NEW ORLEANS -- Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi came to his postgame news conference still trying to get the feeling back in his left hand after his first win as an NFL coach.
Rizzi and the Saints (3-7) were so excited to break a seven-game losing streak on Sunday that he was accidentally pushed in the back a little too enthusiastically by defensive end Payton Turner. It flared up an old injury to Rizzi's left shoulder and arm, causing his arm to go numb and throwing off his balance as he stumbled into Turner amid a crowd of celebrating players.
"I wasn't looking, he jacked me in the back and I got a history of stingers," Rizzi said after the game. So, my left arm, I'm completely numb. Literally went completely numb ... I'm like, 'Thanks a lot, Payton.' So, I'm fine, I'm fine. I got a little C5, C6 going for years. I sound like the old guy."
That was one of many "surreal" moments for the 54-year-old Rizzi, whose first game as coach came in the wake of Dennis Allen's dismissal on Monday. The Saints broke their longest losing streak since 1999 with a 20-17 win against the Atlanta Falcons and won their first game since Sept. 15.
"There was moments today where I'm almost forgetting, I'm just going through my routine and I'm kind of forgetting that I'm the head coach a couple times," Rizzi said.
"There's plenty of stuff to get corrected. But yeah, it is certainly a little surreal to see how happy the players were in the locker room. The celebration was awesome."
Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo missed three kicks, including one that was blocked by the Saints.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, signed on Oct. 21, became the first Saints player to have two touchdowns and more than 100 receiving yards in one half since Brandin Cooks in 2016. Tyrann Mathieu had a fourth-quarter interception for New Orleans, and defensive end Chase Young essentially sealed the victory by sacking Kirk Cousins with 41 seconds left.
Saints running back Alvin Kamara, who broke Mark Ingram's franchise rushing record of 6,500 yards, said it felt like the team "got its swag back" this week. Kamara finished with 55 rushing yards and 54 receiving yards on Sunday, while New Orleans quarterback Derek Carr had a season-high 269 passing yards in his second game back from an oblique injury.
"It was culmination of a lot of things. It was energy. It was belief," Kamara said. "I think everybody was accountable to each other. And we haven't had that; it hasn't been there. Like I've been saying these past couple of weeks, we all want to win. The recipe, it was just missing something, and I feel like we got that thing. Rizzi came in and he had a clear message for us. He told us this is what we have to do to win. He gave us the recipe, he gave us the formula, and everybody bought in throughout the week."
Rizzi made Kamara one of the 2024 team captains this week, joining Carr, center Erik McCoy, defensive end Cameron Jordan, Mathieu, linebacker Demario Davis, safety J.T. Gray and long snapper Zach Wood. The coach also gave Kamara a game ball following the win, and Rizzi received one himself in the locker room from the team.
"Derek made a nice little speech in there. I got a game ball. And I gave a game ball to AK. And as I said in there, AK's game ball is an all-time game ball. My game ball was a first-time game ball. But the entire building's getting the game ball this week," Rizzi said. "Everybody was phenomenal.
"Never heard anybody [complain]. Just everybody from day one bought in, and so the whole building is getting the game ball."
Saints defensive end Khalen Saunders, one of the players who expressed his frustration on X after a loss to the Carolina Panthers last week, gave credit to Rizzi for his enthusiasm and energy, saying it carried over to the players. When asked how it felt to win a game after almost two months, Saunders said, "This is how a locker room is supposed to feel."
"Especially when you've got a team like this," he added. "This is how it's supposed to be, and this didn't surprise anybody here. We've just got to continue to put this product out week after week."
The Saints will host the Cleveland Browns next Sunday and attempt to secure their first winning streak since Weeks 1 and 2.
"I really didn't know how it was going to be coming here today -- and great crowd, great energy. And then just to see the fans in the beginning of the game and then to see 'em as I'm walking off at the end. I mean, that was great," Rizzi said. "I said earlier in the week, the city should be pissed off. The fans should be pissed off. And they know what a winner looks like, and they weren't winning football and the goal all week was to do that -- and so happy we delivered. Now, let's see ... if we can duplicate that week after week. But certainly a great story."