Saints Win Over Giants Was Like “Old Times” For Who Dats
Yesterday’s games against the New York Giants was like old times for fans of the New Orleans Saints in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Ok — maybe not like “old times” per se, but for the Sean Payton and Drew Brees era of the Saints, it certainly did look like what fans were used to seeing just a short time ago.
Who Dats filed into their seats as the lights dimmed and players were introduced, and you could feel the twinge of excitement as the thought of going 4-4 weighed heavy on many minds.
Win this game and the Saints were facing the possibility of propelling themselves further into the season with momentum, while a loss likely would have the season headed towards the downslide that it had started with.
Oct 5, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks (10) in the third quarter of their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
It started out shaky as the Saints had the ball first and should have scored on a bomb from Brees to receiver Brandon Cooks — who was completely uncovered.
He couldn’t haul in the pass that appeared to be right in his hands; and the energy that filled the Dome fizzled as Cooks jogged dejectedly to the sidelines.
It didn’t help that the Giants on their ensuing possession went down and scored with little trouble, which seemed to translate to big trouble for the defense throughout the game.
Of course the big trouble I’m talking about is on the Giants first touchdown, It was a short crossing route in the endzone to receiver Odell Beckham Jr. that would haunt the Saints defense again on their second scoring drive — on the exact same play.
This lead to multiple screams of “Jesus guys he’s going to Beckham!” and “Can someone cover #13?!?” all as Beckham did his trademark endzone dance.
Nov 1, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) throws against the New York Giants during the first quarter of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
But Brees would turn those into screams of joy as he did his own magic in the game; notching seven touchdown throws and 511 yards passing with Marques Colston, Willie Snead, Brandin Cooks, C.J. Spiller, and Benjamin Watson being the beneficiaries of those scores.
Colston had perhaps his best recent game in memory; with 114 yards receiving to go along with his touchdown and looked like the clutch receiver he was for the Saints in the past.
More from Big Easy Believer
- New Orleans Saints: Three biggest questions heading into the offseason
- New Orleans Saints: Three positives to take from playoff loss
- New Orleans Pelicans: Betting guide vs. Sacramento Kings
- New Orleans Saints: Bold predictions for Wild Card Round vs. Vikings
- New Orleans Pelicans: Betting guide in Los Angeles Lakers rematch
The playing calling on offense by the Saints seemed to be the creative masterpiece that it once was, save for reverse to Cooks — which needs to be stricken from the playsheet for Payton in the future.
I will say the only time that things seemed quite “weird” was when a booming chant of “Let’s Go Giants!” was screamed over and over with the Saints offense on the field by large clusters of Giants fans scattered throughout the Dome.
This preceded a fumble by Snead that was scooped up by Giants cornerback Trumaine McBride and returned for a touchdown.
It seemed that the ball was bouncing towards the Giants favor but the Saints engineered a last stand as time began to expire to even the game out with Spiller’s catch and run for a touchdown.
The defense that was racked with penalties all game pulled one from the 2009 mantra of bend but don’t break, forcing the Giants to punt with 20 seconds left and everyone prepared for overtime.
Nov 1, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints punt returner Marcus Murphy (23) runs back a punt to set up the game winning field goal during the fourth quarter of a game against the New York Giants at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated the Giants 52-49. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
But on the ensuing punt, Saints returner Marcus Murphy scooted through the Giants special teams before being tackled and fumbling the ball.
I watched as the ball popped up and hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity — before Snead grabbed the ball and began to run with it, then was tackled by Giants punter Brad Wing.
A face mask penalty on Wing set the Saints up for a 50-yard field goal for kicker Kai Forbath, who as he trotted onto the field in his #5 jersey, led one patron in my section to utter, “Let’s hope he can drill that like the old #5 (former kicker Garrett Hartley) did back in the day.”
As the kick sailed into the uprights, the Dome exploded with earsplitting roars and fans were hugging each other as “Stand Up and Get Crunch” along with “Casanova” blared out of the speakers.
Joy was mixed with relief as the Saints pulled a win for the ages and evened out the drudgery that began their 2015 season.
Nov 1, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints fans celebrate after a win against the New York Giants at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated the Giants 52-49. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
But besides the obnoxious amount of points, along with penalties, there was one thing that stood out which was that the resiliency that was missing from this team seemed to be back.
It’s the formula that was a mainstay throughout their Superbowl season in games against the Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins that year.
I keep hearing about Wild Card playoff spot calculations but that is still pretty far away to even begin contemplating now at the halfway mark with the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons in the driver’s seat for now in the NFC South.
But one thing Saints fans can focus on is the grit and determination this team is showing after being written off by many just a few weeks ago, but now look like a possible contender….