Welcome everyone to another edition of #4Downs!
1st Down: Nice Brees
After sitting out last week’s loss to the Carolina Panthers, Drew Brees came back and threw mainly short passes but at the end of the day, that’s all he needed to do because he was very efficient going 33 for 41 for 359 yards, two scores, and most importantly threw ZERO picks. This is the Drew Brees we had been expecting to see for some time. Outside of some less than perfect performance from the offensive line, the Saints offense looked like the Saints of old.
2nd Down: Saints Defense at Full Strength is Dangerous
For the first time in what feels like ages, the Saints defense had all hands on deck with Dannell Ellerbee, Keenan Lewis, and even Jairus Byrd (yes, Jairus Byrd played a game) all coming back to the Saints roster. Sure the Saints didn’t force any turnovers, but they put a ton of pressure on Brandon Weeden and played hard throughout. But what was great about the Saints defensive performance was the young guns performing at a high level. Hau’oli Kikaha and Stephone Anthony both came out on fire and led the defense with 8 tackles Kikaha and seven for Anthony, along with a sack and a tackle for loss for both rookies. Perhaps having the veteran players available to help this very young and raw defensive unit is the spark they needed all along.
3rd Down: Special Teams was a mixed bag
The Saints may not have needed to take it to overtime if not for a missed field goal by Zach Hocker in the closing seconds of regulation. At the same time, Hocker proved to be solid with a 50-yarder going through the uprights in the third quarter. Perhaps it was the fact that Thomas Morstead had a sore quad late in the game and that forced Zach Hocker, who began as a punter in high school, to punt late in the game and then come back around and kick one late in the game. But at the end of the day, it did not cost the Saints the game.
4th Down: Demons have been exorcised
The Saints had a lot of pressure on them heading into the Sunday night: not having won a game at home in almost a year, starting out the season 0-3, uncertainty about if Drew Brees was going to be able to play, and the list goes on. But the Saints came out and played well against the Cowboys, albeit without several big weapons on the field. The Saints exorcised a lot of demons on the field on Sunday night, possibly turning the page on a bad start and beginning a road to redemption. Only time will tell and we’ll just take it one game at a time.
-Clint Domingue