Tag: Score

Saints improve to 9-2 by crushing undermanned Broncos

The New Orleans Saints defeated the Denver Broncos 31-3 during Week 12 of the NFL season, with Latavius Murray and the defense stepping up.

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If not for a career-long 58-yard field goal from Brandon McManus, the Denver Broncos would not have scored any points against the New Orleans Saints in Week 12’s rare matchup between NFC and AFC stalwarts. A sudden quarterback crisis due to COVID-19 took all four Broncos quarterbacks out of the game, and the Saints defense refused to give Denver’s patchwork offense any help in a 31-3 road win.

Practice squad wide receiver and former part-time collegiate quarterback Kendall Hinton gave it his best effort, but he was put in an impossible situation. Getting thrust into the starting gig for a position he hasn’t played in years on 24 hours’ notice shouldn’t be held against him.

Still, it’s good to see the Saints defense did their jobs on a day when the offense was a little sleepy. Defensive backs Janoris Jenkins and C.J. Gardner-Johnson each intercepted passes, and defensive end Cameron Jordan bagged a sack while his teammates notched half a dozen tackles for loss. They allowed just 113 yards of offense from the Broncos, most of which came from running back Royce Freeman’s 50 yards on the ground.

For comparison, No. 2 Saints running back Latavius Murray racked up 123 rushing yards and a pair of touchdown runs. He averaged an impressive 6.5 yards per carry and shouldered the load for the Saints offense in the second half after pass-happy play calling from Sean Payton went nowhere in the first half. Credit Payton for changing his approach at halftime to put his players in the best position to make a difference.

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ESPN’s College GameDay crew makes their picks for 2020 Iron Bowl

Alabama will take on Auburn at home today for the 2020 Iron Bowl. The ESPN College GameDay crew makes their picks for the contest.

The ESPN’s College GameDay crew are stationed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama this morning as they highlight games, coaches and players from across the country, as well as making their picks for the most anticipated contests of the week.

The game of the week, to the crew, is the Iron Bowl, Alabama vs. Auburn, the rivalry that divides the state.

The guest picker for today is former Alabama quarterback Joe Namath.

The crew and Broadway Joe unanimously picks the Crimson Tide to win the Iron Bowl, and some even predicted the game to not end in close fashion.

Lee Corso ended the predictions by playing ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and wearing the ‘Big Al’ mascot head.

 

Saints defense steals the show in Taysom Hill’s solid first start

Taysom Hill looked the part in his first start, but the New Orleans Saints defense stole the show in their victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

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There wasn’t much to complain about from the New Orleans Saints’ Week 11 win over the Atlanta Falcons, with the Saints defense dominating the afternoon and Taysom Hill looking the part of a starting quarterback in the 24-9 victory.

Hill held his own, and showed some of the qualities that have made the Saints believe in him — he threw with plenty of zip, climbed the pocket with clean footwork, and didn’t shrink under pressure. He finished the day after completing 18 of 23 pass attempts for 233 yards, taking 3 sacks while running 10 times for 51 rushing yards and a pair of touchdown runs. He did have an ugly late-game fumble after a nice 20-yard run, which shouldn’t happen again.

But the more impressive performance came from his teammates on the other side of the ball. Led by a season-high 3 sacks from defensive end Cameron Jordan, the Saints defense harassed and harangued Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan throughout the day, taking him down 8 times and rushing him into a pair of costly interceptions. Ryan completed just a few passes of 20-plus yards, his longest gain coming on a 46-yard bomb to Calvin Ridley on the opening drive after Janoris Jenkins tripped up in coverage; Jenkins got some payback later on with a fourth-quarter interception.

Sure, there are areas the Saints can improve. Thomas Morstead was inconsistent, averaging just 39.8 yards per punt, and Wil Lutz banged a field goal try off the uprights. Hill showed some problems with ball security in addition to the fumble, lobbing a would-be red zone interception early on that was luckily dropped. And the defense had a few coverage busts to review. Also, it would be nice to see Alvin Kamara involved more successfully.

On the whole, however, this was as strong a debut as you could hope for in Hill’s first career start. The Saints have plenty to room to improve despite their 7-game winning streak. And with more winnable matchups head (like a rematch with this same Falcons team in two weeks), they just might continue rolling until Drew Brees is healed up and ready to return.

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Tyrann Mathieu congratulates Saints on stomping Bucs: ‘Y’all deserve a second line’

Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu, a hometown New Orleans Saints fan, congratulated Alvin Kamara on beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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The New Orleans Saints took down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and took control of the NFC South — for now — with their 38-3 blowout victory on Sunday night, and they earned praise from one noted New Orleanian: Tyrann Mathieu. The New Orleans native and former LSU Tigers standout might be playing for the Kansas City Chiefs these days, but the “Honey Badger” is still keeping tabs on his home team.

Saints running back Alvin Kamara took a lackadaisical approach when reflecting on the game on Twitter; he simply shared an emoji of someone yawning, which makes sense after his quiet day in the office. Kamara played the part of a decoy for much of the night, only handling 9 carries for 40 yards and a touchdown run with 5 catches for 9 yards sprinkled in here and there. After carrying the offense for two months, he appreciated the rest.

