Eight days after rallying from a 21-point deficit at Miami to keep their perfect record intact, the Saints withstood a furious second-half rally by the Atlanta Falcons to remain unblemished with a 35-27 victory at the Superdome.

The result improved the Saints' record to 7-0, matching the franchise's best start and leaving New Orleans in step with the Indianapolis Colts (7-0) as the NFL's only remaining unbeaten teams. It also gave the Saints a commanding three-game lead in the NFC South over the second-place Falcons (4-3).

"We did a lot of things well, but also made a lot of mistakes that made it close at the end that we'll have to correct," Saints head coach Sean Payton said. "It wasn't perfect. It wasn't clean."

BOX SCORE: Saints 35, Falcons 27

It also wasn't secured until Tracy Porter's goal-line interception in the fourth quarter was followed by a patented 81-yard touchdown drive by the NFL's highest-scoring offense, which was capped by Pierre Thomas' somersault into the end zone on a 1-yard reception with 3:03 remaining that gave the Saints a 35-24 lead.

That Thomas finished the 11-play drive seemed fitting. Earlier in the quarter, Thomas fumbled on a third-and-1 run, with the recovery by Stephen Nicholas positioning Atlanta for a go-ahead drive starting at the Saints 35.

But Porter's pickoff of a Matt Ryan pass intended for Tony Gonzalez snuffed that threat and quickly changed the momentum. Atlanta had used Ryan's 68-yard TD pass to Roddy White and a 25-yard Jason Elam field goal to pull to within four points early in the fourth quarter.

Elam's kick came after the Falcons had apparently tied the score on White's 7-yard TD catch, but the touchdown was wiped off the board after Payton challenged and won an instant replay review.

Atlanta actually stayed in the game until the end, getting a 40-yard field goal from Elam with 28 seconds remaining, then the Falcons recovered an onside kick. Ryan threw up a Hail Mary pass in the final seconds, but Darren Sharper intercepted the ball near the goal line.

The pick was Sharper's seventh of the season and the Saints' 16th, surpassing their total of 15 from 2008.

The loss spoiled Falcons running back Michael Turner's best game of the season. He rushed for 151 yards and a 13-yard touchdown.

The fourth-quarter ebb and flow epitomized the game's drama. Atlanta took 7-0 and 14-7 leads — the latter coming on Kroy Biermann's 4-yard TD return of a Brees fumble — but the Saints and their quick-strike offense didn't flinch.

By halftime, the Saints seemed poised to chalk up a blowout after scoring 14 points in a 23-second flurry just before the intermission. After Reggie Bush capped an 80-yard drive with a 1-yard TD jog, Jabari Greer intercepted Ryan on the ensuing series and scored on a 48-yard return that extended the lead to 28-14.

It was New Orleans' fifth interception return for a touchdown this season, tying a franchise record. Ryan was intercepted three times overall, his third game in a row with at least two picks.

But there was no second-half cruise control. Just more drama.

"I'm excited to win this game and get to 7-0," Payton said. "It was an important game against a division team, and I'm proud of our players. They fought."

Enlarge By Matt Bush, The Hattiesburg American Pierre Thomas flips into the end zone as the Saints improved their record to 7-0 on Monday.