, a tiebreaker ahead of New Orleans (5-6). It was a game won by their defense in the red zone — the Saints had five trips and mustered only three field goals from those, with Bates nearly outscoring New Orleans by himself.

"Like I always tell people, you want to play your best ball around Thanksgiving and December," said Bates, who punched a fumble loose from Taysom Hill for another red-zone turnover at the Falcons' 9-yard line. "That's when good teams start playing their best ball, and that's what we're doing right now."

The Saints had beaten the Falcons the past three times they'd played, and in the past five meetings in Atlanta, but Bates set the tone for the game with a huge takeaway. New Orleans was poised to add to a 3-0 lead, but Bates recognized the play and made a leaping interception off quarterback Derek Carr, racing 92 yards for his fourth career touchdown, and his longest.

"Jessie Bates, what he did today, that pick-six, that's huge," teammate Calais Campbell said. "It helps build that belief. And the forced fumble when they're running the ball pretty well. Those are big-time plays. I told the guys before the game: Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games. It's an old saying, been around for a long time. I've been hearing it since I was 6, but at the same time, up to this point, this was the biggest game of the season."

The Falcons won despite another uneven game from quarterback Desmond Ridder, given back the starting job after the team's bye week. He threw a bad interception in the red zone just before halftime, and another in Saints territory in the third quarter, but Atlanta never let those mistakes turn into Saints touchdowns.

"He doesn't flinch. Obviously, you don't want the turnovers," Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. "Thankfully today, we were [turnover margin] zero and we were able to get Jessie's interception and Jessie punching the ball out. [Ridder] is resilient, and we'll keep working."

And when they needed separation late in the game, Ridder deftly lobbed a pass to rookie Bijan Robinson for a two-score lead in the fourth quarter. Down nine, the Saints got to the Atlanta 17 but again had to settle for a field goal to get within a score with 6:24 left. From there, the Falcons grinded out the win, running the ball on nine straight plays — Tyler Allgeier had 44 yards on five carries, three for first downs -- and Younghoe Koo's field goal made it a two-score game with 1:47 left.

"Take the game over," Smith said of his mentality on the final drive. "It was the challenge all week: Win the line of scrimmage and win the game, and that's what the O-line did. ... That's who we need to be to close out games. It's just one game, but we needed that win in the worst way."

Jessie Bates snags 92-yard pick-six to give Falcons lead over Saints

Atlanta and New Orleans are both 5-6, but the Falcons are now 3-0 in division play, with the tiebreaker advantage over all three NFC South rivals. The defending champion Bucs are only a game back at 4-7, so they can get back in just by winning their four remaining division games out of the six that are left. The Falcons like where they are, and much better than where they've been of late.

"You're coming off three losses, everybody's asking questions: ‘Is Art going to be here? Are we making the right decisions with the quarterbacks?’" Bates said. "One thing I love about this team is the mindset, being able to block out all of the noise and get back to work. We've got a long season ahead, but like I said, we've got to keep playing our best ball."

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The schedule is favorable: The Falcons' remaining six games are the three division opponents they've already beaten, plus next week at the Jets (4-7), plus games against the Colts (6-5) and Bears (3-8).

"This thing has to play out," Smith said. "We've got six games to go, right? It'll feel like six lifetimes. It's the National Football League, the ebbs and flows. ... We've got plenty of stuff to work on, but overall, a good team win."

Greg Auman is FOX Sports' NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.