But Mathieu responded to him with enthusiasm, saying “Y’all boys showed off. Y’all deserve a second line haha,” which is all kinds of great. It’s clear respect runs deep between the two competitors.

And we don’t have to wait much longer to see them face off. Mathieu’s Chiefs are the only team remaining on New Orleans’ schedule with a winning record right now, and they’ll visit the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for a big-time battle on Dec. 20. Kamara and Mathieu should end up seeing a lot of each other in that one, but for now, they’re all just happy to celebrate the Saints’ success.

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Saints sink Bucs, sweep Tom Brady for the first time in his NFL career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was never swept by his AFC East division rivals, but the New Orleans Saints managed just fine.

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Tom Brady may be having second thoughts about leaving the AFC East. He’s been swept in two meetings with a real division rival for the very first time in his 19 years as a starter, having fallen short to the New Orleans Saints in their 38-3 victory over his Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It was a masterful game by the Saints, who outcoached Tampa Bay in every phase of the game: offense, defense, and special teams. Brady was sacked three times, intercepted three times, and limited to a passer rating of just 40.4

For context, all three of the Saints quarterbacks to throw a pass rated better: Drew Brees (135.2), Taysom Hill (118.8), and even Jameis Winston (116.7), the former Buccaneers first-overall draft pick that they gave up on after his first year in head coach Bruce Arians’ turnover-prone system. Nearly every quarterback he’s ever coached set a career-high in interceptions in their first year, and Brady is well on his way with seven picks in his first nine games.

So Winston had to feel good to get to close out the game with the Saints’ reserves in mop-up duty, kneeling out the clock at the stadium he helped put on the map. It just might end up becoming a nice start to his own Saints career.

The Saints are 6-2 now, with a pair of tiebreaking wins over these upstart Buccaneers. Maybe it sets them up for a third confrontation in the playoffs.

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Former Saints LB A.J. Klein has ‘the game of his life’ as Bills upset Seahawks 44-34

Former New Orleans Saints linebacker A.J. Klein was instrumental in helping the Buffalo Bills upset the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 44-34

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Have a day, A.J. Klein: the former New Orleans Saints linebacker was instrumental in the Buffalo Bills’ 44-34 upset of the visiting Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, playing so well that teammate Micah Hyde shouted him out afterwards, saying: “A.J. Klein had the game of his life.”

Klein was credited with five tackles, all solo and one for a loss of yards, plus two sacks and four quarterback hits. He also forced a fumble out of Seahawks MVP candidate Russell Wilson, which he recovered to help put the game away late in the fourth quarter.

It’s disappointing that the Saints weren’t able to retain Klein as a free agent earlier this year, but even their salary cap maneuvering doesn’t allow for everyone to be re-signed when their contract is up. And Klein earned a nice three-year, $18 million offer from Buffalo to reunite with Sean McDermott, his former defensive coordinator when they were both with the Carolina Panthers.

Klein played often for the Saints during his three-year stint in New Orleans, frequently lining up as the middle linebacker next to Demario Davis in nickel personnel and shifting to the strong side whenever the Saints played base. But the decision to let him leave in free agency was fueled by the belief that Klein wasn’t as talented an athlete as Alex Anzalone, without as much upside.

We’ll see if it pays off in the long run. The Saints tried to replace Klein by drafting Zack Baun out of Wisconsin and making him change positions from his hand-in-the-dirt pass rushing role, and again by trading for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Kwon Alexander. Even if Klein was never the flashiest player in New Orleans, it’s tough to buy into the idea that it was the right move given how poorly the defense has played in his absence, and with the Saints continuing to try and find a replacement.

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QB Russell Wilson gets Seahawks on the board in Buffalo

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson scored his first rushing touchdown of the year in Week 9 against the Bills to get Seattle on the board.

The Seattle Seahawks are in Buffalo Week 9 to take on the red-hot Bills on a very nice and warm November day. After trailing the Bills 17-0 well into the second quarter, the Seahawks are finally on the board.

Quarterback Russell Wilson pulled off his first QB sneak and rushing touchdown of the year to put Seattle back in the ballgame.

The scoring drive went eight plays for 85 yards in 4:42.

Wilson has been setting records with his scores all season and, interestingly enough, five of his 20 career rushing touchdowns have been against Buffalo although he’s only faced them twice before today.

Here’s a look at Wilson’s TD for Seattle’s first points of the game.

 

As of this post, the Seahawks trail the Bills 24-7 with 2:00 to go in the first half.

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WATCH: DK Metcalf’s sprint for the touchdown to give Seahawks lead

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf sprints in for the touchdown to close out the first quarter, Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf just keeps getting better and better.

Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers, Metcalf turned on the speed once again for the Seahawks’ first score of the day.

The point-after attempt was no good, so Seattle closed out the first quarter with a 6-0 lead over the 49ers.

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