The New Orleans Saints (1-3) returned home to the Caesars Superdome looking to snap a three-game losing skid. Their opponent, the Seattle Seahawks (2-2), has been struggling defensively all season. This contest was a slugfest down to the very end, but Taysom Hill and Alvin Kamara carried the load as the Saints get the 39-32 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The high-scoring first half started with the Saints moving the ball well down the field but settling for a 56-yard field goal from Wil Lutz. Seattle answered with a 50-yard strike from Geno Smith to DK Metcalf to quickly make it 7-3 Seahawks. Jason Myers later extended the lead to 10-3 with a 56-yarder of his own.
New Orleans turned the second quarter into the Taysom Hill show, as the Swiss Army knife scored rushing touchdowns on two separate occasions. The first came at the 10:54 mark with an eight-yard run. Then, at the 3:34 mark, Hill ran in from nine yards away to make it 17-10 Saints with the first half winding down. However, Seattle scored nine points to close out the half with a Myers 31-yard field goal and a touchdown pass from Geno Smith to Tyler Lockett with just seven seconds left in the quarter, but the PAT would fail and the half ended with a 19-17 Seahawks lead.
New Orleans would open the third quarter with a turnover on the first play from scrimmage, and the Saints would turn it into a 16-yard touchdown from Andy Dalton to Chris Olave to make it 24-19 Saints. Unfortunately, Olave suffered a concussion on the play and left the game.
Later, a big screen pass to Alvin Kamara set up Taysom Hill to throw a dart for Adam Trautman to score and extend the New Orleans lead to 31-19 after three complete quarters.
In the fourth, Seattle regained the lead on another deep ball touchdown to Tyler Lockett on what appeared to be deja vu from the earlier touchdown throw. Then, at the 6:54 mark, rookie running back Kenneth Walker III replaced Rashaad Penny and took off 69 yards for his first career touchdown to make it 32-31 Seahawks.
New Orleans answered quickly as Taysom Hill took a third-down quarterback draw 60 yards to the endzone, and after a two-point conversion, the Saints led 39-32 with 5:22 left in the game.
New Orleans would be able to get a big stop on defense and run the clock out to win the contest with a final score of 39-32.
BIG NUMBER: 39
New Orleans came alive offensively, erupting for 420 yards of offense and 39 points, which is the most they’ve scored in a game this season.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Taysom Hill/Alvin Kamara
Hill was absolutely dominant, throwing a touchdown while rushing for three more, including a 60-yard game-winning run. Not to mention, he also had a fumble recovery on special teams.
Kamara had another major game against the Seahawks, racking up 195 total yards. This was the third consecutive game against Seattle where Kamara went over 150 yards of offense.
UP NEXT: The Saints (2-3) will return to the Superdome to welcome back Louisiana’s prodigal sons Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase when the Bengals come to town. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.