Winners and winners: 3 takeaways from Darren Rizzi's redemption and Saints win

It finished better than it started for just-hired New Orleans Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi on Sunday.

"This is how my day started. I get down here to the Superdome," he began. "I go in the head coach's locker room, which I've never used before. So, here I am here early in the morning. I go to the bathroom. I clogged the toilet. And I'm like, 'This is going to be a crappy day — pun intended!' And I'm like, 'Ok, this is not a really great start to the day. Here we go.' And so, I'm not really feeling like a head coach of an NFL team right now. I'm like, 'Really?'"

But things progressed well from there for the Saints' special teams coordinator since 2019 who was last a head coach at Rhode Island in 2008 before replacing fired head coach Dennis Allen last Monday. The Saints (3-7) took a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 38-yard field goal by Blake Grupe and never trailed again, which has not happened since the team's 2-0 start.

Atlanta (6-4) outgained New Orleans, 466 yards to 365, and had 25 first downs to 13, but the Saints did not turn the ball over and stopped the Falcons in their territory at critical times. It also helped that Atlanta's Younghoe Koo missed two field goals in the second quarter from 53 and 27 yards out kept New Orleans up 17-7 at the half. And defensive tackle John Ridgeway III blocked a 35-yard try in the same period.

"I thought our fans were unbelievable," Rizzi said. "This city is starving for some wins. I know they're hungry, and we were hungry to give 'em one. They were into the game - loud, engaged. So, we're going to get this dome back to where it used to be. And that's just the start."

There are two struggling teams on the horizon. The Saints host Cleveland (2-7) Sunday before an open week, then they host the Los Angeles Rams (4-4) before playing at the New York Giants (2-8).

At last, a strong finish

The dome was rocking when the Saints took a 20-10 lead late in the third quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Grupe, but Atlanta cut it to 20-17 on a 37-yard touchdown run by Bijan Robinson with 1:01 left in the period. Would the Saints lose a fourth game after leading in the fourth quarter as they did against Philadelphia in week three, Atlanta in week four and Carolina last week?

Not this time. Safety Tyrann Mathieu intercepted Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins at the Saints' 32-yard line with 2:07 to play. Then on Atlanta's last drive, free agent signee Chase Young - virtually invisible most of the season - sacked Cousins for a 9-yard loss after Atlanta reached the Saints' 49 in the final minute. It was his first sack since the Kansas City game on Oct. 7 and third of the season.

It would not have been as nervous an ending had not wide open Saints' running back Alvin Kamara drifted out of character and dropped a sure touchdown pass in full stride with 1:48 left. He more than made up for that, though, with five catches for 54 yards and 55 yards on 17 rushes to become the Saints' all-time leading rusher. He broke Mark Ingram's mark of 6,500 yards and has 6,544.

Rizzi had named Kamara a permanent team captain last week and gave him a game ball after the win. But everybody got one of those.

"The entire building's getting a game ball," Rizzi said. "Everybody was phenomenal - support staff, coaching staff, front office, players, equipment guys. Everybody completely bought in."

Hurts so good

Cameras captured Rizzi nearly unable to stand in the moments after the Saints' win as players held him up. He'll be added to the Saints' injury report with a stinger.

"I yelled at (defensive end) Payton Turner with 30 seconds left, because he's celebrating before the game's over," Rizzi explained. "He's spraying water everywhere, and I ripped his (expletive deleted), quite frankly. So, when the game was over, he wanted to get me back."

Turner playfully pushed Rizzi from behind when the game was over.

"He came up to me, and I wasn't looking, and he jacked me in the back," Rizzi said. "And I've got a history of stingers. My left arm went completely numb, literally. I couldn't feel my arms, so my balance was screwed up."

But he'll take it.

"Besides the stinger, and my left thumb is still coming back, it was awesome," he said. "I've been around college and the NFL a long time. And I've never been more proud of a group — the way that they handled everything."