The New Orleans Saints opened the NFL regular season with an impressive 14-9 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in front of 70,051 fans at the Superdome.
The victory marks the first time the Saints have won three straight regular season openers. The Saints are 4-1 in season openers under head coach Sean Payton.
“Big win - really good win for our team,” said Saints head coach Sean Payton. “We played a very good team tonight and I was proud of the way we came through.”
QB
"We aren't use to 14-9 victories, but we are use to winning. We like the 'W'," said Brees.
Brees connected with nine different Saints led by WR
Defensively, LBs
The Saints came firing out the gates as Brees opened the Saints first drive with a 28-yard completion to Colston, followed by a 12-yard bullet to
Late in the first quarter, Brees fumbled the snap but scooped it up and rolled to the right to avoid pressure and fired a pass to
Of the Saints 16 plays in the first stanza, 15 were passes. New Orleans’ one run was an eight-yard gain by Bush. The Saints offense stalled in the second quarter.
The Vikings got on the scoreboard with a 41-yard field goal by K Ryan Longwell at the 5:28 mark in the second quarter.
With 2:34 remaining in the first half and the Vikings on their own 18-yard line, the Saints blitzed and S
Vilma’s pick was the 11th of his career, and his fifth as a Saint. Vilma has had at least one interception in each of his seven seasons in the NFL.
The Saints were not able to capitalize on Vima’s interception as K
Favre connected with TE Visanthe Shiancoe on a 20-yard touchdown pass with 34 seconds left in the first half. NT
Ayodele's blocked PAT was the first by a Saint since former black and gold DT Grady Jackson had a blocked PAT at Cincinnati, Dec. 22, 2002. Additionally, it was the first block of any kind by a Saint in the Superdome since former S Steve Gleason’s memorable blocked punt in the return.
The Saints regained the lead with 6:13 left in the third quarter when Thomas ran up the middle for a one-yard touchdown. The Saints held on to their 14-9 lead to close out the game. The Saints controlled the ball for 21:07 of the second half.