Saints 23, Falcons 17: Drew Brees threw for 357 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Roman Harper intercepted Matt Ryan in the end zone on fourth down in the final minute as host New Orleans beat Atlanta for the 12th time in the past 15 meetings.

Ryan was 25-of-38 for 304 yards and two touchdowns and quickly led the Falcons (0-1) down the field on the potential game-winning drive in the fourth but couldn't punch it in. New Orleans' much-improved defense came up with a goal-line stand, stopping the Falcons twice from the 3 and preserving the win when rookie Kenny Vaccaro broke up Ryan's pass for Tony Gonzalez and Harper snagged it out of the air.

The Saints (1-0) rolled up 419 total yards in the return of head coach Sean Payton, who served a league-mandated suspension for the 2012 season for his role in New Orleans' Bountygate controversy.

Atlanta grabbed an early 10-0 lead on Ryan's 7-yard touchdown pass to Gonzalez and a 23-yard Matt Bryant field goal, but Brees threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Marques Colston between a pair of Garrett Hartley field goals as New Orleans stormed back for a 13-10 halftime lead.

Ryan and Brees traded touchdown passes in the third quarter, and the Saints had a chance to put it away earlier in the fourth quarter but had to settle for a 22-yard Hartley field goal - his third of the game- with 3:12 to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Brees has thrown two or more touchdown passes in four consecutive games and 13 of his last 15. … Falcons RB Steven Jackson rushed for 77 yards on 11 carries and had five catches for 45 yards, but dropped a pass over the middle on third-and-goal from the 3 on the final series. … Atlanta's Harry Douglas caught four passes for 93 yards.