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| Saints' head coach Sean Peyton is all smiles following the Black & Gold's 26-24 NFC wild card road playoff victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Photos courtesy of the Saints. |
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| Saints' QB Drew Brees helped orchestrate the club's first road playoff win in six attempts. |
Members of the Who Dat Nation were treated to a franchise first Saturday night as the Saints delivered breaking a five-game road playoff losing streak as the Saints put together a solid effort slipping past the Philadelphia Eagles 26-24 on a clutch Shayne Graham 32-yard field goal as time expired. Graham delivered booting four field goals to help propel the Saints to their long-awaited playoff road victory. The 12-5 Saints now focus their preparations on a return trip to Seattle to do battle with the Seahawks. The Saints turned in probably their worst performance of the season back on Dec. 2 falling to Seattle 34-7 in a Monday Night lackluster performance. Saturday's Divisional Round playoff game with Seattle kicks off at 3:30 being televised on FOX. Running back Mark Ingram was a difference maker Saturday rejuvenating the Saints' rushing attack with 97 yards on 18 carries. Ingram, who saw the majority of the time due to Pierre Thomas being out with a chest injury, tallied on a 4-yard run with 3:54 remaining in the third quarter, which put the Saints up 20-7 following Graham's extra point. Khirey Robinson proved his value picking up 45 tough yards late on just eight carries. The Saints' offensive line did a nice job opening holes as New Orleans controlled the clock holding possession for nearly 35 minutes. Drew Brees overcame two interceptions connecting on 20-of-30 pass attempts for 250 yards including a key 24-yard TD toss to Lance Moore. Brees spread the ball around hooking up with nine different receiver. Darren Sproles caught four passes for 31 yards, while Ingram, Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills had three receptions each. Sproles delivered a key 39-yard kickoff return and the Eagles were flagged for a horse collar penalty putting the Saints in excellent field position for Graham's subsequent game-winning kick. The Saints' defense did its job limiting NFL rushing leader LeSean McCoy to 77 yards on 21 attempts, a 3.7 yard per carry average. Philadelphia second-year quarterback Nick Foles passed for 195 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.The Saints;' defense held Philadelphia to just 256 yards of total offense. Saints' corner back Keenan Lewis shut down Philadelphia receiver DeSean Jackson before he departed with concussion like symptoms. His availability this week will be key in an already depleted Saints' secondary playing without Jabari Greer and rookie safety Kenny Vacarro, who are out with season ending injuries.
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