LSU ready for Outback Bowl showdown
January 1, 2014
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January 7, 2014
It turned out the New Orleans Saints didn’t have much to worry about with regards to wrapping up a spot in the NFC playoff picture.
The Saints took care of business against Tampa Bay in a dominant 42-17 victory at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on Sunday to wrap up the No. 6 seed in the NFC.
Even had they lost, the Saints would have still clinched a playoff berth by virtue of the Arizona Cardinals losing at home to San Francisco, 23-20.
New Orleans made sure they didn’t need any outside help.
The Saints (11-5) struck early and often against an overmatched Buccaneers (4-12) team, scoring on four of their first five possessions of the first half.
By halftime, New Orleans had a 28-14 lead.
“We talked during the week about eliminating all the distractions and playing this game like a playoff game,” Saints coach Sean Payton said.
“I thought we did a really good job handling the challenges with that. I thought they came ready to play. I didn’t feel at all like we were focusing on anything other than our own game with Tampa Bay and playing our best football.”
Saints quarterback Drew Brees connected with receiver Lance Moore on a 44-yard touchdown pass on New Orleans’ opening drive to give the Saints a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
On the team’s second drive, Brees found tight end Jimmy Graham for a 10-yard strike that gave the Saints a 14-7 lead after Tampa Bay had tied it at 7-7.
Brees would add two more touchdowns in the first half, both on long passes.
He hit receiver Robert Meachem for 41 yards midway through the second quarter to make it 21-7, and after Tampa Bay scored to make it a one-possession game again, Brees hooked up with rookie receiver Kenny Stills on a 76-yard touchdown that extended the lead to two touchdowns at halftime.
“Starting fast is something we talked about and emphasized,” Payton said. “We came up with some big plays, a lot of chunk plays. Getting that lead and kind of forcing them to become one-dimensional certainly helps.”
The Saints also scored on their first two possession of the second half. Pierre Thomas had an 8-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to make it 35-17, and Brees broke things open with a 9-yard touchdown scramble on their next drive early in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.
New Orleans finished with 468 total yards in the victory and 21 first downs. The offense looked as efficient as it has all year.
“You always want to play your best football this time of year,” Payton said. “We felt we played well last week. We were good enough (Sunday) to get the win.”
With the victory, the Saints are headed to the playoffs for a franchise record fourth time in the last five seasons, solidifying their position as one of the NFL’s most consistent teams over the past several seasons.
Now, they’ll have to focus on the task of exercising their demons away from the Superdome, which won’t come easy.
The Saints will be on the road Saturday night when the team travels to Philadelphia to take on the NFC East champion Eagles in the frigid northeast, where New Orleans lost earlier this season at the Jets and the Patriots.
For now, Sunday’s victory is a confidence-builder.
“We obviously moved the ball very effectively,” said Brees, who finished 24-of-31 with 381 passing yards. “We had some big plays. It’s been awhile since we had a game with many big plays. We were sharp in all regards. We played winning football.”
But can the Saints playing winning football in three straight games on the road to reach the Super Bowl? Brees believes the answer in yes.
“Absolutely,” he said. “We’re good enough to do whatever we set out to do. (Sunday) was a great step in the right direction to get ready for this playoff run.”
The Saints will face the Eagles at 7 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field Saturday. Television coverage will be provided by NBC. The Eagles finished the season 10-6 after defeating Dallas, 24-22, to win the East last Sunday.
