Saints Escape London Victorious

In a showdown at Wembley Stadium in London, it was the New Orleans Saints who came out on top. This game was an absolute must-win for both teams and the Saints proved they can keep up with the league’s best, even without superstar Reggie Bush. Drew Brees continues to show why he’s the frontrunner for the league’s MVP. Brees spreads the ball around like no other quarterback in the NFL, and Sunday’s game against the Chargers was no different. Seven different receivers had a multi-catch game as Brees threw for 339 yards and 3 touchdown passes. San Diego had could not generate much of a pass rush on the Brees and the result was zero sacks and no forced throws for interceptions.

The fans at Wembley stadium were treated to a shootout between two of the NFL’s best offenses, however in the end it was a clutch defensive play that would seal this game. The Chargers were driving in the final minutes of the game for what would have been the game tying touchdown when Jonathan Vilma picked off Philip Rivers to close the deal. Once again Vilma led the team in tackles and came up with a big play when it mattered most. I would be shocked if Vilma was not on the NFC Pro Bowl roster come February. Aside from Vilma’s big play there were almost no plays made on defense for either team. There were no sacks, one interception, and one forced fumble in the entire game, for both teams!

It appears as though Ladainian Tomlinson is back at full strength and the Saints had trouble stopping him all game. LT was actually underused in this game because he could have done a lot more damage on the ground which would have kept Drew Brees off the field. That’s not to say that Philip Rivers wasn’t having success through the air, but when you have the worst pass defense in the NFL you have to find ways to stay on offense as long as possible. Had this game gone on for another 2 quarters the lead probably would have changed 3 or 4 more times but in the end the Saints were the ones with the ball as time ran out. The Saints will now head home and use the much needed bye week to get healthy and prepare for the second half of the season.

Remaining Schedule:

@ Atlanta

@ Kansas City

vs. Green Bay

@ Tampa Bay

vs. Atlanta

@ Chicago

@ Detroit

vs. Carolina

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Last post (s) by Jeff Lalonde

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