Saints turn 14-point first-quarter deficit in 35-point, “A-” performance
The New Orleans Saints were down 14 points in five minutes. It wasn’t a great showing to start the game, but it didn’t end that way.
The first three possessions of the game were an absolute train wreck for the New Orleans Saints.
On the opening drive, they allowed Matthew Stafford to go eight plays for 77 yards and a touchdown. It was a huge 50-yard pass to veteran receiver Danny Amendola that did the bulk of the work.
That was the first possession.
The second one belonged to New Orleans for just a few seconds. Brees, on the team’s first offensive play, threw a ball to Emmanuel Sanders that was intercepted, marking the end of the second possession and beginning of the third.
The Lions picked up where they left off and scored another touchdown almost instantly. Not even five minutes has ticked off the clock and the Saints were down 14-0. However, after that, it was all New Orleans.
They scored 35 straight unanswered points before letting up on the gas. They eventually won 35-29. That said, New Orleans’ performance wasn’t an “A+,” but it did show their resilience as a franchise.
For that, they earned as “A-” from CBS Sports.
“Drew Brees wasn’t the only reason the Saints offense was so good in Detroit. New Orleans also got a lot of help from its rushing attack. With Michael Thomas out, Alvin Kamara became the focal point of the Saints offense as he totaled 119 yards against the Lions (83 on the ground, 36 through the air). Latavius Murray also bulldozed his way to 64 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. One thing the Saints did well in this game was convert third downs. Overall, the Saints converted 10 of 14 times on third down, which allowed them to hold the ball for more than 36 minutes. Since 2015, the Saints are 17-0 when they have the ball for 36 minutes or more,” CBS Sports’ John Breech wrote.
This was Brees’ best downfield-passing game of the season. He threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns, also having one interception. Along with Brees’ dominance, the Saints’ running backs thrived. They found the endzone three times and ended up totaling over 150 yards on the ground.
The defense also didn’t do too poorly, allowing just 15 points after that initial 14-point onslaught. It was an all-out team effort as the Saints avoided a nightmare 1-3 start.
Next. 5 Saints who should already be on the trading block. dark
That said, they’ll get the Chargers next week as they look to get back a few starters for what should be a relatively easy victory.