Saints Breeze By Giants

NFL News - October 18th, 2009 - Written by John

New Orleans Saints fans expected to see a shootout at the Super Dome. They weren't expecting to see a blowout. In a battle between NFC superpowers, the Saints dominated the New York Giants and firmly established themselves as the team to beat in the conference. The Saints had 11 more first downs than the Giants, had 168 more total yards and were clearly better than New York's 30-percent third down conversions.

The Giants, meanwhile, were plagued by turnovers and penalties, being flagged nine times for 110 yards. Eli Manning's fumble late in the first half set up a crucial touchdown that broke the game open. With less than a minute to go, Manning was mauled by a Saints' blitz and caughed up the ball at his own 10. After New Orleans pounced on the ball, they tacked on another score when Reggie Bush took a pitch outside and darted into the end zone. That made it 34-17, and the Saints were the first to score in the third quarter. They never looked back en route to a 48-27 win.

Drew Brees, who had been held without a touchdown over his last three games, had four scores to four different receivers. He had 369 yards on the day and no one benefitted more than Marques Colston. He had over 100 yards at the half, but didn't score until the third quarter when he hauled in a 12-yarder. He finished with eight catches for 166 yards and didn't miss a single one of his targeted passes. In all, seven different Saints had touchdowns and gained nearly 10 yards per play.

New York's Hakeem Nicks also broke the century mark, gaining 114 yards on five catches. He even scored a touchdown for the fourth straight game, dating back to the season opener.

Manning's return to New Orleans after watching his father play for the Saints didn't go as planned. He was sacked twice and had two turnovers, which resulted in a passer rating of 61. He only threw for 178 yards and was dispatched late in the fourth quarter for David Carr.

Carr completed four of his five passes for 72 yards, including Nicks' 37-yard touchdown.

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