Dennis Allen gives team Week 15 game ball after unbelievable win
By Kristen Wong
17 total punts. Ceedy Duce picked up another baby GOAT. And the New Orleans Saints came away with a hard-fought victory.
In Week 15 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Saints walked on water to secure yet another regular season win over Brady’s Bucs.
They did it under Dennis Allen, who served as interim head coach with Sean Payton out due to COVID-19.
In a post-game presser, Allen praised the unit that, as whole, deserves an MVP award for its performance this game: the Saints defense.
Against the run and in the air, the Saints shut out Tom Brady for the first time since 2006. Granted, Brady lost his favorite offensive weapons Chris Godwin and Mike Evans early in the game, and later on Leonard Fournette sat out due to injury as well.
Still, shutting out the greatest of all time? In Tampa Bay? The Saints defense deserves a standing ovation and more.
Here’s what Dennis Allen had to say:
Dennis Allen: "This wasn't about scheme. This was about our guys going out and executing against a really good football team."
— John Hendrix (@JohnJHendrix) December 20, 2021
New Orleans Saints HC Dennis Allen speaks out on unbelievable Week 15 win
Saints LB Demario Davis said he thought about giving Dennis Allen a game ball but didn't want to step outside of his job duties. Said he deserved one. https://t.co/Dvk7as1Zq0
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) December 20, 2021
Allen also gave a special shout-out to Marcus Davenport and the man of the hour, Cameron Jordan, who hit 100 career sacks in the game tonight with two on Tom Brady.
When asked about how it felt serving as head coach for the Saints, Allen said he was grateful for the opportunity, first and foremost.
NOLA believed in him before, and now, Allen’s connection to the team has only gotten that much stronger.
It has to be a weird feeling for Dennis Allen, who was the "head coach" for the first time since 2014 and would probably very much like a second chance. Allen said he relishes these opportunities, said it means so much to him that Payton had faith in him to lead the team.
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) December 20, 2021
After what Allen accomplished tonight, there will be a long line of suitors calling him up for a head coach position in the future. Allen deserves any and every future opportunity he gets.
New Orleans’ victory in Week 15 arguably overshadows that of the Detroit Lions against the Arizona Cardinals as this victory against the Bucs was the underdog win of all underdog wins — Dennis Allen, the Saints D, and Blake Gillikin all deserve a plaque in the Saints’ front office.
The offense? Not so much.
dark. Next. 5 takeaways from Saints’ shocking week 15 win vs. Buccaneers
Tampa Bay will have to wait another day to clinch the NFC South title. In the meantime, Dennis Allen and the city of New Orleans can revel in the glory and pride of sticking it to Tom Brady one more time.