Finneran hauled down a 2-yard fade route and got both of his feet down to briefly put the Falcons ahead in the second quarter of Sunday's loss to New Orleans.

Finneran, who missed the past two seasons with knee surgeries, had not scored a touchdown since Nov. 6, 2006, when he hauled in an 11-yard pass from Michael Vick.

"It felt good to get back in the end zone," said Finneran, who caught two passes for 8 yards. "I had one-on-one coverage. Matt [Ryan] did a great job of allowing me to be able to go up and catch it."

Ryan didn't hesitate on the throw to Finneran.

"He's worked so hard to come back from everything he's had to come back from over the last two years in terms of rehabbing his knees," Ryan said. "It was big for him to score today."

Finneran's other catch converted a third down.

After watching the past two seasons, Finneran is elated to be contributing to the Falcons playoff push.

"We are still in the hunt for the playoffs, we realize it," Finnneran said.

"To put this in perspective, we have to win our next few games. These guys will bounce back. We've done it before, we'll do it again."

No fast start

The Falcons entered the game leading the league with 94 points scored in the first quarter. They were also 6-0 when they scored on their opening drive.

The Falcons started a promising first drive against the Saints that was stopped by an interception.

The Falcons drove down to New Orleans' 26-yard line before Saints cornerback Jason David intercepted a Ryan pass intended Roddy White.

New Orleans went on to take a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

"It's something that we've prided ourselves on, fast starts, and we did not start as fast as we have throughout the season," Falcons coach Mike Smith said.

Abraham sackless

Defensive end John Abraham did not get any sacks, but he kept the heat on Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

He did draw a penalty on Saints left tackle Jammal Brown.

"We had to play from behind, and then when we got up, what we needed to do was get the offense back on the field, which we didn't do," Abraham said.

Abraham expects he'll have to work to get the young defense refocused for the stretch run.

"We have to stay confident and stay on pace," Abraham said. "We can't get this game back. We still have three games. We still have to try to fight our way to the playoffs. It's still within our reach if we win out."

Roster moves

Defensive ends Rob Ninkovich and Terrius George, signed by the Saints this week to take the place of their suspended players, were given roster exemptions to stay with the team through Monday but were not considered part of the active roster.

Defensive end Will Smith and running back Deuce McAllister, the players who were reinstated for the game, were not major factors. Smith did make a big tackle for a loss.

Jenkins catches

Wide receiver Michael Jenkins made a couple of spectacular catches Sunday afternoon.

On one slant pattern, he appeared to catch the back of the ball on a throw from Ryan.

Jenkins finished with five catches for 69 yards, his second-highest total of the season.

"Michael Jenkins had a big game again," Ryan said.

Turner stopped

Running back Michael Turner, whose injured right thumb appeared to affect him on an early dropped pass, was held to 61 yards rushing on 18 carries.

He had carried the ball at least 24 times in each of the past five games.

For the second game in a row, all four running backs --- Turner, Ovie Mughelli, Jason Snelling and Jerious Norwood --- ran the ball from scrimmage.

Turner did add his team-record tying 14th rushing touchdown of the season. He's tied with Jamal Anderson, who set the Falcons season mark in 1998.