Former Montana State star Troy Andersen scores first NFL TD with interception return vs. Saints

ATLANTA — Former Montana State standout and Atlanta Falcons linebacker Troy Andersen scored his first NFL touchdown Sunday with an interception return in a game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes Benz Stadium.

On a second-and-9 play midway through the second quarter, Andersen intercepted a tipped pass from Saints quarterback Derek Carr at the 47-yard line, broke to his left and raced down the sideline for a touchdown to give Atlanta a 17-14 lead.

Carr's pass was initially tipped at the line by fellow linebacker Matthew Judon and the ball fell into the arms of Andersen, who outraced Saints receiver Chris Olave to the end zone. It was also Andersen's first career interception.

Andersen, an alum of Beaverhead High School in Dillon, is in his third NFL season, all with the Falcons. He was a second-round pick of Atlanta (58th overall) in the 2022 draft.

The versatile Andersen starred at Montana State from 2017-21, playing running back, quarterback and linebacker.

He was the Big Sky Conference's freshman of the year in 2017, was first-team All-Big Sky at quarterback in 2018, and then was first-team All-Big Sky and a first-team All-American at linebacker in 2019.

Andersen was the Big Sky's defensive player of the year and the FCS ADA national defensive player of the year at linebacker in 2021, as well as a unanimous first-team All-American, helping Montana State reach the FCS national championship game in Frisco, Texas.