ATLANTA -- The New Orleans Saints have won plenty of games with their dazzling offence. Kyrie Irving Shoes For Sale . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. "Were rolling and we cant stop," said Cameron Jordan, who led the way as New Orleans sacked Atlantas Matt Ryan five times. "Weve got to get better." Brees threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham and a 1-yarder to Benjamin Waton, giving the first-place Saints (9-2) a sweep of the season series with their NFC South rivals. Atlanta (2-9) dropped its fifth straight game, clinched its first losing season since 2007 and was officially eliminated from the division race with five weeks remaining. The Falcons had a chance to pull off the upset, driving to the Saints 29 with less than 3 minutes to go. But New Orleans turned up the pressure on Ryan, Atlanta missed a long field goal, and the Saints ran off all but the last 5 seconds. New Orleans also forced a crucial fumble early in the fourth quarter. Keyunta Dawson stripped the ball from Falcons rookie receiver Darius Johnson, and Corey White fell on it at the Saints 13. "We knew coming here was going to be a challenge," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "The two teams, the history, regardless of the record it has always been a close game, and tonight was no exception." The Georgia Dome rocked with chants of "Who Dat! Who Dat!" as the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Saints ensuring they will remain alone atop the NFC South and just one game behind Seattle for home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. New Orleans will face the Seahawks on Dec. 2 in what shapes up as one of the biggest games of the year. "The identity of the team is still developing," said Jordan, who was credited with 2 1/2 sacks. The Falcons had hoped to salvage a bit of pride in this lost season, driving from their own 9 -- actually, the 3 after Ryan was sacked -- to the Saints 29. But Ryan was sacked again by Jordan and hurried into a pair of incompletions. As the crowd groaned, the Falcons surprisingly sent on Matt Bryant to attempt a 52-yard field goal. He knocked one through, but the Saints called timeout just before the snap. His next try sailed wide of the left upright. Brees and the offence took it from there, assuring Atlanta had time for only one desperate play at the end. "We responded to momentum changes and some adversity in the football game," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "But it was still not good enough. If you dont win, its not good enough." Brees was 23 of 33 for 278 yards. Ryan was 30 of 39 for 297 yards, but Atlantas offence produced only one touchdown -- the fourth time that has happened during its current skid. The Falcons, who had been outscored 135-61 over their previous four games, put together an impressive drive on their opening possession. Steven Jackson carried it five times for 24 yards, the last of them a dive into the end zone on third-and-goal at the Saints 1 to give Atlanta its first lead in nearly a month. The Falcons had gone nearly 15 quarters -- almost four full games -- since being up 3-0 over Arizona early in Week 8. The advantage didnt last long. Brees guided a 15-play, 78-yard drive in which the Saints converted five straight times on third down, including Watsons leaping catch in the back of the end zone. Bryant put the Falcons back ahead with the first of his two field goals, a 39-yarder early in the second quarter, but New Orleans grabbed the lead for good when Graham slipped behind the secondary and hauled in his long touchdown. He celebrated by dunking over the goalpost and hung on the crossbar for extra emphasis, and ended up bending the post. As the Saints lined up to attempt the extra point, the officials noticed the crooked uprights, leading to a brief delay as a worker came out with a ladder to straighten the bar. The Falcons got in position to recapture the lead, driving to the New Orleans 10. On third-and-goal, Ryan couldnt find an open receiver and took off running, briefly spotting a path to the end zone. But the Saints closed in quickly, prompting Ryan to slide down at the 6 rather than risk an injury. Some Atlanta fans booed as Matty Ice trotted off the field. Atlanta settled for another field goal from 24 yards and trailed 14-13 at the half. The Falcons got no closer. The only points of the second half came on Garrett Hartleys 41-yard field goal. NOTES: Graham had five receptions for 100 yards. ... Saints DE Akiem Hicks had 1 1/2 sacks. ... Falcons CB Desmond Trufant went out in the first half with a thigh injury, but returned to the game after halftime. ... Jackson had 63 yards on 16 carries for Atlanta. Wholesale Kyrie Irving Shoes . -- Andy Granatelli, the former CEO of STP motor oil company who made a mark on motorsports as a car owner, innovator and entrepreneur, has died. Kyrie Irving Shoes From China . Pinch-hitter Tommy Medica singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in their first home game since Gwynn died of cancer Monday. https://www.cheapshoeskyrieirving.com/ . Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone dismissed Tuesdays massive anti-government protest in Manama as "a lot of kids having a go at the police." "I dont think its anything serious at all," Ecclestone was quoted as saying in The Guardian newspaper on Wednesday.PHILADELPHIA -- Trade talk mostly fizzled at the NHL draft. "It just seemed to me there were a lot of phone calls, a lot of talking, people interested, but nothing really happened," Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray said. Aside from Ryan Kesler getting dealt before proceedings got underway and then James Neal a few hours later, the weekend passed without much major action. One small trade -- the Calgary Flames getting Brandon Bollig from the Chicago Blackhawks for a third-round pick -- looked like a preview of many more to come as cap-strapped teams try to get under the US$69 million ceiling set for next season. "Its a puzzle to put together and try to make all the numbers work," Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said Saturday. "Thats clearly the biggest factor youre faced with when you have salary cap being what it is. Youre going to have some tough decisions. Were not the only team thats in that position. There will be other teams that face the same things." Without naming names, Bowman was describing the plight of the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers, along with his Blackhawks, who almost certainly have to make sacrifices just to be cap-compliant. In the Bruins case, it might mean saying goodbye to Jarome Iginla, a 61-point player and a major piece of their Presidents Trophy-winning season. "If we cant sign Jarome, were going to find a good player at that position," Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said Friday night. "We feel all our young guys and our current players are going to get better." Its unclear what else the Bruins might have to do with forwards Reilly Smith, Jordan Caron and Justin Florek and defenceman Torrey Krug and Matt Bartkowski needing new deals as restricted free agents. According to CapGeek, Boston has just over $1.6 million to spend. The Flyers, technically over the cap by a couple hundred thousand dollars, have some room with defenceman Chris Pronger bound for long-term injured reserve. But theyre still reportedly shopping Vincent Lecavalier to rid themselves of at least part of his $4.5 million cap hit for the next four seasons. Chicago managed to part with Bolligs $1.25-million cap hit but might have to clear more salary to fiill out the roster. Kyrie Irving Shoes Deals. Enter the likes of the Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres, teams with salary-cap space to take on salary. Oilers GM Craig MacTavish knows players wont be given away, but talent should be available. "Were in a pretty enviable position to be able to take on some of those contracts," MacTavish said Friday night. "Those are really the style of deals that weve looked to make over the last little while where we give up a few assets, take the contract and the cap space, so well be trying to do some of that." That was part of what went into the Flames trading for Bollig, who just signed a contract extension in March. When the cap was set at $69 million, it was at least $1 million, if not more, less than GMs were hoping for. "Weve been looking at situations with the cap where people that may have difficulty or be in a situation where they had to move money," Flames GM Brad Treliving said. Sabres GM Tim Murray implied that hed be willing to accept expensive contracts, but only if he gets an asset like a draft pick in return. "I tried to make a big trade today, a unique trade," Murray said Saturday. "I said, We got to do like the NBA. So I went to a team and said, You trade me your first pick from yesterday. He didnt want to be the first guy to do that. So Im not sure I did, either. But I thought it was a good idea." There could be a market for those NBA-style deals if GMs determine the cap space gained is worth it. More likely, teams up against the $69 million limit will be getting partial value on current players to clear room to manoeuvre when unrestricted free agency opens Tuesday. Plenty of money will get handed out then, and the teams that dont have the space to do it will be forced to rely on younger players to fill the void. Bowman, who has gone through this during two Stanley Cup runs, called it just the continuation of the development cycle. "Its a constant process of finding guys who will be able to fill those roles," he said. "Its a never-ending game. Thats the state of the game today. But you have to find players, whether theyre free agents or like today draft picks and work with making it to the point where they can be NHL contributors." ' ' '