New Orleans Saints Review

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A HUGE win against the Dirty Birds has the Saints back in the playoff hunt.  Now, they have to go into their own house of horrors – Soldier Field, and take on the Bears to keep the dream alive.

Episode Length: 28:45

Hope is alive!  With a thrilling victory over the division rival Atlanta Falcons, the Saints have kept alive hopes for playing in January.  It also didn’t hurt that the Redskins and Cowboys lost their critical games this weekend as well.  Because of a tie breaker, Dallas currently owns the final NFC Wild Card spot.

But the Saints took care of business with contributions from all three phases.  Offensively, they showed uncharacteristic balance as Sean Payton forced himself to call running plays.  It worked.  They ran the ball 30 times for 184 yards as a team, led by Pierre Thomas.  It very much made Atlanta’s potent pass rush as a non-factor.

Defensively, ok, they gave up some yards to Matt Ryan.  But Jason David’s first quarter interception of the rookie sensation led to a Reggie Bush touchdown reception and a 7-0 lead.  Plus, they did hold running back Michael Turner down, limiting him to just 61 yards on 18 carries.

And on special teams, it was Pierre Thomas again.  His 88 yard kickoff return setup his own 5 yard touchdown run and it proved to be the winner.  Credit Mike Karney with a key run on 4th and 1 to give the Saints a shot at that last score.  The Saints could have gone for a short field goal to tie the game at 25, but Sean Payton decided to give his team one more shot at converting a short yardage situation.  It paid off.

For Atlanta, this was a tough loss, as they could have put some more space between themselves and the rest of the pack fighting for that final Wild Card spot.  But for the Saints, this win is their lifeline to play another meaningful game.  This time, it’s going to come outdoors in freezing cold Chicago, to face a Bears team that is equally in need of a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

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Finally, a makeup episode to replace the malfunctioned Tuesday edition   I take a look back at the disaster in Tampa and preview the big division game against Atlanta.

Episode Length: 17:26