New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill threw the first two touchdown passes of his NFL career as the Saints took a 14-9 halftime lead on the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Hill connected with Tre'Quan Smith on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 7:01 to play in the first quarter and hit tight end Jared Cook with an 11-yard scoring pass with 1:45 to play in the NFC South rivalry game.

The Saints (9-2) are going for their ninth consecutive win, a season sweep of the Falcons (4-7) and are trying to secure a playoff spot for the fourth consecutive season. Hill, 17 of 23 for 145 yards and one TD, looked to star receiver Michael Thomas often (four catches for 45 yards) and running back Alvin Kamara (six carries for 53 yards) had a nice half. Hill also ran four times for 50 yards as the Saints piled up 268 yards of offense while converting six of nine on third down.

The New Orleans defense, top-ranked in the NFL, forced Atlanta into three three-and-outs in its first four possessions and just allowed three field goals from Younghoe Koo (53, 30 and 28 yards).

The Saints will get the ball to start the second half.