 |
| Tight End Jimmy Graham had two touchdowns receptions on Sunday night, and is now just three away (with three games left) from tying Gronk's record. |
Eric Meyer
After a humbling defeat in Seattle on Monday night, the
Saints knew they needed to bounce back quickly with the red-hot Carolina
Panthers right on their heels in the NFC South division race. And boy did they
bounce back! With a dominant, 31-13 win, they move ahead of the Panthers by one
game and regain control of the division with three weeks left in the regular
season.
The Saints started off a little sluggish, as Cam Newton led
two impressive drives that sandwiched a Saints three-and-out to start the game.
However, Rob Ryan’s defense stood strong and held the Panthers out of the end
zone on both drives and it was lights out from there.
Ron Rivera knew the Panthers couldn’t settle for field goals
against the Saints, and it quickly burned him as the Saints put up a touchdown
on their following drive to take a 7-6 lead.
From then on, the Saints defense was 100% dominant. This
wasn’t the bend-but-don’t-break defense of yesteryear, with all-or-nothing
gambles and game changing turnovers. The Saints got five sacks. They shut down
the Panthers’ receivers. They contained Cam Newton in the pocket.
The Saints didn’t let the Panthers score again until garbage
time, where Newton threw a 4th down touchdown pass with five minutes
left in the game and the outcome all but decided.
Drew Brees had a field day on the NFL’s best defense,
slinging four touchdown passes and becoming the fastest player to reach 50,000
passing yards for a career. This was the Saints at their best, playing elite
offense and defense and winning big primetime games in their house.
The Saints will head to St. Louis for what is surely a trap game
before meeting up with Carolina again on the road. The Saints will lock up the
division and a first round bye with a win in Carolina or by winning the two
other games on their schedule due to tiebreaker rules.
There is still football to be played, but with this game,
the Saints and cleared a manageable path back to the NFC South crown.
Final Score:
Carolina Panthers – 13
New Orleans Saints – 31
No comments:
Post a Comment