The New Orleans Saints fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter and they trailed 10-6 at the half.  But Coach Payton made a lot of changes in the gameplan in the second half and it paid off big time.  It all started with a onside kick on the first play of the second half and the Saints had the momentum the rest of the way.  Drew Brees was outstanding yesterday completing 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs (114.5 QB Rating).  Pierre Thomas was pretty effective in this game as he carried the ball 9 times for 30 yards (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 55 yards (9.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Reggie Bush pitched in with 5 carries for 25 yards (5.0 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 38 yards (9.5  avg).  Marques Colston (7 rec, 83 yards), Devery Henderson (7 rec, 63 yards) and Jeremy Shockey (3 rec, 13 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Saints yesterday.  The Saints finished up with 332 total yards on offense (51 rushing, 281 passing) in this game.

The Saints gave up a lot of yards on defense but they made big plays when they had to keeping the Colts off the scoreboard.  Safety Roman Harper led the way for the Saints on D with 8 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Linebacker Jonathan Vilma also had a solid game with 7 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  CB Tracy Porter made the biggest impact for the Saints on D as he picked off a Peyton Manning pass late in the 4th quarter that he returned 74 yards for a TD to put the Saints up 14 points.  The Colts finished up with 432 total yards on defense (99 rushing, 333 passing) but it didn’t matter in the end as the SAINTS ARE SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS!

The New Orleans Saints are heading to their first Super Bowl trip in franchise history after winning a close game in overtime against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game.  The Saints’ 23-year-old kicker Garrett Hartley hit a 40-yard field goal in overtime to send the Saints to the Super Bowl.  The Saints offense had a solid game, but the defense had more to do with this win than their potent offense.  Although they gave up a ton of yards (475 total yards), they forced 6 fumbles (recovering 3 of them) and picked off quarterback Brett Favre twice.  One of those interceptions could not have come at a bigger moment in the game.  After the Vikings were pushed out of field goal range with under a minute to play in regulation, the Vikings needed to make a play to get themselves back into their kicker’s range.  Brett Favre rolled out to his right, and tried to throw across his body to the middle of the field, when Tracy Porter easily jumped in front of it and picked it off.  This ended the Vikings chances at winning in regulation and sent the game into overtime.  The Saints one the toss and Drew Brees got the Saints into field goal range and the rest was history.

Drew Brees and the Saints offense didn’t total very many yards, only getting 257 total yards.  What they did do well is manage the game and take care of the ball.  The Saints only had 1 turnover, as compared to the Vikings 5, so it didn’t matter that the Vikings had over 200 yards more than them on offense.  Reggie Bush did not have the game he had last week, and was not effective running the ball (8 yards on 7 carries).  He did catch 2 passes for 33 yards, including a touchdown so he still made an impact.  Pierre Thomas ran the ball well, rushing for 61 yards and 1 touchdown on 14 carries.  This was a huge win for the Saints and probably the most important win in franchise history.  Now they have to worry about Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, who they will square off against in the Super Bowl on February 7th in Miami.

The New Orleans Saints looked great in their recent blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Divisional Round.  Drew Brees did a great job helping the Saints offense make an early statement.  After the Cardinals opened up the scoring with a 70-yard touchdown run by Justin Hightower on the Cardinals first play, Brees led the Saints to 14 straight points.  Then Reggie Bush, who had a big day for the Saints, made a huge play by going 46-yards for a touchdown and giving the Saints a 21-7 first quarter lead.  It was a huge blow to the Cardinals and it set the tone for the rest of the game.  Bush had 84 rushing yards and the touchdown on 5 carries, but he also had an 84-yard punt return for a touchdown to seal the win for the Saints in the third quarter.  Brees ended up with 3 touchdowns on 23/32 for 237 yards.

The Saints defense did a great job against a very good Cardinals offense.  The Cardinals just came off a victory over the Packers where they scored 51 points, so they definitely know how to put some points on the board.  The Saints defense got very physical with the Cardinals and roughed up quarterback Kurt Warner.  They kept Warner out of the endzone and he finished with just 205 yards and an interception on 17/26 passes.  Other than the first play when Hightower took it to the house, the Saints defense did a good job shutting down the Cardinals running game.  This was a convincing win over a good team by the Saints, and it is going to be a very exciting matchup between them and the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game.

The Saints didn’t put much of a effort into this game yesterday and it showed on the scoreboard.  Mark Brunell looked rusty and old as he completed 15 of 29 passes for 102 yards with a INT.  Lynell Hamilton led the way for the Saints on the ground yesterday with 48 yards rushing on 10 carries (4.8 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 38 yards (12.7 avg).  Reggie Bush (5 car, 35 yards) and Mike Bell (17 car, 28 yards) both were also busy in the running game for the Saints.  TE Darnell Dinkins was the leading receiver for the Saints with 4 grabs for 20 yards (5.0 avg).  The Saints finished up with only 213 total yards on offense (111 rushing, 102 passing) in this game.

CB Randall Gay (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and LB Jonathan Casillas (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led the way on D for the Saints yesterday.  DL Anthony Hargrove had a solid game for the Saints too with 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit.  The Panthers finished up with 327 total yards on offense (178 rushing, 149 passing) in this game.  The Saints finished up the year with a 13-3 record and the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

The Saints laid an egg after playing decent football for the first three quarters.  The Bucs scored 14 points in the 4th quarter to tie the game yesterday and then Connor Barth whacked a 47-yard field goal to beat the Saints in OT.  Drew Brees was very efficient yesterday completing 32 of 37 passes for 258 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Pierre Thomas rushed for 60 yards on 6 carries (10.0 ypc) with a TD run before leaving the game due to injury.  Reggie Bush only carried the ball twice for 16 yards (8.0 ypc) but he also caught 6 passes for 37 yards (6.2 avg).  Marques Colston led the way in the passing game for the Saints yesterday with 8 grabs for 77 yards (9.6 avg).  Robert Meachem pitched in with 5 grabs for 66 yards (13.2 avg) with a TD grab.  The Saints finished up with 373 total yards on offense (124 rushing, 249 passing).

CB Malcolm Jenkins (10 tackles) and LB Johnthan Casillas (10 tackles, QB hit) led the way for the Saints on D yesterday.  Safety Darren Sharper also had a solid game with 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception.  CB Tracy Porter pitched in with 6 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  The Buccaneers finished up with 439 total yards on offense (176 rushing, 263 passing) in this game.  But, as bad as the defense played the special teams really killed the Saints yesterday.  The Bucs’ Michael Spurlock scored on a 77-yard punt return for a TD with only 2:25 left in the football game.  Then Drew Brees took the team right down the field and Garrett Hartley missed a chip shot field goal sending the game into O.T. where the Saints lost the game.  The Saints are now 13-2 on the year.