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Falcons Hold Off Locker, Titans for 23-17 Win

They still had to sweat it out at the end.

Roddy White had seven receptions for a season-high 147 yards and Atlanta fended off a comeback led by rookie quarterback Jake Locker, beating the Tennessee Titans 23-17 Sunday.

Locker took over late in the third quarter after Matt Hasselbeck went out with a sprained right elbow, having endured an ineffective day even before he was hurt.

The youngster hooked up with Nate Washington on a pair of touchdown passes that made a game of it, but the Falcons managed to run out the clock after Matt Ryan completed a third-and-6 pass to Harry Douglas that was barely enough for the first down.

Atlanta (6-4) jumped out to a 13-0 lead on Ryan’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez and a pair of short field goals by Matt Bryant. Michael Turner stretched the lead to 20-3 with a 4-yard touchdown run on the opening possession of the second half, but Turner’s fourth-quarter fumble deep in Tennessee territory allowed the Titans (5-5) to get back in it.

The Falcons were solid if unspectacular, while the Titans simply made too many mistakes to win on the road for the second week in a row. Tennessee was penalized 10 times — two of which came on third down to extend Atlanta scoring drives — and Hasselbeck threw an interception that led to the first of Bryant’s three field goals.

The Falcons were coming off a 26-23 loss to the Saints, who prevailed in overtime after Atlanta coach Mike Smith made a much-debated decision to go for it on fourth down deep in his own territory. New Orleans stuffed Turner for no gain and kicked a game-ending field goal four plays later.

Smith and his players insisted that game was behind them, and they got 100 yards rushing out of Turner and 316 yards passing from Ryan.

Then there’s White, who was leading the NFL in dropped passes (nine) and personal fouls by an offensive skills player (three). He dropped another one against the Titans but more than made up for it with his longest reception of the season, a 43-yarder that set up Turner’s touchdown. White also took a short pass for a 32-yard gain, leading to Bryant’s final field goal and a 23-3 lead that looked safe, especially when Hasselbeck went out.

But Locker rallied the Titans. On his third snap, he threw a deep pass to Washington, who came down with the ball and got away from two defensive backs for a 40-yard touchdown.

The Falcons were driving for the clinching score when Turner had the ball knocked loose at the Tennessee 8 by Colin McCarthy. Will Witherspoon fell on the ball, and Locker guided Tennessee on a 14-play, 84-yard drive capped by a 4-yard scoring pass to Washington with 3:06 remaining.

But the rookie didn’t get a chance to complete the comeback.

Hasselbeck had a forgettable day, going 13 of 25 for 124 yards. Locker finished 9 of 19 for 140 yards. Chris Johnson was totally stifled after his best game of the season, a 130-yard effort against Carolina. He was held to a season-low 13 yards on 12 carries, his longest gain going for only 6 yards.

Gonzalez became just the 13th player in NFL history to go past 13,000 yards receiving. He finished with six catches for 74 yards.

Livas Returns Punt for TD, Dolphins Beat Falcons

Atlanta rookie receiver Julio Jones, quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner contributed on first-quarter scoring drives that gave the Falcons a 17-0 lead.

Henne threw interceptions on two of Miami’s first three possessions before connecting with Brian Hartline for a 44-yard touchdown pass that made it 17-7 early in the second quarter.

Henne, who completed 4 of 8 passes for 77 yards, did his best work against Atlanta’s defensive reserves.

But the same could be said, too, of Ryan, who completed just one of his first passes against Miami’s defensive starters. The difference, however, was that the Atlanta QB threw one TD pass and didn’t have an interceptions. Ryan finished 6 of 10 for 90 yards.

For the Dolphins, who host Carolina at home next week and open the regular season at home Sept. 12 against New England, it was more a matter of who didn’t play as coach Tony Sparano decided to avoid injury risk.

Running back Reggie Bush, receiver Brandon Marshall, defensive end Jason Taylor wore uniforms, but not helmets, and stood on the sideline. Left tackle Jake Long wasn’t in uniform.

Daniel Thomas started in Bush’s place and ran four times for 5 yards. Davone Bess subbed for Marshall and caught two passes for 8 yards.

Miami is coming off 7-9 season after which Dolphins owner Stephen Ross considered firing Sparano but brought him back when Jim Harbaugh took the San Francisco job.

Atlanta, which went 13-3 last year to earn the NFC’s No. 1 seed, will visit Jacksonville for a preseason game next week. The Falcons open the regular season Sept. 11 in Chicago.

