The longest play of Michael Thomas’ career put an exclamation point on one of the biggest regular season games of 2018. The moment, the magnitude and aftermath makes Thomas’ reception an easy call for play of the day.
The New Orleans Saints are 72 days away from their first game under Kellen Moore. The Saints will take on the Arizona Cardinals at home to bring in the new era. The play of the day comes against one of Arizona’s divisional mates.
Saints vs. Rams was a blockbuster matchup
The Saints’ week 9 showdown with the Los Angeles Rams was highly anticipated going into the game and it completely lived up to the hype. New Orleans and Los Angeles were clearly the two best teams in the NFC. The Rams were undefeated at the time, and the Saints had just one loss.
Played in New Orleans, the Saints came out like they had something to prove. They scored 35 points in the first half and took a 18 point lead into halftime. This was the Saints time to show who the top dog was, and they were answering the call.
The Rams came firing back with 17 unanswered points after the intermission to tie the game in the fourth quarter. What looked like a potential blowout turned into a nail biter. That turn of events, however, gave us one of Thomas’ biggest moments
Michael Thomas channeled his inner Joe Horn
A field goal gave the saints a three point edge, but it was Thomas who put the game away.
Saints versus Rams was a main event on a team level and Thomas versus Marcus Peters was a high profile. Thomas excercise his dominance, ending with 211 yards.
72 of those yards came on the game winner with Peters in coverage. Peters was looking inside when the ball was snapped. He was able to get hands on Thomas late, but it was too late. Thomas was past him and streaked to the end zone for the final score of the day.
After scoring the touchdown, Thomas ran to the goalpost and lifted up the pad. The wide receiver pulled out a flip phone and mimicked a phone call.
Thomas celebration was an ode to former Saints wide receiver, Joe Horn. Horn famously performed the same celebration on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants in 2003. Seeing Thomas connect eras was perfect symbolism for Thomas being the next great Saints wide receiver.
Thomas had been bubbling for a couple of seasons, and he went on to earn his first All-Pro nod that season and started his run as the best in the business. The moment itself put the game out of reach and earned the Saints their biggest win of the regular season.