Saints Put Up 40 Again, Blow Out Eagles

NFL News - September 20th, 2009 - Written by John

It may be a little early, but the New Orleans Saints seem on their way to becoming the most prolific offensive team in NFL history. 

Behind the arm of Drew Brees, the Saints blew past the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, 48-22, on the road. It is the second time in a row the Saints scored at least 40 points, eerily similar to 2007 when the New England Patriots set the NFL record with 589 points in a season. In that year, which the Patriots were a perfect 18-0 heading into the Super Bowl before losing to the Giants, New England scored at least 34 points in each of it's first eight games.

Much like that team, the Saints are scoring at-will. The Eagles only allowed one touchdown in Week One against the Panthers, but Brees had more than that by himself, throwing for 311 yards and three scores, even when head coach Sean Payton began running the ball when the game got out of hand. It was his ninth touchdown on the season and is currently on pace to break Tom Brady's single-season touchdown record of 49, set in '07. 

Marques Colston was the lead recipient on the day, hauling in eight passes for 98 yards. 

He had Brees' first two touchdown passes early on that gave the Saints a 17-10 advantage in the second quarter. The Eagles would tack on a field goal to make it 17-13 heading into the break, but couldn't stop the New Orleans attack in the second half. The Saints scored 17 unanswered points to start the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 31-9 in the second half. 

Heat Evans was the first to punch it in after the break, catching a Brees pass down the right sideline and making an acrobatic dash into the end zone. Mike Bell, who had 86 yards on the day then scored his only touchdown on the day from seven yards out to make it 31-13. Following a John Carney field goal, the Eagles finally responded when Kevin Kolb hit Jason Avant with a three-yard pass to make it 34-20. 

But the Eagles never really threatened with Donovan McNabb on the sideline. McNabb broke a rib in the season-opener and was deactivated for the game. He said he hopes to be ready next week. 

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