NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints did their best to channel the 10th anniversary of their emotional, post-Katrina return to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, but the Atlanta Falcons decided to turn a poignant history lesson into a teachable moment Monday night.

The Falcons unleashed an avalanche of offense -- scoring touchdowns on five consecutive drives and adding a field goal on the sixth -- to overpower the Saints 45-32.

Atlanta (2-1) produced 194 rushing yards thanks to the backfield tandem of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, and quarterback Matt Ryan threw two touchdown passes.

Coleman scored touchdowns on runs of 2, 2 and 6 yards, and Freeman accounted for 207 yards from scrimmage with 152 yards on 14 carries and another 55 yards on five receptions.

However, it was rookie linebacker Deion Jones, a New Orleans native, who put the exclamation point on the victory by picking off a tipped Drew Brees pass and racing 90 yards for a touchdown that gave the Falcons a 45-25 lead with 13:37 left.

Brees had just thrown his 305th pass without an interception -- becoming only the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw 300 consecutive passes without a pick -- when cornerback Brian Poole broke on a slant route to tip the ball out of the hands of Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas.

Jones, who played at Jesuit High School in New Orleans but had never played in the Superdome, easily scooped the ball out of the air and outraced everyone, including Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks, to the end zone.

"It was great to be back home and display my talents in front of my family and friends and leave it all out there for my brothers," Jones said. "I wasn't even thinking of scoring. I was just trying not to get caught from behind. Cooks is a pretty fast guy."

Not fast enough.

The Falcons displayed incredible balance. Ryan was 20 of 30 for 240 yards, including a 13-yard swing pass to a wide-open Freeman in the left flat for one score and a 4-yard shovel pass to wide receiver Justin Hardy for another.

"Talk about balance -- we ran the ball really well, threw it efficiently, punched it in the end zone a bunch of times, and the defense had a pick-six," Ryan said. "This is a hard place to get a win, and we did a nice job."

The Falcons made it look so easy they didn't even need much output from wide receiver Julio Jones, who caught just one pass for 16 yards.

That simply opened things up for Coleman and Freeman, who combined for eight catches for 102 yards.

"I've been working real hard on my routes," said Coleman, who had a 34-yard reception. "It's a great feeling to go out there and perform. (Offensive coordinator) Kyle (Shanahan) splits both of us out wide. He just wants to get the ball in our hands to make plays."

The Saints (0-3) led 7-0 early, when Brees engineered an 11-play, 75-yard drive capped by his 2-yard TD pass to tight end Coby Fleener.

When Atlanta got the ball for the first time, the Saints forced a punt, only to have a keystone cops play on special teams. De'Vante Harris was blocking for return man Tommylee Lewis, but he slammed into Lewis, knocking him to the turf, and the ball deflected off Harris' foot for an Atlanta recovery at the New Orleans 11.

Coleman then tied the game at 7 with a 2-yard run.

"It was a terrible play," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "It was a fair catch, and the jammer is going down the field and he has to avoid contact. There were two mistakes. He runs into the returner and then tries to pick up the ball. Our margin for error is too close. Obviously, that was not real smart."

Brees said his pick-six was the result of a great defensive play.

"It was a 14-point swing -- that's how we lost," said Brees, who finished 36 of 54 for 376 yards with three touchdowns and the one interception. "Mike Thomas was coming underneath, and their nickel (Poole) did a nice job of jumping it."

Falcons coach Dan Quinn said he loved the defensive play produced by two rookies.

"They're young and they've got a good connection," Quinn said. "Some of these young guys are showing the veteran players, 'You can count on me.'"

Fleener made seven receptions for 109 yards.

NOTES: Players from both teams formed a circle at midfield and held hands after the national anthem as a show of unity against injustice in America. The idea was initiated earlier in the week by Saints coach Sean Payton, who called Atlanta coach Dan Quinn to set the stage. ... Steve Gleason, who blocked a punt against the Falcons 10 years ago when the Superdome reopened after Hurricane Katrina, was on hand for the coin flip, driving his motorized wheelchair to midfield. Gleason, who has Lou Gehrig's disease, carried his son Rivers, 4, in his lap. ... The Falcons are second in the league in points per game (34.7).