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December 10, 2013Review: Admin writes 80% of Laf. legislation
December 11, 2013
The New Orleans Saints were as dominant as they’ve been at any point this year in the team’s 31-13 victory over the Carolina Panthers last Sunday night at the Mercedes Benz Superdome.
But the Saints won’t have long to savor the victory or rest on their laurels. Not as far as their division rivals and biggest threat for NFC South supremacy this season go.
While the Saints suffocated Carolina, scoring 31 consecutive points to take complete control of a much-hyped game that was flexed into primetime two weeks earlier, Sunday’s victory over the Panthers was just one of two key contests with Carolina in the final weeks of the season that will ultimately decide the division.
Thanks to a bit of a scheduling quirk on the part of the NFL, the Saints and Panthers won’t have to wait long before seeing each other again. The two teams will square off December 22 in Carolina for their second meeting in three weeks.
For now, New Orleans (10-3) left no doubt as to which team controls the NFC South and the race for the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.
The Saints weathered an early storm to hold Carolina to two field goals on consecutive drives deep into New Orleans territory in the first quarter and then simply took control.
Looking back on it after the game, Saints coach Sean Payton said those two stops were key in not giving Carolina early momentum.
“We avoided the big play, the explosive play,” Payton said. “I was really pleased with how we were able to get off the field and minimize the ‘chunk’ plays. As a team that’s right at the top of the league with those yards, be it the run or pass, I thought we handled that particularly well.”
Drew Brees went on to toss four touchdown passes, including three in the second quarter alone, and the Saints soon began to pull away.
They led, 21-6, at halftime and were well on their way to improving to 4-0 in the division, reclaiming the lead in the NFC South with just three games to play.
Brees, who eclipsed 50,000 passing yards for his career during the game, hit Marques Colston with a 6-yard touchdown strike early in the second quarter, capping a nine-play, 80-yard drive that gave the Saints their first lead of the night.
Brees finished the first half by converting two more touchdown drives in as many possessions. He hit Colston again for a 15-yard touchdown just before the two-minute warning and the Saints got the ball back in time for one more score after the defense forced Carolina into a three-and-out on its ensuing possession.
On his final drive of the half, Brees needed seven plays to take his team 55 yards for another score – a short touchdown pass to tight end Jimmy Graham.
The Saints added one final score in the fourth quarter with Graham’s second touchdown catch of the night, an 8-yard play that made it 31-6 with 9:52 to play.
For a team that was thoroughly dominated the previous week in a 34-7 loss to Seattle, the Saints made it clear Sunday that the division title still goes through New Orleans.
“We had the division championship riding in the balance,” said Brees, who finished 30-of-42 with 313 passing yards. “We wanted to bounce back in a big way with a big win. We were able to do that (Sunday).”
With the Saints’ defense playing as well as it had all season, the game was essentially over before Brees’ fourth and final touchdown pass.
New Orleans’ defense looked nothing like the unit that gave up big plays to quarterback Russell Wilson in the previous week’s lost to the NFC’s top-seed.
Defensive end Cameron Jordan (two sacks, three solo tackles) and linebacker Junior Gallette (three sacks, four solo tackles) were nightmares up front as the Saints sacked Cam Newton five times and held the quarterback to 160 passing yards.
The Saints also forced Carolina to become one-dimensional in the second half as their defense held the Panthers to 239 total yards.
“We came out with the mentality to be aggressive and capitalize on different plays,” said Jordan. “We have a very talented defensive line that is able to collapse the pocket. We definitely capitalized and were able to come out with the victory.”
Next up for the Saints is a trip to St. Louis for a meeting with the Rams this Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. from the Edward Jones Dome.
The Rams fell, 30-10, to Arizona last week to drop to 5-8 overall.
St. Louis is virtually eliminated from postseason contention in the packed NFC.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees fires a pass during Sunday night’s win against the Carolina Panthers. The New Orleans quarterback was flawless in the win, which gave the Black and Gold control of the NFC South Division. The Saints and Panthers will lock horns again in two weeks – the next meeting in Carolina.
