The New Orleans Saints kept rolling on Sunday afternoon, beating the Denver Broncos in one of the more unusual games in league history by the score of 31-3.
How It Happened:
It was a very slow start for both teams, with neither team getting past midfield in their first two possessions. After the Saints defense forced another three-and-out, Sean Payton orchestrated a methodical 13-play, 69-yard drive that ended with Taysom Hill running it in from one-yard out to take a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.
The offensive ineptitude continued for much of the second quarter with the two teams exchanging punts on their next two possessions. Former LSU Tiger Kwon Alexander gave the Saints offense great field position with a fumble recovery that he ran back to the Denver 13-yard-line. Five plays later, Hill punched it in from two yards out to take a 14-0 lead.
New Orleans wasn’t done though with Janoris Jenkins picking off Kendall Hinton with 24 seconds left until halftime, getting it to the Broncos 41. Wil Lutz made it 17-0 as time expired with a 40-yard field goal that went through the uprights.
The third quarter started off just as unusual that saw the Saints and Broncos each throw an interception on consecutive possessions. Brandon McManus put up the first points for Denver after the interception, drilling a 58-yarder to make it a 17-3 contest.
The Saints responded on the next drive with an eight-play drive that ended with a 36-yard touchdown run by Latavius Murray to make it a three-touchdown lead. Murray found the endzone in the fourth quarter, putting the game out of reach with an eight-yard run to cap off an 11-play drive that ate up 6:54 off the clock.
Big Number: 112
The Saints defense over the last few weeks has been on another level as of late and their performance on Sunday afternoon set a new record for the franchise. The Broncos offense was limited to 112 yards of total offense, with 50 of those coming from running back Royce Freeman.
Player of the Game: Latavius Murray
The former Minnesota Viking had one of his best games in the black and gold, rushing for 124 yards and two touchdowns in a game that could simply be called bizarre.
Next Up: Sunday at Atlanta; Kickoff at 12 pm