By Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune
November 08, 2009, 6:41PM
The New Orleans Saints survived a poor first half and knocked off their NFC South division rivals Carolina Panthers 30-20 at the Superdome on Sunday and improved to a franchise-record best 8-0 for the season.
“I’m encouraged with how we’ve been playing, there are some things we need to do better,” said Saints coach Sean Payton. I’m encouraged that we’ve won some of these games where we haven’t played our best football.”
Drew Brees threw for 330 yards and a touchdown and the Saints got a late defensive touchdown to put the finishing touches on a second half comeback.
“We felt like we could close the gap,” Brees said. “We felt like if we came out and scored right away we’d be in good shape.”
Which they did. The Saints got the ball to start the third quarter, ran four plays and scored on a 10-yard run by Pierre Thomas.
At that point, it was 17-13 and it appeared the momentum had changed.
Carolina jumped out early and was dominating in the first half with a running attack, led by DeAngelo Williams, who finished with 149 yards and two touchdowns, and took a 17-6 halftime lead.
“I thought as the game went along, and we started keying on what they were doing, we did a good job on them in the second half,” Payton said. “They’re probably the best running team in football.”
The Saints — for the first time this season — couldn’t get their running game going at all. The 1-2 punch off Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell combined for 67 yards on the ground.
It was a big day for receiver Robert Meachem, who had five catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.
The Saints (8-0) will play at the St. Louis Rams at noon next Sunday. Carolina (3-5) will play at home against Atlanta (6-3), also at noon.
Here are the in-game updates
FOURTH QUARTER
2:00: The Saints take a 30-20 lead on their seventh defensive touchdown of the season. Anthony Hargrove’s forced fumble, recovery and return for a score should just about salt this one away. The Saints are two minutes away from their best start in club history — 8-0.
4:36: The Saints have come all the way back in this one. They lead 23-20 after John Carney’s 40-yard field goal. The scoring march took 13 plays and covered 76 yards.
11:20: The Saints defense comes up with a big stop and forces a Carolina punt. Roman Harper already has a career-high 12 tackles in the game and we still have almost an entire quarter to go.
THIRD QUARTER
0:00: The Saints have fought all the way back into this one. They just tied it at 20 on a beautiful 54-yard catch and run by Robert Meachem. On the play, Meachem made a spinning leaping catch down the seam of the Carolina defense, broke a tackle and raced untouched into the end zone. The Superdome has come to life.
3:27: Carolina answered the Saints’ scoring drive with a monster 19-play, 73-yard drive of their own. They had a first-and-goal at the Saints’ 1, but had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by John Kasay. It’s 20-13 Carolina. The Panthers’ drive took more than nine minutes off the clock.
13:14: We’ve got a ballgame. The Saints appear to have wrested themselves from their funk. Pierre Thomas just scored on a short run and the lead is down to 17-13. The big play in the drive was a 45-yard strike from Brees to Devery Henderson on a slant pattern.
Halftime notes: Drew Brees has 140 yards passing, but the New Orleans Saints running game has been dismal and the Carolina Panthers have a 17-6 halftime lead. A big reason is the running of Panthers DeAngelo Williams, who has 115 yards and two touchdowns.
SECOND QUARTER
0:04: The Saints marched 76 yards for a field goal just before halftime to trim Carolina’s lead to 11 at the break. The big play was a 45-yard pass from Brees to Colston. The Saints had three chances to score a touchdown from inside the Carolina 10 but failed to punch it in.
John Kasay’s 32-yard field goal makes it 17-3 Carolina. DeAngelo Williams has already hit the 100-yard rushing mark. He’s got exactly 100 yards on 11 carries. Drew Brees is off to a tough start. His interception in the red zone squandered a Saints scoring threat. Brees has a fumble, an interception and a botched shotgun snap.
13:41: The good news for Saints fans is their team is finally on the board. The bad news is they had to settle for a field goal after a 15-play drive. Drew Brees botched a shotgun snap from Jon Goodwin on third down and was forced to throw a hurried incompletion. Consequently, the Saints settle for a 23-yard field goal by John Carney. It’s 14-3 Panthers.
FIRST QUARTER
0:00 Fast first quarter: Panthers lead Saints 14-0, but New Orleans is threatening, first down inside the Carolina 10.
6:53: The Panthers are all over the Saints early. Williams just scored another TD, this one from 7 yards out. Its 14-0 Panthers just eight minutes into the game. The score was set up by a sack and forced fumble on Drew Brees by the Panthers defense. Carolina’s Jon Beason recovered Brees’ fumble at the Saints’ 11-yard line. Brees held the ball too long and Tyler Brayton hit him from behind for the sack.
14:00: Ominous beginning for the Saints. DeAngelo Williams rolls 66 yards for a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage. Will Smith with a pretty sloppy effort on the tackle attempt at the line of scrimmage.
Loading ...