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Saints Missed Chances Lead to Loss
by Doug Miller, NewOrleansSaints.com
Sunday, September 21, 2008 - 5:40 PM
Denver, Colo. – Two missed field goals by the Saints, the first in the waning seconds of the first half, and the last in the final two minutes of the second half, proved to be the difference in the Denver Broncos’ 34-32 win over the Saints.
“This is a really tough loss,” said Head Coach Sean Payton immediately after the game. “What I take out of this game is the missed opportunities we had. I am very disappointed. We put ourselves in a position to win the game but didn’t execute. That is frustrating. Very frustrating.”
"Our focus right now has to be on getting healthy and to try to take advantage of home games in a row and get ready for San Francisco,' Payton said.
QB Drew Brees set a club-record for most completions in a single-game in club history with 39 completions, breaking his own mark of 37 completions that he set two years again vs. Cincinnati. Brees ended the day with 421 yards passing, the third-highest single game total of his career.
The Saints totaled 502 yards of total offense on 74 plays, and held the football for 32:48 in time of possession, but were unable to ever get the lead. At one point early in the second quarter, the Saints trailed 21-3, but battled back to get in the game.
Saints RB Pierre Thomas scored his second rushing touchdown of the day on a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter to pull the Saints to within 34-32 with exactly 10 minute remaining in the game.
The Saints’ rally from a 21-3 deficit to close the Broncos’ lead to 24-19 after the first two quarters of play, but Denver extended their lead to 31-19 after a prolonged touchdown drive midway through the third quarter.
Denver’s offense scored two first quarter touchdowns on pass plays and their defense scored via a 34-yard fumble recovery in the second quarter to race out to a 21-3 lead.
The Broncos opened the scoring following a 10-play, 45-yard drive in 4:29, capped off by a one-yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler to TE Nate Jackson.
The Broncos had stopped the Saints on New Orleans’ opening possession, forcing a three and out and a 22-yard punt return by rookie WR Eddie Royal gave the Broncos the ball at the Saints’ 45 yard-line. The Broncos biggest play on their opening drive was a third down conversion on a third-and-seven between Cutler and WR Brandon Stokley for 17 yards.
The Saints’ second drive was infinitely better for the visiting team. Drew Brees hit TE Jeremy Shockey on three of the Saints’ first four plays, as the two hooked up for gains of 12, 7 and seven yards. Reggie Bush also had a 14-yard reception on the drive, as well as several rushing attempts on the drive. The drive resulted in a 43-yard field goal by Martin Gramatica with 2:07 remaining in the first quarter, ending a 12-play, 55-yard drive in 6:54 in time of possession.
Denver wasted little time in widening their lead, as they started their drive at their own 30 yard-line and picked up a 21-yard completion from Jay Cutler to TE Daniel Graham. After a five-yard completion between Cutler and Stokley, the Saints’ Robert Meachem/Jo-Lonn Dunbar.aspx">Jo-Lonn Dunbar was guilty of an off-side infraction, and on the next play Cutler fired a deep pass to WR Brandon Marshall for a 35-yard touchdown pass that gave Denver a 14-3 lead following kicker Matt Prather’s second extra point of the game.
The Saints then picked up nine yards, the first on a six-yard carry by Reggie Bush, then a three-yard completion from Brees to Pierre Thomas. On a third-and-one at the Saints’ 33, Bush swept to his right for one yards and appeared to have picked up a first down, but DE John Engelberger reached in and stripped Bush of the ball. LB Nate Webster scooped up the bouncing football and returned it 34 yards for the score. Denver led 21-3 with 14:11 left in the second quarter.
New Orleans countered with their most complete and impressive scoring drive thus far in the game, converting an early third down and long with a 23-yard completion from Brees to Bush. On the play TE Jeremy Shockey alertly picked up a blitzing Dre’ Bly and afforded Brees an extra second in the pocket. Following two Bush carries, Brees lofted a pass deep down the sideline for a 28-yard gain to TE Marvin Mitchell/Billy Miller.aspx">Billy Miller. Brees then hit David Patten for an eight-yard gain and a 10-yarder to Bush to the Denver 5. RB Pierre Thomas then picked up his second rushing touchdown of the season on a five-yard jaunt up the middle that made the score 21-10.
