NFL game summary for 09/02/1979:

Rookie James Mayberry intercepted a pass by New Orleans punter Russell Erxleben and returned it six yards for a touchdown to give Atlanta an overtime victory. Atlanta's winning score came 8:22 into overtime when a snap from center sailed over Erxleben's head and landed inside New Orleans' 5 yard line. Erxleben recovered the ball and tried a desperation pass that was intercepted by Mayberry. Atlanta quarterback Steve Bartkowski completed 22 of 38 passes for a club record 312 yards and three touchdowns.

Line: Saints by 5

Team	1	2	3	4	OT	F
Atlanta Falcons (1-0-0)	0	20	7	7	6	40
New Orleans Saints (0-1-0)	7	21	3	3	0	34

( 0- 7) NO  Ike Harris 5 yard pass from Archie Manning (Russell Erxleben kick)
( 0-14) NO  Wes Chandler 40 yard pass from Chuck Muncie (Russell Erxleben kick)
( 3-14) ATL Tim Mazzetti 27 yard field goal
(10-14) ATL Alfred Jenkins 20 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick)
(10-21) NO  Chuck Muncie 69 yard rush (Russell Erxleben kick)
(17-21) ATL Wallace Francis 20 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick)
(17-28) NO  Chuck Muncie 4 yard rush (Russell Erxleben kick)
(20-28) ATL Tim Mazzetti 43 yard field goal
(20-31) NO  Russell Erxleben 37 yard field goal
(27-31) ATL Wallace Francis 21 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick)
(34-31) ATL William Andrews 4 yard rush (Tim Mazzetti kick)
(34-34) NO  Russell Erxleben 38 yard field goal
(40-34) ATL James Mayberry 6 yard interception return 

                     ATL             NO
First Downs:         35              23
Rushes-yards:        47-257          32-188
Yards/rush:          5.5             5.9
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     22-38-312-1     15-31-324-2
Sacked-yards:        2-17            0-0
Net pass yards:      295             324
Net yards/pass:      7.4             10.5
Total net yards:     552             512
Total plays:         87 (54% run)    63 (50% run)  
Yards/play:          6.3             8.1
Fumbles-lost:        1-1             0-0
Turnovers:           2               2
Penalties-yards:     7-84            3-27

Attendance: 70,940

Passing:
ATL: Steve Bartkowski, 22 of 38 for 312 yards and 3 TDs (1 int)
NO: Archie Manning, 14 of 29 for 284 yards and 1 TD (1 int); Chuck Muncie, 1 of 1 for 40 yards and 1 TD; Russell Erxleben, 0 of 1 for 0 yards (1 int)

Rushing:
ATL: William Andrews, 30 for 167 yards and 1 TD; Bubba Bean, 14 for 65 yards; Steve Bartkowski, 2 for 19 yards; Haskel Stanback, 1 for 6 yards
NO: Chuck Muncie, 22 for 161 yards and 2 TDs; Tony Galbreath, 10 for 27 yards

Receiving:
ATL: Alfred Jenkins, 7 for 131 yards and 1 TD; Wallace Francis, 5 for 65 yards and 2 TDs; Bubba Bean, 3 for 43 yards; William Andrews, 3 for 22 yards; Alfred Jackson, 2 for 38 yards; Dennis Pearson, 1 for 10 yards; Jim Mitchell, 1 for 3 yards
NO: Wes Chandler, 6 for 205 yards and 1 TD; Ike Harris, 5 for 68 yards and 1 TD; Henry Childs, 4 for 51 yards

Kick returns:
ATL: Dennis Pearson, 7 for 115 yards; Lynn Cain, 1 for 5 yards
NO: Wes Chandler, 3 for 67 yards; Rich Mauti, 2 for 35 yards; Jack Holmes, 1 for 18 yards

Punt returns:
ATL: Billy Ryckman, 2 for 16 yards; Dennis Pearson, 1 for 6 yards
NO: Wes Chandler, 2 for 14 yards

Interceptions:
ATL: James Mayberry, 1 for 6 yards and 1 TD; Frank Reed, 1 for 0 yards
NO: Tom Myers, 1 for 14 yards

Punting:
ATL: John James, 4 for 144 yards
NO: Russell Erxleben, 4 for 148 yards

Field Goals:
ATL: Tim Mazzetti, 2/3
NO: Russell Erxleben, 2/2

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