Deuce Is Worth Two

Rookie Deuce McAllister doesn’t get a lot of chances to touch the ball. He made the most of them Sunday.

McAllister threw one pass. Touchdown. He took one handoff. Touchdown.

McAllister’s two scores and a dominating performance by the New Orleans defense lifted the Saints to a 28-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

“Whenever you get a chance to score,” McAllister said, “you’ve got to take advantage of your opportunities.”

Cheered on by thousands of gold-clad fans who turned up at the Georgia Dome, New Orleans (7-5) came up with a critical victory in the NFC wild-card race.

The Falcons (6-6) have dropped two in a row at home, crippling their playoff hopes. Atlanta is 2-5 at the Georgia Dome this season.

New Orleans was clinging to a 14-10 lead when Aaron Brooks threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Joe Horn with 12:20 left in the game.

McAllister, with his lone carry of the day, finished off the Falcons when he broke free up the middle for a 54-yard touchdown with 8:16 to go--the first touchdown of his career.

McAllister wound up with more yards on one play than starter Ricky Williams, who was held to 41 yards on 15 carries.

The rookie also threw his first touchdown pass, a 12-yarder from the halfback position for the Saints’ opening score. Brooks rolled left and made an option-like pitch to his running back, who flipped a pass to Willie Jackson diving in the end zone.

“It was a play we put in earlier this week,” McAllister said. “We were close to throwing it out of the playbook. They didn’t think I could do it.”

The Falcons couldn’t do much of anything against the Saints, who took offense at the way Atlanta gloated after winning at New Orleans on Oct. 21. Chris Chandler was sacked nine times and Maurice Smith was held to seven yards on 12 carries.

“We wanted to pay these guys back,” said defensive tackle Norman Hand. “The stuff they said about dominating us hung up all week on our bulletin board.”