New Orleans Saints' playoff hopes on the line Sunday against the Tampa Bay Bucs in the Dome

Saints' QB Drew Brees

Denver Broncos' record setting Peyton Manning

The 10-5 New Orleans Saints facing a key challenge Sunday are in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome hosting the 4-11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 3:25 kick off. On the line is a playoff berth with a Saints' victory, while on the other hand a loss would knock the Black & Gold out of the playoff picture. However, a Saints' win coupled with a possible Atlanta Falcons upset victory over the NFC South leading 11-4 Carolina Panthers would give New Orleans the No. 2 seed along with a bye and home field advantage in the upcoming playoffs. Needless to say there is an awful lot at stake riding on Sunday's contest with the Bucs in the Dome.  The Saints earned a 16-14 victory over Tampa Bay back on September 15 on the road .During Wednesday's practice quarterback Drew Brees was limited in practice due to what was listed as a bruised knew. The Saints received good news yesterday with Brees appearing to practice uninhibited by his knee. Saints' head coach Sean Payton said, "He's fine. He had a right knee bruise. There's nothing more to it than that. And yet we thought it was best (if) we limited the amount of snaps he's getting. We just felt like we had a day to do that," Payton added. Brees' name appeared on the Saints' injury list for the first time all season Wednesday with that issue concerning his knee. Brees is poised to lead his Saints in a must win situation concerning the playoffs. Brees is second in the league behind Denver's Peyton Manning passing for 4,781 yards completing 68.2 percent of his passes with a 101.8 quarterback efficiency rating. Brees has tossed 35 TD passes with 12 interceptions. The Saints' O-line must do a better job protecting him than in recent weeks as he has been sacked 36 times on the season. Manning has led his Broncos to the AFC West crown setting a new NFL touchdown pass record of 51, breaking Tom Brady's mark of 50 set back in 2007. Manning has thrown for 5,211 yards being picked off just 10 times with a QB rating of 113.0 second to Philadelphia's Nick Folse at 118.7. Manning is within reach of breaking Brees' NFL single season yardage record of 5,476 yards as he needs just 265 yards in Sunday's road finale against the Oakland Raiders to pass the mark set by Brees in 2011.    

New Orleans Saints dominate Carolina Panthers in prime time; Drew Brees sets mark surpassing 50,000 yards

Saints' QB Drew Bres passes for 313 yards with four TDs surpassing the 50,000 yard barrier.

Saints' Marques Colston (12) is congratulated by teammate Lance Moore (16) after a TD reception against the Panthers.

The New Orleans Saints returned to their usual prime time form last night rolling past the Carolina Panthers 31-13 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in a record setting performance by quarterback Drew Brees, who passed for four touchdowns throwing for 313 yards on 30-of-42 passing. Brees became the fifth NFL quarterback to throw for over 50,000 yards joining four others and did it in 183 games, the quickest of either of them to accomplish the feat. Marques Coltston worked himself free and showed good hands, hauling in nine receptions for 125 yards with two scores. Jimmy Graham delivered catching six balls for 58 yards and two scores. The 10-3 Saints used a superb defensive team effort, which was able to bottle up Cam Newton sacking him five times triggered by Junior Galette with three and Cam Jordan, who recorded two, breaking the Panthers' eight game winning streak. The Saints' secondary did an excellent job throttling the Carolina receivers of Steve Smith, former LSU player Brandon LaFell and tight end Greg Olsen. Newton finished 22-of-34 for only 160 yards with a TD pass to Smith. Olsen caught eight passes for 40 yards, while Smith finished with six catches but for just 49 yards and LaFell had two receptions for 22 yards. The Saints took care of business in their key NFC South Division battle and square off next with the St. Louis Rams on the road this Sunday. Following the Rams' game the Saints gear up for another encounter with the Panthers, this time in Carolina before closing out the regular season hosting the much improved Tampa Bay Bucs Dec. 29. 

