Shayne Graham became an instant hero in New Orleans after kicking the game-winning field goal to clinch the first ever road playoff win for the Saints.

There are now two beloved Grahams residing in the city of New Orleans. Shayne Graham won over the hearts of Who Dat Nation with is game-winning 32 yard field goal to give the New Orleans Saints their first ever road playoff win in franchise history. Graham proved exactly why his presence is warranted in New Orleans, even after his signing was considered questionable by many.

Just a few weeks ago, Coach Sean Payton made a move that was not necessarily surprising, but somewhat surreal. Following a horrendous outing in the Week 15 loss loss to the St. Louis Rams, former Saints kicker Garrett Hartley was released by Coach Payton and the New Orleans Saints franchise. Whether it be emotional ties to the kicker who booted the NFC Championship clinching field goal in 2009 or level-headed beliefs that a change at the position that late in the season is strange, there were many fans in New Orleans who criticized Payton and the organization for making the move. If there was anything Graham proved on Saturday night, it’s that NFL coaches and general managers like Payton and Mickey Loomis have their jobs for a reason.

Saturday’s victory was somewhat of a combination of the team’s Week 11 game against San Francisco and their Week 16 game against Carolina. In the first half, the Saints dominated the stats column. Even watching the game, it felt like New Orleans should have been ahead by two scores. Instead, late in the half, Drew Brees through an interception that led to the Panthers taking over in Saints territory and breaking in to the end zone shortly after. The Carolina touchdown gave them the lead going in to halftime, leaving New Orleans feeling the effects of settling for field goals and giving the ball away. Saturday night was almost the spitting image of those circumstances. The Saints could not cash in to the end zone on their first visit to the red-zone, settling for a 36 yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead. Late in the first half, New Orleans had possession of the ball and was nearing mid-field with the opportunity to extend their lead before half time. Instead, Brees threw an interception right to linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who returned it inside of Saints territory. A couple plays later, Nick Foles found Riley Cooper for a 10 yard touchdown pass and Philadelphia would eventually take the lead and momentum in to half time, despite being out-performed. 

In the game against San Francisco, New Orleans won on a field goal, but that stats wouldn’t lead you to believe that. The Saints held a 191 total yard advantage over the 49ers and also dominated time of possession (34:39-25:21). The difference was turnovers. An interception and two fumbles set up San Francisco with great field position, in which they cashed in 17 of their 20 points. Looking at last week’s game, the Saints out-gained the Eagles by 178 yards and dominated time of possession (34:53-25:07). New Orleans also turned the ball over twice. Sounds familiar, right?

The first half was fairly slow on Saturday night. Graham’s first field goal and Cooper’s touchdown reception were most of the scoring, along with another late field goal from the Saints. Following Philadelphia’s touchdown drive, New Orleans marched down field and closed their deficit to just one point after a 46 yard field goal from Shayne Graham.

The Saints didn’t waste no time in the 3rd quarter, getting out to a hot start in the second half. First, they forced a three and out from the Eagles that included an intentional grounding penalty and a sack to force the punt. Drew Brees and his offense quickly went down the field with a 6 play, 56 yard drive that took just 3:34, capped off with a 24 yard touchdown pass from Brees to Lance Moore. Brees was rolling to his right when he found Moore wide open, who made the catch then lowered his shoulder to barge in to the end-zone to help New Orleans retake the lead.

After forcing another quick three and out from Philadelphia, the Saints extended their lead on an eight play, 66 yard drive that took 4:42. Mark Ingram added to his great night with a 4 yard plunge in to the end-zone and it seemed as if the Saints may have been poised to run away with the game. Unfortunately for New Orleans, their momentum changed on the ensuing drive from Philadelphia, when corner back Keenan Lewis banged his head making a tackle, forcing him to head to the locker room. Lewis had held Eagles star wide receiver DeSean Jackson without a catch, but it didn’t take long for that to change after his injury. Two plays later, Foles went deep to Jackson for a gain of 40 yards down to the Saints 9 yard line. Four plays, Coach Chip Kelly rolled the dice and went for it on 4th and 1, only to be rewarded with a 1 yard touchdown run from LeSean McCoy.

