The “dress rehearsal” for the regular season on Saturday against the Houston Texans may have proven one thing and that is the defense for the New Orleans Saints is much improved.
After shutting down the San Diego Chargers offense last Sunday, the Saints followed that up with a 13-0 shutout in the Superdome.
The Saints got on the board late in the first quarter after a lengthy 13-play drive was capped off by a 26-yard field goal from Wil Lutz.
The score remained that way until about halfway through the third quarter when Darius Victory found the endzone from three yards out to cap a 10-play drive. Lutz put up another field goal late, this time from 48 yards out to put the game out of reach.
The New Orleans Saints will wrap up their preseason schedule on Thursday when they take on the Baltimore Ravens at home with kickoff set for 7 pm.
Extra Points:
First Glimpse at Peterson: For the first time this preseason, Adrian Peterson took the field for the early part of Saturday’s game. The veteran had six touches for 15 yards and was switched out frequently with Mark Ingram. The numbers don’t pop off the stat sheet, but he showed some solid running ability in his limited appearances.
Dink and Dunk: Drew Brees also saw some playing time in the victory and relied on his specialty of the dink and dunk passes. It worked well as he went 11-for-15 for 76 yards before letting Chase Daniel take over.
Defense Continues to Bring Pressure: The defensive effort that the Saints have put up is something that will undoubtedly please the fans of the Black and Gold. It was another game where the Saints looked nearly perfect and racked up multiple sacks on a sub-optimal offensive line. The only negative is that Nate Stupar left the game with an as of now unspecified injury.
-Clint Domingue