Matt Ryan’s last and longest of several deep completions spared the Atlanta Falcons from another infamous collapse.

Ryan hit Cordarrelle Patterson for a 64-yard gain with a minute left to set up Younghoe Koo’s 29-yard field goal as time expired, and Atlanta defeated mistake-prone New Orleans on Sunday after allowing the Saints to wipe out an 18-point, fourth-quarter deficit.

“We just like to give our fans a heart attack, just keep them on their toes to make sure they’re paying attention,” Patterson joked. “We wanted to put them away early, but it’s the Saints; they’ve got a great team over there. They fought till the end. We did a better job. We got the win, that’s all that matters.”

Also Read: NFL: Here is why Aaron Rodgers has not yet taken the COVID vaccine

Ryan passed for 343 yards, connected twice with Olamide Zaccheaus for touchdowns, and the veteran quarterback also ran for a score on a bootleg as the Falcons (4-4) snapped the Saints’ three-game winning streak and prevented New Orleans (5-3) from moving into a tie with Tampa Bay (6-2) atop the NFC South.

“I felt good after that one,” Ryan said. “I was excited. We needed to make a play. We needed to win that game. I’m proud of the guys for getting the job done.”

Ryan’s second scoring pass gave the Falcons a 24-6 lead with 10:39 left in the fourth quarter. But the Saints rallied to briefly take the lead on Trevor Siemian’s 8-yard pass to Kenny Stills with 1:01 left.

Also read: NFL: Detroit Lions winless in eight games, fearing to reach lows of 2008 season

New Orleans then missed a 2-point conversion try for the second time in the game, leaving the door open for the Falcons to win with a field goal.

“We got it going but it was too little, too late,” Siemian said. “You can’t spot a team that many scores. I knew there was a lot of time left and the game wasn’t over when we scored at the end. You were still holding your breath a little bit.”