ATLANTA -- Robert Alford found a way to bounce back.

The Atlanta Falcons cornerback, who had a crucial pass interference penalty in the fourth quarter Sunday, rebounded with a 59-yard interception return for a touchdown in Sunday's 25-19 overtime win over the Washington Redskins. The play allowed the Falcons to improve to 5-0 for just the second time in team history.

Television cameras showed Alford getting a pep talk from secondary coach Marquand Manuel after the pass interference penalty. Manuel encouraged Alford to move on to the next play.

"I told him he was going to make a big play to end the game," teammate Desmond Trufant said. "He’s always bashed in the media. Everybody always wants to throw him under the bus as soon as he makes any kind of mistake. He shut everybody up today. He showed he can be an elite player. I couldn’t be more happy for him."

Kirk Cousins, who was being pressured by linebacker Nate Stupar, threw the pick-six to Alford for the overtime winner. Falcons coach Dan Quinn has preached finishing from the start of the season, and Alford did with his second interception of the game.

"Before we even went into overtime, we all got together as a secondary. We were like, `It’s going to come up to us in the backend,’" Alford said. "We all said that it was going to be one of us that’s going to end this game. We trusted and believed in it; believed in the coaches and their calls that they had for us, and just believed in our techniques that we had.’’

Alford's play helped make up for some stumbles by the Falcons all game long. Matt Ryan had three turnovers, although he made some key plays with the game on the line. Kicker Matt Bryant missed two field goals. Julio Jones wasn't his usual dominant self, although Jones made a heads-up play by falling on a Devonta Freeman fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.

Quinn continues to preach finishing. And once again, the Falcons found a way to get it done.

The last time the Falcons started 5-0 was 2012, when they went on to make it to the NFC Championship Game. If the Falcons can continue to win when everything isn't going right, it's a great sign this could be their season.

Reason to get excited: The Falcons have games against the Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers coming up before the bye week.

Reason to panic: Bryant is very reliable, so him missing 48- and 38-yard field goals is a reason for alarm. Both kicks hit the upright. But the veteran kicker remains a reliable threat and is sure to shake off those misses immediately.

"It was a bad day, obviously, for me personally," Bryant said "It’s over with going into the next. The second one, the 48-yarder, I hit really well. I was surprised that it even hit the upright. I thought hit it right down the middle. When it came off my foot, I thought there was no question. Unfortunately, it went left.’’

Fantasy watch: Freeman continues to be a fantasy keeper. He scored his eighth rushing touchdown of the season at the end of regulation and he surpassed 100 rushing yards for the second time this season. Freeman continued to run with a vengeance, which is crucial for the Falcons moving forward. He even showed his savvy as a receiver on a slant that appeared to go for a touchdown, but the officials ruled he did not complete the catch. Regardless, Freeman came back and scored on the touchdown run and finished with 153 rushing yards on 27 carries.

Other injuries: Starting center Mike Person left the game with an ankle injury and was replaced by James Stone, who immediately had a bad snap to Ryan. Wide receiver Leonard Hankerson exited in the first half with injured ribs but returned in the second half. Linebacker Justin Durant was inactive for the game with an elbow injury.

Up next: The Falcons have a quick turnaround with a showdown against their NFC South rivals, the New Orleans Saints, on Thursday night. Last year, the Falcons went to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and walked away with a 30-14 win.