NEW ORLEANS — Pierre Thomas proved the Saints can indeed run the football enough to win in the tough NFC South.

Thomas rushed for 102 yards and scored two touchdowns, and New Orleans kept alive it slim playoff hopes with a 29-25 victory over division rival Atlanta today.

Thomas scored his first touchdown on a 7-yard screen early in the fourth quarter. He also scored the winning touchdown on a 5-yard toss sweep, a score he set up with his 88-yard kickoff return after Matt Ryan's 12-yard scramble had given the Falcons a 25-22 lead.

Reggie Bush added 80 yards rushing, including a career-long 43-yard run that set up his 5-yard touchdown catch.

Drew Brees was 18 of 32 for 230 yards and two TDs in one of the most balanced performances by New Orleans' normally pass-heavy offense. New Orleans (7-6) finished with a season-high 184 yards rushing.

Saints coach Sean Payton spent much of the past week trying to answer for the Saints' nearly nonexistent running game in a 23-20 loss at Tampa Bay. New Orleans rushed 18 times for only 44 yards against the Bucs. Payton, who calls the plays, pledged more balance against Atlanta (8-5). In the first quarter alone, New Orleans rushed seven times for 65 yards.

Ryan, meanwhile, was 24-for-33 for 315 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Jason David's interception and 23-yard return to midfield led to Bush's TD in the first quarter.

Ryan connected 10 times with Roddy White, who finished with a career-high 164 yards receiving, including a 59-yard catch in the second quarter that set up Michael Turner's 5-yard touchdown run.

The Saints' defense, bolstered by a court ruling that allowed Will Smith to start at defensive end, limited Turner to 61 yards on 18 carries and held Atlanta to 99 yards rushing as a team.

The court ruling on Friday also allowed Saints running back Deuce McAllister to suit up. The players, and Minnesota defensive tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams, had been suspended for the final four regular-season games for violating the NFL's anti-doping policy. But the NFLPA sued and a judge temporarily blocked the suspensions while the case proceeds.

Smith was in on six tackles, including one for a 5-yard loss. McAllister entered the game early in the second quarter on a third-and-1 play, drawing cheers from the Superdome crowd. The Saints' all-time rusher and touchdown scorer was stopped for no gain, leading to Garrett Hartley's 26-yard field goal for a brief 10-0 lead before Turner's TD.

Hartley added a 46-yard field goal to make it 13-7, but Atlanta responded with a 77-yard drive for a 14-13 lead. Ryan completed five passes for 64 yards, the last a 2-yard pass that Brian Finneran caught acrobatically along the sideline. Payton compounded the damage for New Orleans with a failed challenge, arguing that Finneran didn't have possession before going out of bounds. That left the Saints with no timeouts for the final 2:13 of the half and no challenges for the rest of the game.

The lack of a timeout cost New Orleans, which drove to the Atlanta 7 but had to settle for Hartley's 25-yard field goal on first down because only seconds remained. The kick gave the Saints a 16-14 halftime lead.

Hawaii alum Jason Elam's field goal gave Atlanta a 17-16 edge and was the only scoring during the third quarter. Ryan completed three third-down passes during the drive, including a 26-yarder to White on third-and-21.