Ryan completed 30-of-44 attempts for 295 yards and two touchdowns.
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“It’s just ball security”. “He’s probably one of the greatest teammates you could ever ask for. I think we’re sailing in the right direction”. They won’t get a Super Bowl this season, and it is highly unlikely that the Saints can even make the playoffs barring a few miracle run.
“We were able to run and pass for a lot of yards and we moved the ball real well“.
After that loss to the Eagles, head coach Sean Payton was livid. That was a pretty significant play early on.
Two second-quarter turnovers in the red zone – a fumble by rookie running back Tevin Coleman and a botched snap by center James Stone, who said he hit himself in the butt – were mistakes that proved extremely costly.
For Mauti, it was an alignment of stars.
Prior to the game, the Gleason was presented with the Pro Football Writers of America George Halas Award.
Needless to say, Gleason was thrilled with Mauti’s play.
That wasn’t the only example of New Orleans’ restored swagger on offense. “This is a special feeling”. “I’d love to have him”.
“He’s one of my heroes, man”, Michael Mauti said. Hurricane Katrina struck when he was a sophomore in high school. “When you get it down there that close you’re supposed to score and not turn it over”.
The good work didn’t stop there.
A healthy Drew Brees was the one who made that all possible for the New Orleans Saints, with the help of 34-year-old tight end Ben Watson, a former New England Patriot.
Normally the recipe to get better doesn’t usually include taking on an unbeaten team on short rest. “The cool thing was that Steve was here to see that, and they throw him up there on the JumboTron, and it brought back a few good memories. Those were all goals coming in and when you put all that together, you can win in this league”.
This time backup linebacker Michael Mauti blocked the punt and recovered it at the Atlanta 4-yard line and rumbled on in for a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter.
That play wound up being a fumble as well, but the Falcons recovered it. He’s taken opponents by surprise every week and on Thursday, he did it again against the Saints, He had over 100 yards and a touchdown of 25 yards.
The defensive front seven in particular had several outstanding individual performances, including DE Cam Jordan, LB’s Dannell Ellerbe and Hau’oli Kikaha, and Delaware / “Edge” rusher Kasim Edebali. The win kept the Saints afloat at 2-4 while handing the Falcons (5-1) their first loss of the season.
Then after the Saints’ offense didn’t seem to want to cooperate, the defense actually stopped Matt Ryan and Company cold for most of the second half to eventually let the Saints enjoy a three-score lead in the fourth quarter. And when you do that, in this building, going up against this team, it’s extremely hard to overcome that.
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“We needed a win like this”, Brees told CBS Sports. “Just keep blaming me and that will be great because I know this thing’s going to be great here, too”.