Denver tried to snap the Saints’ momentum by trying a deep pass from Cutler to rookie Eddie Royal. But Mike McKenzie, making his first start of the season, intercepted Cutler at the Denver 49 and returned the ball 14 yards. The Saints overcame adversity when they overcame a 2-22 situation with an 18-yard completion to Lance Moore. Brees and Bush then combined for a seven yard first down completion and then Bush took a handoff, and weaved in and out of traffic for a 23-yard touchdown run that closed the one-time 18-point deficit to a 21-17 hole.
The Broncos’ drove down the field on an eight-play, 58-yard drive in 3:56, with the biggest play coming on a 29-yard completion to WR Brandon Marshall. But the Saints’ defense held inside the red-zone, with a key third down pass defensed turned in by Roman Harper that forced Denver to settle for a 27-yard field goal with nearly three minutes left in the second quarter that widened their lead to 24-17.
The Saints, with one timeout left, began their final drive of the first half at their own 20. Brees hit a hard-charging Shockey for 14 yards on the first play from scrimmage. The veteran QB then found WR Pierre Thomas/Devery Henderson.aspx">Devery Henderson over the middle of the field for a gain of 19 yards, and went right back to Shockey for 16 more yards and the Saints were on the Denver 31 at the two minute warning. Bush reeled in a quick hitting screen pass that picked up one yard before Brees hit Miller over the middle for 13 yards and a first down. Brees then hit Robert Meachem for 12 yards to the five yard-line.
Brees coolly fired a quick slant to WR David Patten to the one-yard line and Denver called a timeout with :57 left in the first half. Thomas tried the middle of the Denver line, but was stopped by DT Dewayne Robertson inches shy of the goal line. On third down, Brees mishandled the snap as he tried to sneak it into the end zone but an alert Mike Karney recovered the ball at the one.
On fourth-and-goal from the one, the Saints’ elected to go for the touchdown. The team came out in a three-tight end set, with Carl Nicks serving as the extra tight end. Thomas tried to follow a lead block by FB Mike Karney but was stopped at the one by a diving LB, D.J. Williams.
The Saints’ defense through, came up with a big play of their own, when DE Charles Grant and DT Sedrick Ellis knifed through the line of scrimmage of dropped RB Selvin Young for a safety. The score, inside of 30 seconds, was Denver 24-19.
Denver punter Brett Kern misfired on a punt and the Saints got the ball without any timeouts remaining at midfield. The team was able to get in position to try a 51-yard field goal as time expired, but Martin Gramatica’s 51-yard field goal missed narrowly to the left.
Saints QB Drew Brees completed 23-of-28 passes for 243 yards in the first half of play. His favorite target was Reggie Bush (7-58), while Bush also had 11 carries for 44 yards for 102 yards from scrimmage and a rushing score.
Denver QB Jay Cutler was 7-of-11 for 112 yards with two touchdowns and the interception that McKenzie snared. RB Selvin Young had eight carries for 48 yards. The Broncos leading receiver was Brandon Marshall (2-64-1 TD).
Denver started the second half with the ball at the own 30, but the Saints’ defense held the Broncos to only two yards and the Broncos punted the ball away to the Saints with a 49 yard punt that Bush returned 17 yards to the Saints’ 36.
The Saints suffered the same fate that the Broncos experienced, though, going three downs and out and the Broncos started at their own 20 yard-line following Steve Weatherford’s touchback.
Denver through managed to get some momentum back offensively. Denver managed to put together an extended drive that covered 80 yards in 12 plays. The longest gainer of the drive was a 22-yard pass interference penalty that was thrown at CB Jason David on a third down pass intended for WR Brandon Marshall. Denver capitalized and marched the remainder of the way down the field, ending with a two-yard run off the left side of Denver’s line for a touchdown. Following Prather’s extra point Denver led 31-19 with 7:37 remaining in the third quarter.
Drew Brees coolly dropped back in the pocket and watched as a blitzing linebacker set his sights on the quarterback, but Brees fired a pass deep down field for Meachem that went for 74 yards to the Broncos’ g yard-line. The Saints were forced to call a timeout with 7:08 left in the third quarter, through. On the next play, Brees hooked up with Bush coming out of the backfield for a six-yard scoring play.
The Saints had the Broncos pushed back on a first-and-20 from the Denver 10 after a holding call, but the Broncos converted a third-and-seven two plays later when Cutler hit Marshall for a 33-yard gain to the Saints’ 44. Two plays later Cutler found Marshall over the middle of the field for an 18-yard gain to the Saints’ 22. New Orleans called their second timeout of the half. On first down from the 22, Cutler was unable to connect with Royal after tight coverage from McKenzie. Cutler hit RB Selvin Young out of the backfield for a gain of seven yards. On third down DE Will Smith bulled through his blocker and drilled Pittman for loss and Denver settled for a 34-yard field goal by Prater that pushed Denver’s lead back up to eight points, 34-26, with 2:20 left in the third quarter.
