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Saints hold on, defeat Falcons in Payton's return

NEW ORLEANS -- Drew Brees passed for 357 yards and two scores as New Orleans held on for a 23-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons to give Saints coach Sean Payton a triumphant return from his bounty ban.

On NFL Network
NFL Replay
will re-air the New Orleans Saints' 23-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons from Week 1 on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Brees connected with Marques Colston for a 25-yard touchdown pass, during which the receiver also set a franchise mark for catches with 533. Brees also hit tight end Jimmy Graham for a 7-yard score in the third quarter.

Roman Harper intercepted a tipped fourth-down pass in the end zone with under a minute left.

Matt Ryan passed for 304 yards and tossed touchdown passes to Tony Gonzalez and Julio Jones. Ryan also drove Atlanta to the Saints' 3-yard line in the final minute before falling just short.

Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press

Relive Drew Brees' performance against the Falcons with NFL Game Rewind

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