Saints beat Eagles Week 11: Observations from the cheap seats
By Tony Twillie
To say the New Orleans Saints destroyed the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11 would be accurate. A look at the game from the cheap seats.
WOW. Words fail at times like this. What the Who Dat Nation got to witness in Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles was one of the most dominating, complete performances in New Orleans football history. It may sound like too much, too dramatic to use that type verbiage. But this game was not close. Ever. This was two teams headed in polar opposite directions.
It’s not enough to say the Saints dominated the game in defeating the Eagles 48-7. The score indicates a dominant performance. But to watch the team surgically dissect everything the Eagles could bring was simply amazing.
I will give the Eagles one minor pass. They came in missing two cornerbacks. They lost another one during the game. They lost their center early. They had a linebacker get hurt. There’s only a certain number of injuries any team can deal with and still contend.
But this is the NFL. No one will have sympathy for you with your injury situation. The Saints played without their “Boom” running back for the first four games and then lost one of their starting corners for the season as well as a WR. Good teams find ways to win.
The Saints are on one epic roll. They’ve put up 40 points in six of their 10 games. They’ve scored over 45 points in each of the last three games. Some will look at this game and say the Eagles defense is decimated. They may look at the Bengals and think this was a terrible defense overall. Both those things are true.
So what’s to make of the Saints hanging 45 on the vaunted Rams? People still say the Rams are the best team in the NFC. Funny, if thing continued at the current pace, the Rams would not have home field through the playoffs.
There were so many superlatives to take from this game. The offensive line is beastly. Even after Andrus Peat and Larry Warford came down with injuries, they continued to play strong. And Jermon Bushrod seemed to pick up where he left off with us years ago in place of Terron Armstead.
The defensive front gave the Eagles offensive line and quarterback Carson Wentz fits. They kept Wentz under pressure much of the game, making him move in the pocket and reset his feet. That’s sometimes as good as a hurry or hit, especially with a young QB.
Even special teams did well, only allowing two kickoff returns into what most would call “good” field position. And special teams stalwart Chris Banjo even got into the defensive game with two interceptions. It was just that type of day at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.