Rizzi leads Saints to end 7-game losing streak after beating Falcons ( player1688 )

( player1688 ) Darren Rizzi was pleased to lead the New Orleans Saints to a 7-game losing streak over the Atlanta Falcons. ( player1688 )

New Orleans Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi ended a seven-game losing streak after leading the Saints to a 20-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday after being promoted to the head coach position following the firing of Dennis Allen, NFL Network reports.

‘It’s been an incredible week,’ Rizzi said. ‘As I just told the players, this wouldn’t have happened, this wouldn’t have happened today, without the full support of the team. You’ve all reported on all the changes, and that’s good, but the support, the execution, the preparation, I just told them, there’s no substitute for good preparation, and we had a really good week of training.’

The Saints got off to a hot start, scoring 17 points on three of four possessions in the first half, driving 93 yards on their first possession, although the drive ended with a fumble at the Falcons’ 6-yard line. 

Saints quarterback Derek Carr, who is recovering from an injury, completed 16 of 25 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns, while wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling had three catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Alvin Kamara rushed 17 times for 55 yards and caught five passes for 54 yards. 

Meanwhile, Falcons QB Kirk Cousins, who had a good season, completed 23 of 38 passes for 306 yards, no touchdowns, and threw an interception to Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu with 2:07 left. 

“I’m very proud,” Rizzi said. “As I just told the team, I’ve been in this business for a long time, both in college and in the NFL. I’ve never been more proud of this team. Because when things don’t get better, it’s easy to say, ‘Let’s make money off the team.’ And nobody did that this week.” 

‘That’s where my day starts. I go down to the Superdome. I go into the head coach’s locker room, which I’ve never used before. So I’m here early in the morning. I go to the bathroom. That’s where my day starts.’ ( player1688 )