New Orleans started to get everyone nervous when they then went three and out, gaining just two yards on the ensuing drive and were forced to punt. Thomas Morstead’s 47 punt was returned 29 yards by DeSean Jackson, setting up Philadelphia with fantastic field position at the New Orleans 40. The Saints defense held strong in the red-zone, forcing a 31 yard field goal by Eagles kicker Alex Henery, to cut the New Orleans lead to 20-17. The Saints would then respond with a field goal of their own after another stalled out drive in the red-zone. Shayne Graham re-extended the lead to 23-17 with 8:04 to play.

Things began to look bleak as the Eagles began to march down the field with relative ease on the next drive. The big play on drive came against Corey White, who earlier gave up the deep catch by DeSean Jackson, when he let Jackson get behind him, forcing him to grab the receiver and draw a pass interference, giving Philadelphia a first and goal at the New Orleans 3 yard line. With just under five minutes left in the game, Nick Foles rolled to his right and found a wide open Zach Ertz for the go-ahead touchdown, giving the Eagles a one point lead.

At that point, looking at a team who has rarely conquered adversity on the road this season, a team that had never won a road playoff game, and a team who was likely written off by just about everyone outside of the New Orleans faithful at the moment Alex Henery gave Philadelphia the lead with his extra point, they beat the odds. It all started with one of Darren Sproles’s best kick returns of the season. The tiny running back returned the kick 39 yards to the New Orleans 37 yard line, but was taken down with a horse-collar tackle, tacking on 15 yards and moving the ball all the way down to the Philadelphia 48 yard line. The Saints then went in to their five minute offense, running the ball with great effectiveness. Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson were the main ball carriers that helped get them in field goal range, but Drew Brees also helped with two of his numerous quarterback sneaks on the night that converted short yardage situations. After using their final timeout earlier in the drive, the Eagles couldn’t do anything to stop the clock after Brees converted on a quarterback sneak for the second time, allowing the Saints to run the clock down to :03, setting up a game winning field goal attempt from Shayne Graham.

Do you trust Sean Payton? If not, you should. Snap down, kick up…it’s good. The Saints won their first ever road playoff game on the foot of their replacement kicker who had been with the team for less than three weeks.

Stats

Saints

Drew Brees – 20-30 / 250 yards / 1 TD / 2 INTs

Mark Ingram – 18 carries / 97 yards / 1 TD / 3 receptions / 17 yards

Khiry Robinson – 8 carries / 45 yards

Darren Sproles – 4 carries / 29 yards / 4 receptions / 31 yards

Jimmy Graham – 3 receptions / 44 yards

Kenny Stills – 3 receptions / 35 yards

Lance Moore – 2 receptions / 31 yards / 1 TD

Marques Colston – 2 receptions / 16 yards

David Hawthorne – 6 tackles (team lead)

Cam Jordan – 4 tackles / 2 tackles for loss / 1.5 sacks

Akiem Hicks – 3 tackles / .5 sack

Eagles

Nick Foles – 23-33 / 195 yards / 2 TD / 0 INT

LeSean McCoy – 21 carries / 77 yards / 1 TD / 4 receptions / 15 yards

Riley Cooper – 6 receptions / 68 yards / 1 TD

DeSean Jackson – 3 receptions / 53 yards

Jason Avant – 5 receptions / 21 yards

Zach Ertz – 3 receptions / 22 yards / TD

DeMeco Ryans – 10 tackles (team lead) / 1 INT

Mychal Kendricks – 7 tackles

Trent Cole – 5 tackles / 1 sack

Bradley Fletcher – 4 tackles / 1 INT

Next Week

The New Orleans Saints will travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks in the Divisional Round of the playoffs in a rematch of Week 13’s blowout victory for Seattle by the score of 34-7. The game will be on Saturday at 3:35 central time.

Who Dat?!