Finally! The Saints got their first win of the season and did so in exciting fashion. The night was full of emotion and excitement, as fans packed the Superdome hoping to see a number of things happen. Most importantly, Saints fans were hoping for a win and Drew Brees to break yet another record in the process. Things went just as everyone hoped and the Saints finally came out on top, with a 31-24 victory over the San Diego Chargers.
The Saints moved the ball fairly easy, putting up 404 yards of total offense last night. Drew Brees was a usual suspect in the attack, passing for 370 yards on 29/45 with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. He built upon his strong outing last week and delivered a surgical performance to lead New Orleans to the victory. His one interception came off of a deflection from a pass thrown a little behind Devery Henderson, but other than that Drew’s precision was as good as advertised. Marques Colston and Devery Henderson both had a huge night in the receiving category with 9/131 and 8/123, respectively. Colston finished with a phenomenal 3 touchdowns, while Henderson caught Drew’s record breaking touchdown for their first score. The rushing offense struggled yet again, with Sproles, Thomas, and Ingram combining for 19 carries for only 55 yards on the ground.
For the Saints defense, it was a tale of two halves. In the first half, New Orleans gave up lots of yards and a couple big plays. As they usually do, a former Saint returned to the dome and put up a nice show. Robert Meachem had a great night, catching 3 passes for 67 yards and 2 touchdowns. His two touchdowns both came in the first half, one of which was a 15 yard catch for the first score of the night and the other was a 44 yard score, in which he did what the Saints saw him do plenty of times in black and gold, getting behind the secondary and beating them deep. Phillip Rivers finished with 354 yards passing on 27/42, with 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, and 1 fumble. Ryan Mathews gashed the Saints, gaining 80 yards rushing and a touchdown on just 12 carries. After Mathews’ rushing touchdown came off of a short field for San Diego, set up from Brees’ interception, the defense held strong. That touchdown would be the last point the Chargers scored, while the Saints scored 17 unanswered to close out the victory. New Orleans also sacked Rivers 5 times, which is just one sack shy of their season output through the first four games.
Last night was a fantastic night for the black and gold with a great all around effort. The defense played a phenomenal second half, forcing two huge turnovers that helped win the game. Marques Colston passed Joe Horn on the Saints all time receiving touchdown list catching his 50th, 51st, and 52nd touchdowns of his career. Drew Brees threw a touchdown pass in his 48th consecutive game, breaking Johnny Unitas’ half-century old record of 47 straight games. Finally, and most importantly, the Saints notched their first win of the season. There’s still a lot of work left to be done, but the Saints have a bye week and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
