After two weeks, the 2-0 New Orleans Saints were the talk of the league, scoring 91 points, the most in the opening two-game stretch since the 2009 Super Bowl team. In week three the Black and Gold hosted the Philadelphia Eagles who were 1-1. It was a low-scoring affair throughout but a late touchdown by Saquon Barkley gave the Eagles the 15-12 win, dropping the Saints’ record to 2-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Saints received the football first and gained 54 yards in 15 plays. Alvin Kamara had eight carries for 18 yards on the drive and kicker Blake Grupe lined up for a field goal after Eagle defensive lineman Jalen Carter batted down Derek Carr’s pass on third down. Grupe’s kick hit the top of the right upright but the 34-yard attempt was good as New Orleans took the 3-0 lead with 6:51 left in the opening quarter.
Philly’s first drive resulted in a three-and-out as Alontae Taylor and Carl Granderson sacked Jalen Hurts on 3rd & 11.
Jordan Davis halted the Saints on their second possession and helped force New Orleans to punt. The Eagles then had a couple of big plays on offense. Hurts dumped the ball off to DeVonta Smith for a gain of 21 yards, then tight end Dallas Goedert made the catch on a deep over route to pick up another 43 yards and set up the Eagle offense at the New Orleans 13-yard line.
To begin the second quarter, Hurt’s pass into the endzone on 3rd & 8 was intercepted by Tyrann Mathieu and returned 23 yards to the 19-yard line. New Orleans didn’t move the chain and punted for a second time.
Dallas Goedert made three catches on Philly’s third possession for 11 yards but Carl Granderson sacked Hurts, who lost the football on the scramble. Willie Gay Jr recovered the ball and New Orleans gained possession at their 47-yard line with under seven and a half minutes to go in the second quarter.
The Saints moved the ball down to the Philly 40 but coach Dennis Allen elected to punt instead of having Grupe attempt a 57-yard field goal,
The Eagles got the ball back with under four minutes to play before the half and started at their seven-yard line. Hurts’ pass on 3rd & 11 went for 14 yards to move the chains, then Hurts scrambled and ran to the Saints’ sideline for a 21-yard run. Goedert three plays later made a 22-yard catch to the New Orleans 24-yard line. Philly then decided to go for it on 4th & 1 with 14 seconds left and Saquon Barkley was tackled at the line of scrimmage.
New Orleans went into the half with a 3-0 lead over the Eagles.
The Eagles got the ball to begin the second half and drove down the field for a fourth straight possession. Hurts completed to Smith across the middle for 18 yards to set up a 2nd & 2. Barkley picked up the first down with a four-yard carry. Bryan Bresee however sacked Hurts on fourth down and set up the Saints’ offense at their 39.
New Orleans couldn’t get anything going on offense and punted back to Philly to their 15-yard line. Saquon had a 20-yard run and the Eagles picked up a couple of first downs but J.T. Gray blocked a punt and the Saints recovered the ball at the Eagles 27.
Kamara carried the ball on all four plays and went for it on 4th & 1. The Saints star back was tackled short on the line to gain by former Saint linebacker Zack Baun and the Black and Gold turned it over on downs.
Smith went down with an injury after getting sandwiched by a couple of Saints defenders but Saquon Barkley broke loose with a 65-yard touchdown run. The Eagles went up 7-3 with 13:17 left in the fourth quarter.
On the following Saints possession, Carr deep to Kamara who was on a wheel route down the far sideline. The catch went for 27 yards and set up a 38-yard kick by Grupe to cut it to a one-point game.
Goedert made another big play on third down as he took the underneath route 30 yards down the sideline into Saints territory. New Orleans forced an incomplete pass on third down and Eagles kicker Jake Elliott lined up for a 60-yard field goal. The kick was missed and the Saints took over near midfield.
Carr found Chris Olave deep down the middle for a gain of 29 to the Phily 25-yard line. Three plays later Carr found Olave in the back-left corner of the endzone for the 12-yard touchdown. New Orleans would go for two but could convert. The Saints were up by five with 2:03 to go in the game.
The Eagles got the ball back after the two-minute warning. Goedert made things interesting as he had a 61-yard catch and run to set up the Eagles at the Saints’ 4-yard line. Barkley then takes it in for the score and also got the two-point try to put the Eagles up by three with 61 left.
New Orleans got one more chance but Carr’s pass was intercepted and the Eagles came out on top 15-12.
BIG NUMBER: 6,114
Alvin Kamara moved up to second in Saints all-time rushing with 6,114. The star running back eclipsed Deuce McCallister who has 6,096 yards. Mark Ingram leads with 6,500 yards in a Saints uniform.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Saquon Barkley
Barkley had a huge day with 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, including the game-winner as the Saints dropped to 2-1 with the 15-12 win on Sunday in the dome.
UP NEXT: The New Orleans Saints will pack their bags for Georgia as they gear up to play their NFC South foe, the Atlanta Falcons. Kickoff is scheduled for noon on Sunday, September 29th inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.