Best and Worst of the New Orleans Saints 2016 Season Awards
By Bob Rose
Oct 30, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton left celebrates with his team after a win against the Seattle Seahawks in a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated the Seahawks 25-20. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
BEST MOMENT OF THE 2016 SEASON: SAINTS SLIP PAST THE SEAHAWKS ON THE GAME’S FINAL PLAY
Even though this game turned out to be a another “nail-biter” as essentially every single game that the Saints played in 2016 — except for both of the Falcons games — this was a game back in Week #8 at home in the Superdome that the Saints actually dominated, especially in time of possession.
But yet because of things like a costly Mark Ingram fumble that was returned for a TD and the notable (and unusual) struggles of the Saints goal-line offense, Seattle ended up leading most of the game until the Saints caught them and surpassed them early in the 4th quarter.
The victory wasn’t assured until the Saints defense had to come up with one last stop on Seattle’s final drive, which started on the Seattle 32 with 1:50 left. Seahawks QB Russell Wilson took Seattle all the way down to the Saints 10, where he had one final play to get the Seahawks in the end zone with only 2 seconds on the clock.
Oct 30, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jermaine Kearse (15) catches a pass over New Orleans Saints cornerback B.W. Webb (28) but is ruled out of bounds on the final play of the game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated the Seahawks 25-20. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
As the entire building held its breath, Wilson lofted a pass toward the corner of the end zone, where Seattle WR Jermaine Kearse caught the ball — but he landed out of bounds, as the Saints fans in attendance erupted in celebration.
It was nice to see the Saints on the winning end of one of these nerve-wracking finishes for once; and perhaps more importantly: it gave the Saints their biggest win of the 2016 season in an absolutely thrilling ending — and a fabulous finish to one of the more anticipated Saints regular season match-ups in recent memory.