Saints hosting Carolina Panthers in crucial NFC South Division contest

 

The New Orleans Saints continue their preparations to host the surprising Carolina Panthers coming off their dismal showing Monday Night in a 34-7 lopsided road loss to the 11-1 Seattle Seahawks. The Saints and Panthers are both 9-3 tied for the league lead in the NFC South Division race. Carolina has won eight straight games with quarterback Cam Newton finding his rhythm. Newton presents the Saints' defense with similar challenges that they faced trying to contain Seattle's Russell Wilson, which they didn't do a very good job of. The Panthers' defense has allowed just 13.1 points per game, the NFL low, and they are plus 10 in turnover margin.  The Saints enter with a plus 3 turnover margin. Carolina's defense only allows 289.9 yards per game, giving up 209 passing yards per game and only 80 yards on the ground. The Panthers' aggressive defense has recorded 39 sacks, second most in the league, while the Saints pass rush has generated 38 sacks, while Drew Brees has been sacked 24 times. Brees and his offensive weapons will definitely have their hands full trying to generate some much needed offense after picking up only 188 total yards and scoring just seven points in last week's debacle at Seattle. The Saints' offensive line will have to do a better job protecting Brees giving him more time to look down field. Tight end Jimmy Graham leads the Black & Gold with 68 receptions for 988 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns. Pierre Thomas has latched onto 60 catches for 427 yards and three TDs. Curtis Lofton's tops the Saints' defense with 98 tackles including 63 solos with a sack. Linebacker David Hawthorne is next with 68 tackles followed by rookie safety Kenny Vaccaro with 64.   
   

Saints hold off Falcons in Georgia Dome

New Orleans Saints' running back Pierre Thomas rips off a big gainer in Thursday night's 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome. Thomas finished with 73 yards rushing and caught five passes for 57 yards. Photo courtesy of SBNation.

The Saints 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons wasn't pretty and it wasn't a convincing outing, but nonetheless it is a key 'W' for the club.
The 9-2 Saints have some off time coming following last night's win and travel to Seattle to battle the once beaten Seahawks Dec. 2 on a Monday Night encounter.
The Saints' defense did another good job last night sacking Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan five times with Cameron Jordan recording 2 1/2 sacks to help spark the defense, which did a tremendous job pressuring the Falcons' signal caller. Jordan, who consistently puts pressure on the opposing QB, leads the team with 9 1/2
sacks.
Running back Pierre Thomas, an unsung hero on the Saints' offense, put together another solid performance in workman like fashion, rushing for 73 yards on just 10 carries. Thomas also caught five passes for 57 yards on nicely executed screen passes from Drew Brees, helping to spark the offense.
Brees finished 23-of-33 for 278 yards with touchdown passes to Ben Watson, one yard and Jimmy Graham from 44-yards out. Graham notched his sixth 100-yard receiving game, tying him with the Falcons' Tony Gonzalez, who did it in 2000 and again in 2004.  

Denver's Peyton Manning will play Sunday against the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs

 

Denver's Peyton Manning underwent an MRI on Monday and it proved negative. Manning and the broncos square off with the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs. Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty images.

Saints' QB Drew Brees continued his amazing season completing 34-of-41 passes for 392 yards with four touchdowns in the Black & Gold's 49-17 thrashing of the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Prime Time Football in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images.

Denver's Peyton Manning will start Sunday after an MRI didn't reveal any new damage to his
already battered right ankle. Interim coach Jack Del Rio, filling in for John Fox, who underwent a recent heart procedure, said Manning will practice this week and he would be surprised if Manning showed any signs of the injury heading into Sunday night's prime time home clash with the unbeaten 9-0 Kansas City Chiefs, the league's only remaining unbeaten team, under first-year head coach Andy Reid.
Manning is having a career year, leading the Broncos to an 8-1 record. Manning has passed for a league-high 3,249 yards with 33 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Manning has connected on 262-of-369 attempts, hitting on 71 percent of his passes. Manning's quarterback rating is 121.0.
New Orleans Saints' QB Drew Brees is second to Manning entering week 10 of the season. Brees has thrown for 3,064 yards with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Brees has clicked on 247-of-363 attempts, hitting on 68 percent of his attempts with a 108.9 QB rating.
The 7-2 Saints enter a tough part of their schedule and host the San Francisco 49ers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome Sunday with the kickoff set for 3:25.

Brees and Ingram lead Saints' victory over Dallas

Saints' QB Drew Brees releases a pass in Sunday night's 49-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Photo by Bill Haber/Associated Press.

