I'm rather surprised about the Saints win against the Eagles in Philadelphia last Saturday. Recent history told us the Saints would not play well. They had poor showings on the road agains Carolina, St. Louis, New York, and Seattle. Although throughout Sean Payton's tenure as the coach of the Saints, the Saints historically played well on the road, this season, prior to Saturday night, that was not the case.
Drew Brees threw two interceptions in the game, and the Eagles had zero turnovers. Normally, on the road, losing the turnover battle is a recipe for a loss. So what happened?
1. Drew Brees wasn't at his best, but the Saints got consistent running from the running backs, despite the fact that Pierre Thomas was injured. Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson were incredible. Ingram probably saved his career on Saturday night, and Robinson had sort of a coming out party on the national stage. Ingram has been playing well lately, and it was good to see him come through in the playoffs.
Also, we got no fumbles from the running back position.
2. The offensive line was opening up holes for the running backs, and getting a push up front. They won the battle of the line of scrimmage, and that was instrumental in allowing the running backs to make plays. Also the fact that the running game was a factor took a lot of pressure off of Drew Brees.
3. Kenny Stills and Robert Meachem caught what was thrown to them. Meachem's only catch was for forty yards, and turned out to be an enormous play. Kenny Stills played well also, and was certainly a factor. His catch on the deep out route where Drew Brees threw the pass over the defender, and over Stills' shoulders was one of the more beautiful passes that I've seen from Brees. The Saints needed those two players to come through, and they certainly did.
4. The Saints' front seven won the battle of the line of scrimmage. Holding LeSean McCoy to only seventy-seven yards was enormous. As always, Cam Jordan and Akiem Hicks played like studs. Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne were both solid. The defensive front seven has been the most consistent unit on the Saints this year, and Saturday night was no different. They came to play, and were an enormous factor in this win.
5. Keenan Lewis has to be one of the most underrated players in America. Deshawn Jackson did absolutely nothing while he was in the game. While Lewis was playing, Corey White played well enough, but after his injury, and when White was asked to cover Deshawn Jackson, we were in trouble.
I am praying that Lewis is able to play in Seattle next week. With our depleted secondary going against Russell Wilson, we will not win that upcoming game without him. We somehow survived a ridiculous amount of injuries to integral players in the secondary, and somehow, they have continued to play well enough, but if Lewis is out against Seattle, we won't be able to survive, and it will take an absolute miracle to win there.
Kenny Vaccaro could have helped, but we have a lot of depth at the safety position. Raphael Bush is solid, and Roman Harper is experienced and seasoned. I'm less worried about the safety position, than I am about the cornerbacks.
To me the biggest play of the game was the dropped pass by Riley Cooper. Nick Foles threw a perfect pass that landed right in Cooper's hands, as he was wide open, and had room to run for an enormous gain, which could have been a devastating play for the Saints. Instead, the Eagles were forced to punt, and the Saints subsequently took it down the field, and scored a touchdown.
Sean Payton is among the best coaches in America. His teams make no excuses, and don't allow the past to effect their play in the present when it's "do or die." I crack up when I picture the video he made of Drew Brees and other Saints players playing well in cold weather environments during their college days, with "Winter Wonderland" playing in the background. It's sort of humorous, but it was effective, and it worked.
He knows how to relate to the players not only to motivate them, but to enable them to put the past behind them, and be in an optimum mental state for the upcoming game.
The running game, and the offensive line have been liabilities all season, and with Drew Brees throwing two interceptions, and not being his normal pin-point accurate self, they stepped up, and performed well enough for the Saints to win, despite the fact that the turnover battle was lost.
I can't say enough about this team's resolve, mental toughness, and their ability to step up and play well despite adversity. This game proves that the Saints are mentally tough, and when you combine that with one of the best quarterbacks in America, along with one of the best coaches in America, anything can happen in one game.
The Saints will have even bigger demons to exercise next week when they go into Seattle, where they were absolutely dominated 34-7 by the Seahawks last month. It's a huge week, and again, anything can happen.
More on the upcoming game against Seattle later this week.
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