Rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater gave a respectable performance in his first NFL action, but couldn’t overcome the Saints in the Superdome.
Well, it didn’t end up being as easy as it looked it would be after the first quarter, but the New Orleans Saints finally got their first win. The Minnesota Vikings put up more of a fight than many people, including myself, thought they would. The Saints pulled away in the 4th quarter, sealing a 20-9 victory to improve to 1-2. On the flip side, the Vikings fell to 1-2 with their second consecutive loss.
New Orleans opened up the game red hot, taking the opening drive 80 yards on 11 plays, capped off with a 1 yard touchdown run from Pierre Thomas, his first score of the year. The Saints then held the Vikings to a quick three-and-out, allowing just two yards and forcing a punt. Taking over at his own 18 yard line, Drew Brees led his offense on a quick 7 play, 82 yard drive with the big play coming on a 34 yard touchdown pass to a wide open Josh Hill. Brees used a beautiful pump fake to bait free safety Harrison Smith to one side of the field, leaving Hill all alone for the catch and run for the score. Shayne Graham’s extra point was blocked, keeping the score 13-0.
After the two opening drives, things slowed way down for the Saints. Minnesota answered with a 13 play, 71 yard drive that was capped off with a 25 yard field goal from Blair Walsh to make it 13-3. On the 3rd down stop that forced the field goal, starting quarterback Matt Cassel injured his toe when scrambling, causing him to exit the game for good. The Saints went three and out on their ensuing drive, punting the ball back to the Vikings for rookie Teddy Bridgewater to take over for his first NFL snaps. Starting with good field position at his own 37 yard line, Bridgewater led Minnesota on a 10 play, 51 yard drive that would be capped off with Walsh’s second field goal to make it 13-6.
Following the second Vikings field goal, both teams traded punts a few times and headed to halftime with it being a seven point game. On the first drive of the second half, Minnesota went 43 yards in 10 plays for their third straight field goal, this one coming from 40 yards out to make it 13-9. Yet again, New Orleans could not get anything going on offense, punting for their fourth straight possession, giving Minnesota their first chance to take the lead all day. The Vikings started at their own 10 yard line, but could not get past mid-field and capitalize on the opportunity.
Brees and the offense took over at their own 10 yard line, desperately needing to get something going to avoid the possibility of letting the game slip away. It appeared as if the Viking defense had stepped up again, when Captain Munnerlyn sacked Brees on a 3rd and long, setting up what would’ve been New Orleans’ fifth straight punt. Unfortunately for Minnesota, Munnerlyn got too excited and aggressive, slamming Brees backwards in a suplex and getting called for unnecessary roughness, giving the Saints an automatic first down. Just a few plays later, facing another big third down, Brandin Cooks made his biggest play of the day, taking a quick screen that looked to be going no where for a 19 yard gain and a huge first down. On the following play, Brees hit Marques Colston on an 18 yard touchdown strike to extend the lead to 20-9.
Little did they know, Minnesota’s next drive would be their last chance to touch the ball, despite taking over with 12:22 left in the game. Bridgewater and his offense could only muster up 23 yards on 9 plays, giving the ball back to Brees with the opportunity to close out the game. He and his offense did just that, holding the ball for the final 6:58 of the game to close out the victory. The Saints have struggled the past two years in closing out games, so to see them execute on their final two drives to finish this one off was promising.
Observations
– Even without Mark Ingram, the Saints were very committed to running the ball today. They were pretty balanced, calling 29 rushing plays compared to 38 passing plays. To be honest, it appeared as if Coach Payton’s commitment to the run was too heavy on a few drives. Most of Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas’ yards came on the first two drives, being shut down for the most part until the final drive. Both backs averaged 3.8 yards per carry.
– Brandin Cooks is special. He catches everything that comes his way, making him a very reliable target. Coach Payton clearly already has a lot of trust in Cooks, notably calling the quick screen on the big 3rd down and 7 on the Saints last touchdown drive. Cooks looked to have no where to go upon making the catch, but danced his way to the corner for a near 20 yard gain.
– Tim Lelito played well after coming in to the game for injured Johnathan Goodwin. Shariff Floyd is a handful at defensive tackle, so give Lelito credit for holding his own.
– Corey White played well starting for Patrick Robinson. Though there isn’t anything on the stat sheet to say so, White was close in coverage on a few incomplete passes that went his way.
– Junior Galette is starting to get in to his groove rushing the passer, picking up his second sack of the year and finding his way in to the backfield more than the past two weeks. As a team, the Saints still haven’t been able to create as much pressure as they did last year. Cam Jordan picked up his first sack of the year, but that was about it.
– Jimmy Graham’s strength is impressive. His most notable play of the day came on a crossing pattern where he caught he pass, then pretty much threw the would-be tackler away from him with a nasty stiff arm. Graham later turned what would have been a two yard reception for most tight-ends in to an eight yard gain after fighting and dragging tacklers.
– Drew Brees was very accurate today, completing 77% of his passes. Unfortunately, though, he failed to eclipse 300 yards passing, breaking his streak of 10 straight games of getting over that mark. Doing it for the 11th straight time today would have been an NFL record.
– Speaking of Brees, he showed some of the most frustration ever seen when he was basically body slammed by Captain Munnerlyn. He got right up and went after Munnerlyn, shoving him in the back and giving him a piece of his mind. It was quite the rarity to witness, but Brees had all the reason to be upset after such a cheap move.
Stats
Saints
Drew Brees – 27-35 / 293 yards / 2 TDs / 120.3 passer rating
Khiry Robinson – 18 carries / 69 yards / 3.8 yards per carry
Pierre Thomas – 8 carries / 30 yards / 3.8 yards per carry / 3 receptions / 21 yards
Brandin Cooks – 8 receptions / 74 yards
Jimmy Graham – 6 receptions / 54 yards
Marques Colston – 2 receptions / 25 yards / 1 TD
Josh Hill – 2 receptions / 48 yards / 1 TD
Kenny Stills – 4 receptions / 38 yards
Curtis Lofton – 8 tackles / 2 tackles for loss
Junior Galette – 7 tackles / 1 sack
Cameron Jordan – 2 tackles / 1 sack
Vikings
Teddy Bridgewater – 12-20 / 150 yards / 83.3 passer rating / 27 yards rushing
Matt Cassel – 5-10 / 53 yards
Matt Asiata – 12 carries / 35 yards / 2.9 yards per carry / 3 receptions / 36 yards
Greg Jennings – 5 receptions / 70 yards
Cordarrelle Patterson – 4 receptions / 61 yards
Robert Blanton – 10 tackles
Anthony Barr – 5 tackles / 1 sack
Harrison Smith – 4 tackles / 3 passes defended
Week 4
The 1-2 New Orleans Saints head back on the road as the travel to Dallas to face the 2-1 Cowboys. The game will be on Sunday Night Football and is set to kickoff for 7:20 PM central time.
Finally this year, we can say this with some conviction…Who Dat?!
Follow David Billiot Jr on Twitter @DCBilliotJr6
