New Orleans Saints surprise, pull off the upset against the Colts in Indy

The New Orleans Saints won one the road.  I repeat, the Black and Gold reigned supreme in an away contest against the Indianapolis Colts.  It wasn’t all pretty, but Sean Payton and company proved to be the better team Sunday afternoon.

A momentum guzzling group of playmakers in the first half, highlighted by a gutsy, successful fake field goal, the Saints shut down Andrew Luck and the Colts 20-0 through the first two quarters of play, thanks to a pair of Khiry Robinson touchdowns and a Drew Brees connection to tight end Michael Hoomanawanui.  They added another score in the third quarter for what was thought to be the knockout punch to seal the deal with a run by Mark Ingram, who plowed over the Colts for 143 yards Sunday.

However, bad penalties and blown coverges helped Indy find their momentum, as the Colts answered back with 21 consecutive points.  But in the end, the Saints were able to hang in there and get the win, 27-21.

Saints leaders:

Passing:
Drew Brees – 28 of 44, 255 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT
Luke McCown – 1 of 1, 25 YDS

Rushing:
Mark Ingram – 14 ATT, 143 YDS, 1 TD
Khiry Robinson – 14 ATT, 28 YDS, 2 TD

Receiving:
Brandin Cooks – 6 REC, 81 YDS
Ben Watson – 4 REC, 59 YDS
C.J. Spiller – 6 REC, 32 YDS
Michael Hoomanawanui – 5 REC, 31 YDS, 1 TD

Defense:
Dannell Ellerbe – 7 TKL
Kenny Vaccaro – 5 TKL, 1 Sack
Stephone Anthony – 7 TKL, 1 INT
Kyle Wilson – 2 TKL, 1 INT, 1 Fumble recovery
Cam Jordan – 2 TKL, 2 Sacks
Hau’oli Kikaha – 3 TKL 1 Forced Fumble

The game ball on offense goes to running back Mark Ingram, who broke out for over 100 yards for the first time this season.  On the defensive side, the game ball gets shared between defensive end Cam Jordan and cornerback Kyle Wilson.  Jordan looks to have found the light at the end of the tunnel — he now has five sacks in his last two games.  When the turnover battle is won, usually, the game is won.  Thanks to Wilson, who played a part in two of the Saints’ three takeaways, New Orleans came out on top.

Getting the win in Indy was crucial for the Saints.  They now sit at 3-4 with a very favorable stretch of schedule.  The opportunity to turn their season around is knocking at the door with back-to-back home games against the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans.  The schedule doesn’t get much harder after that with games on the road against the Washington Redskins and Houston Texans.  The Saints are coming together at the right time.  They must take advantage.