After an embarrassing loss in St. Louis in week 8, the Saints came out in week 9 in what was declared one of their now signature “bat-games,” Sean Payton’s way of inspiring his team to play a more physical brand of football. The bats in the lockers weren’t the only evidence, as the Saints beat up the Bucs all game long to gain sole possession of first place in the NFC South heading into a potentially season-defining showdown in Atlanta.
The Bucs didn’t score a TD until there was 5:33 remaining in the game, long after the Saints had jumped out to a big lead. The Saints gained 195 yards on 7.0 yards per carry, and Drew Brees threw for 258 yards as he extended his TD pass streak to 36 games, tying Brett Favre for second longest streak all time. Brees’ 101.4 QB rating was good for his 40th game with a rating over 100 since joining the Saints in 2006.
The most interesting stat of the game, though, was Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles becoming the first TE/RB combination to both notch 50 receptions in the first nine games of a season. Graham now has 55 catches; Sproles has 56. Also of note was Drew Brees becoming the first QB in history to throw for over 3,000 yards through nine games, breaking his own NFL record of 2,985 yards set in 2008.
With Atlanta coming off of a big win against the Colts, the Saints maintain a half-game lead and will be playing for the NFC South driver’s seat for the second week in a row when they visit Atlanta this Sunday.
