Grady Jarrett and an unusually menacing Falcons defensive front repeatedly pulled Drew Brees to the Superdome turf and proved Saints coach Sean Payton right.

The records really didn't matter in this matchup of NFC South Division rivals - as Payton had insisted days earlier.

Sacking Brees six times and holding New Orleans without a touchdown, the Falcons ended their six-game slide with a 26-9 victory over the Saints on Sunday that ended New Orleans' six-game winning streak.

"It felt really good and encouraging and motivating," said Jarrett, who had a team-leading two and half sacks. "It was like you want to get more and more, you know? So we've got to build off of this performance, definitely."

It was a stunning improvement for a Falcons' defense that came in with an NFL low of seven sacks. It happened against a Saints offensive line that had allowed 12 sacks through their first eight games.

"We didn't play well enough to win today, really, against anybody," Payton said.

Matt Ryan, returning from an ankle injury that sidelined him in the game before the Falcons' Week 9 bye, was 20 of 35 for 182 yards and two touchdowns.

"Winning is always a good tonic, regardless of how the season is going," Ryan said. "Obviously, our backs are against a wall with where we put ourselves at this point in the season. I'm proud of the way that we've taken that first step."

Ryan's first touchdown went for 8 yards to tight end Austin Hooper in the second quarter and his second to running back Brian Hill in the fourth quarter to put Atlanta (2-7) in front 20-9.

That was more than enough with the Falcons' defense frustrating first-place New Orleans (7-2) throughout.

"For them to hold a really good New Orleans offense to just three field goals is impressive," Ryan said. "A good team effort across the board and certainly one we needed."

Defensive end Vic Beasley Jr. had one and a half sacks. Fellow end Adrian Clayborn and linebacker De'Vondre Campbell each had one.

The Saints had not been held without a touchdown at home with Brees running the offense since the record-setting QB joined New Orleans in 2006. But it was the second time this season the Saints had not found the end zone at home - the first a 12-10 victory over Dallas with backup Teddy Bridgewater filling in for a then-injured Brees.

"They played better than us," Payton said. "This league is too good week-to-week where you can go in and not be focused and ready."

Cook leads Vikings to 28-24 prime-time road win over Cowboys

Dalvin Cook did plenty in the running game.

The NFL rushing leader from Minnesota might have had his biggest plays in the passing game while easily outshining two-time rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott.

Cook ran for 97 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown on fourth down on the final play of the third quarter, and had 86 yards receiving that boosted three other scoring drives, leading the Vikings over the Dallas Cowboys 28-24 on Sunday night.

Cook's 183 scrimmage yards gave him the league lead in that category as well at 1,415 as the Vikings (7-3) beat a winning team on the road for the first time in almost two years. Minnesota was 0-9-1 in its previous 10 such games.

"Dalvin handled everything great," coach Mike Zimmer said. "He played outstanding. Had some unbelievable runs, tough, competitive runs. I think Dalvin believes that he's really good. I believe that too."

Amari Cooper had the most circus catches on a night full of them for both teams, including a toe-tapping TD for Dallas' only lead in the third quarter.

Kirk Cousins threw for two touchdown passes, both to Kyle Rudolph, for just his second victory in nine prime-time road games.

But Minnesota's offensive star was Cook, who set up the first two Minnesota touchdowns for a 14-0 lead with catches of 27 and 29 yards on screens and got a first down with an 8-yarder early on the third scoring drive.

"We thought it was going to be a challenge to get some explosive screens and get some explosive runs in this game to have a chance, and I think we checked those two boxes," Cousins said. "That's a big reason why we're standing here with a win instead of a loss."

Elliott had 47 yards on 20 carries after three straight 100-yard games as the Cowboys (5-4) fell into a first-place tie with Philadelphia in the NFC East.

"From the standpoint of numbers, from the standpoint of where you stand, this was a big game for us, and it's going to make it that much harder to get where we want to go," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said.

Despite throwing for 397 yards and three touchdowns, Prescott lost to Cousins for the first time after going 4-0 against the former Washington quarterback as a division rival.

"We had to make them be one-dimensional," Zimmer said. "I wish we had played better in pass defense than what we did. I thought we did a really good job with our run fits and the way that we tackled."

Cousins, who had 220 yards passing, beat the Cowboys for the second time in eight tries as the Vikings kept pace in the NFC North, a game behind division-leading Green Bay.

Trailing by four in the final two minutes, the Cowboys had a first down at the Minnesota 19 but insisted on continuing to force the ball to Elliott when the Vikings had made it clear they were stopping him first.

Two runs netted minus-3 yards, and the Cowboys went to Elliott again on fourth down even though it was a pass. Linebacker Eric Kendricks broke up the sideline throw to Elliott, a dual threat like Cook but not on this night. He had two catches for 16 yards.

The Cowboys got the ball back with 17 seconds left, but Jayron Kearse intercepted Prescott's desperation pass from near midfield in the end zone.

Dallas was down by four because of settling for a field goal and a 28-24 deficit after having a first down at the Minnesota 6. Another smothered run by Elliott was followed by two incompletions.

Other games on Sunday included (home teams in bold):

Detroit Lions 13-20 Chicago Bears

Baltimore Ravens 49-13 Cincinnati Bengals

Buffalo Bills 16-19 Cleveland Browns

New York Giants 27-34 New York Jets

Arizona Cardinals 27-30 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Kansas City Chiefs 32-35 Tennessee Titans

Miami Dolphins 16-12 Indianapolis Colts

Carolina Panthers 16-24 Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Rams 12-17 Pittsburgh Steelers