Many Saints fans wondered if it was the best idea to put Drew Brees back out on the field six weeks after tearing a ligament in his thumb. It’s safe to say that after a 31-9 win over the Arizona Cardinals, he was more than ready to go on Sunday.
How It Happened:
After Wil Lutz missed a long field goal on the Saints opening drive, the Cardinals wasted little time getting on the board thanks to a big pass to Charles Clay got them into the redzone. However, they had to settle for a Zane Gonzalez field goal after the Saints defense stifled them.
The Saints had some momentum on the next drive after a wide-open Taysom Hill pushes them to the Cardinals 25, but had to settle for a short field goal from Lutz to tie things up early in the second quarter to tie things up. After a three-and-out by the Cardinals, the Saints got out in front with a solid drive highlighted by a 28-yard pass to Michael Thomas. Latavius Murray finished the job a few plays later with a jaunt into the endzone to take a 10-3 lead. The Cardinals got within four points late in the first half thanks to another Gonzalez field goal.
The second half started off rough for Brees overthrowing Zach Line which was picked off by former LSU Tiger Patrick Peterson. However, the Saints defense shut down Arizona on 4th and 1 to keep it a 10-6 game. Murray then tip-toed in the endzone after a nice pass from Brees to go up by 11.
After Gonzalez nailed his third field goal of the afternoon, New Orleans marched down the field and put the game out of reach after a five-yard touchdown pass to Taysom Hill. After another turnover on downs for the Saints defense, Brees ended his day with a nice slant pass to Michael Thomas to seal the team’s sixth straight win.
Big Number: 373
Brees was almost surgical on Sunday, throwing for 373 yards through the air in his first game back after injuring his thumb.
Player of the Game: Drew Brees
How can it not be the Saints QB? In his first game back, he threw for three touchdowns and almost 400 yards on the way to a big victory headed into the bye week.