The Saints began their drive at their own 24 yard-line late in the third quarter and picked up six yards on two plays. The Saints converted their first third down of the drive when Brees drilled Shockey over the middle of the field for a four-yard gain and the first down. Brees tried to find a crossing Pierre Thomas/Devery Henderson.aspx">Devery Henderson on the next play but the ball and a defender seemed to arrive at the same time and the pass fell incomplete. On third down Brees found a diving Moore over the middle for a gain of 15 yards. Bush picked up three yards on a short completion and then seven yards to the Denver 39 on a run. Brees continued to spread the ball around and found Shockey over the middle for seven yards on first down. On second down Brees spotted a blitz and checked a pass down to Bush for a second down gain of four yards. On first down Bush picked up six yards with a run over the right side of the Saints’ offensive line. Brees then hit Karney out of the backfield for a gain of two and then Bush picked up the first down with a three yards rush to the Denver 16. Brees and Moore then picked up six yards. On the ensuing play, Pierre Thomas took a handoff around the left side for a touchdown, which closed the scoring to 34-32 with 10:00 remaining. The Saints’ extra point failed to connect as the pass intended for Bush was broken up in the end zone.
Denver took over their own 23 and Eddie Royal took an end around for six yards. S Roman Harper was flagged for a personal foul infraction for allegedly hitting Royal as he was out of bounds. Cutler then connected with Marshall for a 28 yards gain to the NY 30. On the next play Denver picked up nine yards when Cutler and TE Tony Scheffler for nine yards. After a false start penalty, Cutler connected with Stokley for a gain of seven yards and the first down. Cutler connected with Scheffler for an 11-yard gain to the NO 8. A first down pass misfired. On second down the Saints sent to house on a blitz and Cutler dumped the ball to Schleffer in the flat and LB Scott Shanle stripped him of the ball at the five yard-line. An alert Jason David scooped up the ball and returned it 16 yards to the Saints’ 21 before being tackled by C Casey Weigmann.
After a long television timeout, Denver head coach Mike Shanahan challenged the ruling on the field, saying the tight end didn’t have possession. The ball rested on the Saints’ 21 with 5:33 left in the game. The officials ruling on the field was that it indeed was a fumble and the Broncos were charged with their final timeout. On second down Brees hit Shockey for a gain of eight yards in traffic. On third down Brees hit a crossing Henderson for a gain of 23 yards. The Saints’ machine kept rolling, as Brees hit Moore for 15 yards to the Denver 33. Bush then picked up seven yards to the 26 with 3:18 left in the game. Bush then managed two yards behind the center/left guard to the 24. On third down the Saints were stopped when Thomas was stopped in the backfield by D.J. Williams for a loss of one yard.
The clock hit the minute waning with the ball resting on the 27. Martin Gramatica was called in to try a 43-yard field goal from the right hashmarks in front of the boisterous crowd but the kicker pushed the ball right of the uprights.
The Broncos took possession at the Saints’ 33 yard-line with 1:50 left in the game. The Broncos picked up two yards on a carry and the Saints called their final timeout. On second down the home team picked up six yards on a cutback run to their own 41. On third down Pittman was dropped for a loss of four yards. The Broncos punted away with :15 left and Bush fielded the ball and tried to find something and ended up with a 13-yard return to the 20 with :08 left. Brees’ first down pass was incomplete as he tried to connect with Henderson along the sideline. The Saints tried a hook and ladder play on their final play but Lance Moore was tackled in Saints territory.
Notes: Starting LT Jammal Brown left the game with a groin injury in the second quarter and was replaced by Zach Strief. CB Randall Gay also irritated his hamstring and was forced out of the contest.
Reggie Bush had 73 yards on 18 carries and added 11 receptions for 75 yards for 148 yards from scrimmage. TE Jeremy Shockey had eight receptions for 75 yards. WR Lance Moore added 78 yards on seven receptions and Robert Meachem added 86 yards on two grabs. CB Tracy Porter had a team-high 7 tackles, including one for a loss. Roman Harper, Kevin Kaesviharn and Charles Grant all had six stops each.
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