The New Orleans Saints put their win streak on the line on Sunday when they hosted the New York Jets for a Week 16 matchup. The Black and Gold came alive in the second half, taking down the Jets 29-6 to improve to 5-10 on their opening drive season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Disaster struck for the Saints early. On the second play of the game, Taysom Hill fumbled on his eight-yard run. Malachi Moore punched the football loose and Qwan’tez Stiggers recovered for the Jets at the New Orleans 37-yard line.
New York picked up a couple of first downs including a 12-yard screen pass to Isaiah Williams. Their offense was stopped well short of sticks on 3rd & 12 and Nick Folk lined up for a 29-yard field goal.
The Saints responded with a 12-play, 43-yard drive. Tyler Shough’s longest pass completion on the possession was a 10 yarder to Juwan Johnson. New Orleans would tie the game with a 35-yard Charlie Smyth kick.
A chop block set the Jet offense back and led to a punt after four plays. With that, New Orleans went another 35 yards in eight plays and took the 6-3 lead with a 49-yarder field goal. Shough was sacked by Jamien Sherwood on a 3rd & 6 play.
Isaiah Davis’s 25-yarder catch set up the Jets’ offense in the redzone but Folk wen in and tied the game with a 36-yard kick with 12:38 left in the second quarter.
The Saints turned the ball over on their next possession after Hill was stuffed at the line of scrimmage on a 4th & 1. After that, New Orleans reclaimed the lead with Smyth’s third field goal of the first half. The drive lasted 15 plays that included a Hill redeeming himself with a fake punt run for move the chains. Chris Olave couldn’t hold onto Shough’s pass in the end zone on third down.
Cam Jordan sacked quarterback Brady Cook on back-to-back plays with under two minutes to go. Shough’s 31-yard pass to Johnson gave Smyth an opportunity to extend the Saints’ lead but his 61-yard kick pulled to the left. New Orleans went into the half ahead 9-6.
Neither offense was productive coming out of the locker room. The first three drives resulted in punts with New Orleans going backward on their opening drive.
The Saints added on to their lead with the game’s first touchdown late in the third quarter. The Black and Gold began at the seven-yard line as Shough completed six passes on their opening drive. It ended with Olave getting open for the 23-yard score.
On the ensuing drive, Nathan Shepherd sacked Cook and forced a fumble on the play. Chase Young recovered the ball for New Orleans and Smyth made his fourth field goal to give them a 13-point advantage with 11:09 left in the fourth quarter.
Rookie safety Jonas Sanker intercepted Cook and returned the football 29 yards to the Jets 44-yard line. Following the turnover, Smyth knocked through his fifth kick, making it 22-6
After New York turned the ball over on downs, Hill subbed in at quarterback and took a deep shot to Olave for a 38-yard touchdown to put six more nails in the coffin. The Saints would improve to 5-10 with the 29-6 win in the Caesar’s Superdome.
BIG NUMBER: 8
New Orleans sacked Jets quarterback Brady Cook eight times with Cam Jordan being responsible for two of them. With those two sacks, Jordan’s career total is at 130 and Cook was also the 51st QB he’s brought down.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Olave
Chris Olave had quite the days with the scoring struggle through most of the game. At the end, Olave had 10 catches for 148 yards, and two touchdowns as the Saints came out on top 29-6.
UP NEXT: The New Orleans Saints will travel to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans. Kickoff from Nissan Stadium is set for noon on Sunday, December 28th.