The New Orleans Saints are 54 days away from the season opener against the Arizona Cardinals. Maybe the Saints will wear their new helmets or new jerseys to kick off the year. As we continue counting down the days, we'll look back at Deuce McAllister's clutch touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in 2001.
Today's edition of the countdown to kickoff is a "play of the day," let's take a quick step aside to look into an interesting fact about the jersey number. The Saints haven't had a memorable player wear No. 54 in over 20 years.
Players like Kiko Alonzo and Jason Pierre-Paul have worn the number, but their Saints tenure was short lived. You have to go back to Nathan Stupar in 2016 and 2017 to find the last time a player wore 54 in New Orleans for more than one season.
Deuce McAllister's lone rushing touchdown as a rookie
McAllister didn't see a feature role in the Saints offense until his second year due to the presence of Ricky Williams. Despite being drafted in the first round, McAllister only saw 16 rushing attempts the entire season, just slightly more than his 15 receptions.
Against the Falcons, the Saints only gave McAllister one handoff. That was a regular occurrence for the rookie running back. He didn't waste this opportunity. McAllister took his lone carry 54 yards to the end zone. This was the first rushing touchdown of his career and the final score of the game. It gave the Saints a three score lead, and Atlanta never got back on the board.
McAllister's long touchdown made up over half of his rushing yards from his rookie season. It's hard to think of Deuce McAllister, one of the best running backs in franchise history being used so sparingly. In that same game, he threw a touchdown. That was the first score of his career. McAllister retired leading the Saints in yards and touchdowns, but his first score was a pass to Willie Jackson
The running back's 54-yard scamper was the highlight of McAllister's rookie campaign. He displayed the vision, balance and speed we became accustomed to en route to becoming the best running back in franchise history upon retirement