The New Orleans Saints were in true playoff form last night in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome
thrashing the Dallas Cowboys 49-17 as Drew Brees demonstrated pinpoint accuracy throwing for 392
yards and four touchdowns in the rout. The Black & Gold set an NFL record, picking up 40 first downs and gained a franchise record 625 yards.
The Saints, 7-2, moved to 5-0 in the friendly confines of the Dome this year as Brees clicked on 34-of-41 passes without throwing a pick.
Brees completed a career-high 19 consecutive passes at one point before misfiring trying to find Benjamin Watson in the end zone. Just as important the Saints' offensive line got the job done against an injury riddled Cowboys' defensive unit as former first round pick Mark Ingram turned in a superb effort, rushing for
145 yards on 14 carries including a 4-yard TD run, averaging 10.4 yards per carry. Pierre Thomas also got the job done picking up 87 yards on 17 carries, averaging 5.1 yards with a score.
Marquis Colston returned to action after missing last week and caught seven balls for 104 yards with a touchdown. Darren Sproles also had seven receptions for 76 yards with a TD. The Saints' defense did its job holding the Cowboys to just 193 yards of total offense and only nine first downs, while sacking Tony Romo three times for 24 yards in losses.
The Saints host the San Francisco 49ers Sunday. The 49ers came up short falling to the much improved Carolina Panthers, 10-9. The Panthers trail the Saints by just one game in the NFC South.   

Saints' "Cool" Brees does in Buffalo Bills

Saints' Drew Brees was opn target in 35-17 win over the Buffalo Bills, tossing five touchdowns in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Saints' rookie receiver Kenny Stills hauls in one of his two TD receptions from Drew Brees. The former Oklahoma star caught three passes including touchdowns of 69 and 42 yards. Photo by Chris Graythen.

 The New Orleans Saints got back on the winning side of the ledger yesterday following their bye
week, earning a 35-17 victory over the visiting Buffalo Bills in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Drew Brees turned in another superb performance riddling the Bills secondary for five touchdowns
passes, clicking on 26-of-34 passes for 332 yards finding rookie Kenny Stills on two TD tosses, covering 62 and 49 yards as the former Oklahoma star finished with three receptions for 129 yards. Brees also welcomed back dependable Lance Moore, who caught a 15-yard scoring strike, after missing three games with a hand injury. Moore caught three passes, while Jimmy Graham played and also finished with three
receptions, including 15 and 13 yard touchdowns from Brees. Pierre Thomas turned in a solid effort, rushing for 65 yards on  14 carries and caught three passes for 29 yards.
The Saints, 6-1, are on the road this week, traveling to New York to battle the Jets, who stumbled, falling to the Cincinnati Bengals 49-9.
     

Saints cruise past Cardinals behind "Cool" Brees

The New Orleans Saints pushed their record to 3-0 with an impressive 31-7 victory over the
Arizona Cardinals yesterday in the Dome with virtually no running game in the first half as
Drew Brees riddled the Cardinals' secondary collecting three TD passes and a rushing score to help spark the Saints' victory.
The unbeaten Saints host the unbeaten 3-0 Miami Dolphins in a Monday Night affair. Brees had a big day passing for 342 yards, completing 29-of-46 attempts, hitting Jimmy Graham on touchdown tosses of 16 and 7 yards, while finding Robert Meachem, an old favorite target of his, on a 27 yard-TD hook up.
The Saints gained 423 yards of total offense with Kirey Robinson, gaining 38 yards on four
carries, while Pierre Thomas rushed for 28 yards on 11 totes as the ground game was non-existent in the first half, relying on Brees and company to do it through the air.
The Cardinals took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in 11-plays with Alfonso Smith scoring
from three yards out putting Arizona up 7-0.
From there, the Saints' defense made the adjustments and shut down the Cardinals' attack
the rest of the day only giving up 247 yards of total offense in another solid performance.
The Saints' 'D' came up with two interceptions and four timely sacks putting constant pressure
on Cards' QB Carson Palmer.
The Saints' defense is continuing to improve and is only allowing 12.6 points per game. The Saints post four sacks against the Cardinals.
The Saints gained 423 yards of total offense with Khirey Robinson, gaining 38 yards on four
carries with a long-gainer of 21 yards.
The Cardinals slipped to 1-2. Former LSU players Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu made 
contributions for St. Louis. Mathieu, who starred at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans, intercepted a Drew Brees pass for his first NFL career interception.

                                         Drew Brees celebrates. Photo courtesy of the New Orleans Saints.