Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The New Orleans Saints beat the Atlanta Falcons 35-27 to go 7-0 for the first time since 1991 and tie the best start to a National Football League season in franchise history.

Drew Brees threw two scoring passes and the Saints had three more touchdowns at the Super Dome in New Orleans to join the Indianapolis Colts as the only undefeated teams after Week 8 of the season.

Michael Turner and Kroy Biermann scored first-quarter touchdowns for the Falcons (4-3), while Pierre Thomas scored on a 22-yard run for New Orleans.

The Saints outscored the Falcons 21-0 in the second quarter on touchdowns by Marques Colston, Reggie Bush and Jabari Greer.

The Falcons cut the deficit to seven points less than four minutes into the fourth quarter when Matt Ryan completed a 68- yard touchdown pass to Roddy White and Jason Elam added a 25- yard field goal.

Thomas then got a second touchdown on a 1-yard pass from Brees with three minutes to play and Elam completed the scoring with a 40-yard field goal with 28 seconds remaining.

Brees completed 25 of 33 passes for 308 yards with one interception, while Ryan finished 19-for-42 for 289 yards and three interceptions.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dex McLuskey in Dallas at dmcluskey@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 3, 2009 00:43 EST