Falcons Come Up With a Reverse to Beat Saints, 31-10

Atlanta quarterback Dave Archer said his team ignored conventional football wisdom and it worked just fine in the Falcons’ 31-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints Sunday.

Conventional wisdom says that teams should first establish a running game and that will open the passing game.

“We reversed things,” Archer said. “We established the pass first and then the run.”

Archer, who completed 13 of 16 passes for 207 yards before giving way to backup Turk Schonert in the fourth quarter, threw for two touchdowns--17 yards to wide receiver Charlie Brown in the first quarter and 19 yards to Anthony Allen in the fourth quarter.

Archer’s first play from scrimmage was a 36-yard completion to Brown, and the Falcons quarterback went back to the long pass repeatedly throughout the day.

“We intended to throw deep early,” Archer said. “We knew we’d be in a battle and we won the battle today.”

Cliff Austin, who started in place of Gerald Riggs at running back for Atlanta, had the best game in his four-year career with 104 yards in 27 carries. He ran one yard for a second-quarter touchdown. Riggs, who held out for 43 days in a contract dispute before returning last Wednesday, gained 69 yards with one touchdown.

William Andrews, who suffered what many thought would be a career-ending knee injury before the 1984 season, saw his first regular-season action in two years for the Falcons and finished with 28 yards in 5 carries.

The Saints’ scores came on a 47-yard field goal by Morten Andersen with just over a minute remaining before the first half and a one-yard run by Dalton Hilliard with eight seconds left in the game. Hilliard carried most of the burden of the Saints’ running game, getting 51 yards in 15 carries.

Bobby Hebert completed only 13 passes in 34 attempts for the Saints. He accounted for just 133 yards and threw 2 interceptions.

The loss spoiled the NFL coaching debut of Jim Mora.