On Henne’s first interception, tight end Anthony Fasano was running right to left when the pass arrived behind him. Defensive end John Abraham, who had dropped into coverage, grabbed the bobbled ball to set up the offense at the Atlanta 44.

Three plays later, Ryan threw a soft pass over the middle to Jones, who was running a left-to-right drag route just outside the line of scrimmage against cornerback Vontae Davis and advanced to the Miami 14 behind before safety Reshad Jones pulled him down.

Turner had a 2-yard TD run one play later.

Atlanta’s next drive started at the 17 before Ryan connected with Jones, the NFL’s No. 6 overall draft pick, for a 22-yard gain on an end route down the right side. On the next snap, Jones took a reverse handoff and sped 12 yards to the Falcons 49.

Ryan and Harry Douglas made it 14-0 seven plays later, connecting on a 20-yard touchdown pass that beat cornerbacks Nolan Carroll and Nate Ness.

Henne’s second interception, which came on the Dolphins’ next play from scrimmage, was a poorly thrown ball intended for Bess and picked off by cornerback Brent Grimes on the right side.

With Ryan and Atlanta’s other offensive starters out of the game, Third-string quarterback John Parker Wilson took charge of the offense and oversaw a six-play drive that ended with Matt Bryant’s 27-yard field goal and a 17-0 lead.

Wilson, who completed 12 of 19 passes for 111 yards and one interception, was knocked out of the game with an undisclosed injury midway through the third and had to be escorted off the field.

He lost a fumble near the end of the second quarter that led to Roberto Wallace’s 28-yard TD pass from Matt Moore and cut it to 17-14.

Moore connected with Edmond Gates on a 6-yard TD pass in the third quarter.

Adam Froman, a rookie from Louisville, played the rest of the game at quarterback for Atlanta, ending the game with an interception deep in Miami territory.

Saints Awaken vs. Falcons and Put N.F.C. on Notice

Their defense was not the turnover machine it was last year. Quarterback has thrown inexplicable interceptions. Injuries bedeviled the running game. Garrett Hartley — the kicker who made the overtime field goal that sent them to the Super Bowl last winter — missed a field goal that would have given the Saints an over their division rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, and a leg up in the N.F.C. race.

Last season, the Saints were so dominant they did not lose a game until Week 15. This season, they entered Week 16 in Atlanta at risk of missing the playoffs altogether. But on Monday night, the Saints righted themselves after another mysterious game — all defense by both teams, two stunning fourth-quarter interceptions by Brees — by summoning some of the magic from 2009 to beat the Falcons, .

Brees went back to being Brees just in time, completing seven consecutive passes on the 90-yard winning drive, including a 6-yard touchdown pass on third-and-3 with 3 minutes 24 seconds remaining.

This was a shot-across-the-bow-victory for the Saints. It not only put them back into the playoffs, but it also shattered the Falcons’ sense of invincibility at home, where they had not lost this season (including victories over playoff-caliber teams like the , the and the ) and had lost just once in Matt Ryan’s three seasons as the quarterback.

“They were the better team tonight,” Falcons Coach Mike Smith said.

The Saints (11-4) are unlikely to enjoy the comforts of their raucous home, which bolstered their run last season.

The Saints’ victory means four teams are alive for home-field advantage in the N.F.C. Despite losing, the Falcons (12-3) have the easiest path to it, needing only to beat the lowly on Sunday to secure the N.F.C.’s top seed.

The outcome also narrowed the options for the Giants. For them to make the playoffs, the Giants must beat the on Sunday and root for the to beat the Packers. That would make the Giants the N.F.C.’s sixth seed and likely set up a rematch with the , who are likely to be the third seed behind the Falcons and the Bears.

Still, the road to the Super Bowl in the N.F.C. may have to go around the Saints, and this is bad news for the rest of the conference, which would probably have sent a lovely fruit basket to the team that knocked the Saints out of the playoff picture.

Instead, the Saints cannot finish lower than the fifth seed, which would set up a first-round game against the winner — survivor is more accurate — of the N.F.C. West.

The and the play for that title Sunday night, and if the Seahawks win, they will be the first team to win a division with a losing record in a full season. The Saints demolished the Rams and the Seahawks in the past six weeks.

Winning three in a row on the road to reach the Super Bowl is tough. But the Saints just damaged one opponent’s considerable home-field advantage.

“Let the good times roll” is a civic motto for New Orleans. The rest of the N.F.C. does not want to see the Saints roll into their town for the playoffs.