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| Kenbrell Thompkins was the hero in New England on Sunday. He hauled in the winning touchdown with :05 left in the 4th quarter. |
Eric Meyer
The New England Patriots rebounded to pick up a home win
against the previously undefeated New Orleans Saints. Tom Brady didn’t play up
to his normal standards, recording his only touchdown pass with five seconds
remaining in the game, but that touchdown was what ultimately decided the game.
The Patriots jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead before the
Saints started to control the second half with a solid running effort from
Pierre Thomas. The Saints took their first lead of the second half on a
touchdown pass from Drew Brees to Kenny Stills on a 3rd & 20
with less than three minutes left in regulation.
With the score at 24-23, Brady took over, but after four
quick and ineffective pass plays, New England turned the ball over on downs.
This is where the Saints lost it. With the ball inside New
England’s 30, the Saints opted for a conservative approach for the first two
downs, resulting in a 3rd and long for the Saints. The Patriots
burned their first two timeouts leading up to the 3rd down, but the
Saints opted for a difficult pass play to Marques Colston, which resulted in an
incompletion that forced a field goal attempt and saved New England a timeout.
Hartley nailed the field goal to make it 27-23, but the
Patriots were left with more than two minutes with a timeout and the two minute
warning. However, Brady threw an egregious interception on his first throw of
the drive, seemingly ending the Patriots’ hopes of a late-game comeback.
The Saints again ran the ball twice to burn New England’s
timeout and get to the two-minute warning, but decided to stay conservative on
3rd down instead of throwing for the first down, which would’ve
effectively ended the game. The Saints had Brees rush and were forced to punt
with about 1:15 left in the game.
Brady, on his third possession in the last three minutes of
the game, picked apart the Saints’ prevent defense and sealed the game his touchdown
pass to Kenbrell Thompkins to complete the third attempt to win the game.
The Saints got the stops they needed from their defense, but
Sean Payton, Drew Brees, and the normally potent and very aggressive Saints
offense consistently failed to even attempt to move the football in order to
seal the win. With three minutes left and with Tom Brady on the other side of
the ball, the plan should always be to keep it away from him by moving the ball
and eating the clock with first downs, not just settling for run plays.
This poor, uncharacteristic strategy cost the Saints a 6-0
start, but at 5-1 they are still tied for the best record in the NFC and have a
large cushion in the NFC South. They will regroup with their bye and hope to
make minced meat of the Bills at home in Week 6. The Saints remain a Super Bowl
contender, but it’s losses like these that stick with you, because New Orleans
snatched defeat from the jaws of victory today.
Final Score:
New Orleans Saints – 27
New England Patriots – 30
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