Posted by Teddy Kider, The Times-Picayune December 07, 2008 10:15PM
Running back Pierre Thomas, who had 102 of the Saints’ season-high 184 rushing yards, extends the ball over teammate Carl Nicks and the goal line on a 5-yard run with 5:47 to go that turned out to be the winning touchdown in Sunday’s 29-25 victory over Atlanta at the Super´dome. Thomas set up the score with an 88-yard kickoff return.
After a lackluster rushing performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that came with an enormously disappointing loss, Saints Coach Sean Payton was emphatic in committing to better offensive balance.
His team was mostly mum on the game plan leading up to Sunday’s contest against the Atlanta Falcons, but Payton, behind the scenes, was apparently stirring up a plan for a running game.
It showed Sunday at the Superdome from the very first drive — three consecutive carries for Saints running back Pierre Thomas — and by the end of the day, it paid off. The Saints (7-6) finished with the most rushing yards they have had in a game this season, and their 29-25 win against the Falcons kept alive hopes for a playoff berth.
“Coach Payton told us during the week we needed to run the ball,” Saints center Jonathan Goodwin said. “We didn’t know we were going to start with that many runs, but thankfully we did, and thankfully we delivered.”
The Saints finished with a season-high 184 rushing yards, and Thomas had 102 of them on 16 carries, making him the first player on the team with a 100-yard rushing performance since he did it in Chicago last season. Thomas’ 5-yard run for a touchdown with 5:47 remaining in the game put the Saints ahead to stay. He also had a 7-yard catch for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
His most explosive play of the day, however, came in an area where he was not expected to be a factor. Courtney Roby, the Saints’ usual kickoff return man, was off the field with an ankle injury about midway through the fourth quarter, so Thomas stepped in and returned a kickoff 88 yards to the Falcons’ 16-yard line.
That came just after the Falcons (8-5) had taken a 25-22 lead with a touchdown and a two-point conversion.
“If Roby was in there, it would have been a touchdown,” Thomas joked. “I’m a little too slow.”
But Roby was no longer needed. Thomas capped the drive he set up with the 5-yard touchdown run, and the Falcons’ next drive — which turned out to be their last — ended in a punt with a little more than three minutes to go.
“It’s one of the more complete team wins we’ve had around here in a while,” Payton said.
The Saints had no turnovers, and quarterback Drew Brees completed 18 of 32 passes for 230 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, good for a 99.7 passer rating.
Thomas had help in the running game from Reggie Bush, who had 10 carries for 80 yards, including a career-long 43-yard burst in the first quarter.
After struggling last week against the Buccaneers in his return from knee surgery, Bush looked faster and more effective on the Superdome turf. Two plays after the 43-yard burst, Bush had a 5-yard touchdown catch — part of his three catches for 26 yards — and the Saints led 7-0.
“Our main focus was trying to run the ball on them,” Thomas said. “We wanted to make that a point, that we could run the ball on these guys. And we did a great job. Reggie and myself and the offensive line did a heck of a job of doing that for us.”
The Saints held the Falcons to 99 rushing yards, including 61 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries by running back Michael Turner. But while the Saints’ offense managed 414 total yards on 62 plays, the Falcons had 414 yards on 63 plays.
Falcons rookie quarterback Matt Ryan completed 24 of 33 passes for 315 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and receiver Roddy White had 164 yards on 10 catches.
The big mistake for Ryan on an otherwise impressive day was a poor throw that Saints cornerback Jason David intercepted early in the first quarter to set up the Saints’ first touchdown. After a three-and-out on the Saints’ first possession, Bush caught his touchdown pass on the next, aided by David.
“Jason David, he kind of set the tempo coming in with the big interception in the first quarter,” Saints defensive end Will Smith said. “So I just think, overall, we played together as a team, and like you said, it was probably the most complete game that we’ve had since we’ve been all together.”
Smith, together with running back Deuce McAllister, returned to the team late last week after a federal court judge blocked four-game suspensions that the NFL had handed down for positive drug tests. Both had quiet games, but Smith’s presence was apparent on the Falcons’ final drive.
The Falcons got the ball back with almost six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and Smith set the tone on the first play of the Falcons’ drive by tackling Turner for a 5-yard loss. With about 3 1/2 minutes to go, Ryan threw an incomplete pass on third-and-5 from his own 35-yard-line, and Falcons Coach Mike Smith decided to punt.
Atlanta did not get the ball back.
“We’re one of the better third-down teams in the league, but today, for the most part, we didn’t do really well,” Saints linebacker Scott Fujita said, referencing the Falcons’ 7-for-12 third-down efficiency. “They completed some third-and-real-longs, and that’s unfortunate. But again, when it mattered most, guys stepped up.”
Payton and Brees got their first win together when trailing after three quarters, and the Saints made sure that every NFC South team has still won all of its home games against division opponents.
New Orleans stayed alive in the playoff race, and the Saints then quickly shifted focus to the fastest transition they will have all season — a short week of preparation followed by a Thursday night game at the Chicago Bears.
“We don’t have a whole lot of control over a lot of things right now,” Fujita said. “It’s just a matter of getting ready to play Thursday.”
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