New Orleans Saints continue magical run with domination of New England Patriots

Written by Brian Allee-Walsh, NewOrleans.Com's Saints Beat | Tuesday, 01 December 2009 02:05 | Saints News

NEW ORLEANS - On the 12th Monday night of the NFL season, the “Team of the Decade’’ proved little more than a Big Easy pushover for the still undefeated New Orleans Saints.

The Black and Gold continued their magical pursuit of perfection with a near perfect performance, dismantling the three-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 38-17 before a national television audience and a delirious sellout crowd of 70,768 at the Superdome.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees stayed in step with the night’s theme, posting a perfect passer rating of 158.3 by completing 18 of 23 throws for 371 yards and five touchdowns to five different receivers.

The Saints improved to 11-0 and moved one giant step closer to claiming the NFC South championship and homefield advantage in the NFC.

The divisional title could come as early as Sunday afternoon when the Black and Gold travels to play the Washington Redskins (3-8) at FedEx Field. New Orleans holds a commanding five-game lead on the Atlanta Falcons (6-5) with five games to play.

Homefield advantage continues to be a work in progress. The Saints retained a one-game lead on the Minnesota Vikings (10-1), who hit the road to play the potentially Kurt Warner-less Arizona Cardinals (7-4).

“I think people are going to talk about this game and maybe blow it out of proportion a little bit,’’ Brees said. “This game doesn’t entitle us to anything. It’s just another win in the win column. If anything, you have the challenge of coming back on a short week and playing at Washington.

“We’ll enjoy this one for 24 hours or less and get ready for the next one.’’

That may be good for Coach Sean Payton, his coaching staff and players but today probably feels like Fat Tuesday for jubilant Saints fans who surely partied into the wee hours this morning.

And there was much to celebrate.

The Saints pretty much had their way with the AFC East-leading Patriots (7-4), overcoming an early 7-3 deficit with three touchdowns in the second quarter for a 24-10 halftime lead.

Brees collaborated on an 18-yard scoring pass to running back Pierre Thomas, a 75-yard bomb to a wide open wide receiver Devery Henderson and a 38-yard laser to wide receiver Robert Meachem.

And when the Patriots closed the gap to 24-17 in the first five minutes of the third quarter, Brees put it out of reach with touchdown passes of 2 yards to tight end Darnell Dinkins and 20 yards to wide receiver Marques Colston.

“We obviously didn’t play up to their level,’’ said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who completed 21 of 36 passes for 237 yards and two interceptions for a mortal 55.0 passer rating. “They played a great game and we didn’t play so well. There’s a big gap between us. It wasn’t as competitive as everyone expected. But that’s what happens when you don’t play very well against a good team on the road.’’

Brady struggled mightily against a Saints defense that played without starting cornerbacks Jabari Greer (groin) and Tracy Porter (knee), both sidelined with injuries. With all due respect, the Saints’ secondary didn’t appear to miss either player as rookie cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, newly-signed veteran cornerback Mike McKenzie and the opportunistic defense held the Patriots’ big-play receivers at bay.

The NFL’s most dynamic pass catching tandem of Wes Welker and Moss had their moments Monday night but they had little impact on the outcome.

One week after catching a franchise-best 15 passes for 192 yards, Welker snared six balls for 32 yards. Moss caught three for 67, with 47 yards coming on one throw.

In order to put those numbers in perspective, the pair had combined on 142 catches for 1,779 yards and 12 touchdowns through the first 10 games.

“To lose a game like this, it really hurts,’’ Moss said. “Everyone saw it out there that they put it to us. There really isn’t anything for me to say. They played really good football, something we haven’t seen on film from anyone we’ve played so far.

“I know (Patriots coach) Bill (Belichick) will put it to us Wednesday.’’

Belichick got a jumpstart on his speech just moments after the game.

“They were better than we were in every phase of the game,’’ Belichick said. “I don’t know how to put it any other way. They were better coached. They played better on offense and defense. They were better in the kicking game. They covered better than we did. They were obviously the better team.’’

In part because of McKenzie, who played a starring role for the Black and Gold just one week after re-joining the Saints’ injury-depleted secondary. Working days and nights to get a firm grasp of Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams’ playbook, McKenzie played brilliantly when singled-up against Moss.

Payton credited McKenzie with making the “pivotal play in the game,’’ albeit came with 1:14 remaining in the first quarter and the Patriots leading 7-3.

After Welker returned a punt 41 yards to the Saints’ 46, McKenzie stepped in front of a Brady pass intended for Moss and returned the ball to the New Orleans 41. Seven plays later, Pierre Thomas weaved his way through a bunch of arm tackles en route to an 18-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

Then, with the Patriots trying to cut into a 31-17 deficit and facing a fourth-and-4 at the Saints’ 10 in the third quarter, McKenzie batted down a sideline pass intended for Moss.

“That was ‘Money Mike’ at his best,’’ Saints strong safety Roman Harper said.

“I think that play was bigger than his interception,’’ Saints free safety Darren Sharper said. “That says what kind of football player he is. He came off the couch to play like he did tonight.’’

As Monday night turned into Tuesday morning, McKenzie and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, stood outside the Saints locker room sharing a quiet moment together.

It was Rosenhaus who steered McKenzie in the Saints’ direction eight days ago when the Green Bay Packers also were seeking the cornerback’s services. The Saints had released McKenzie in March after a major knee injury had sidelined him for a second straight season.

“It wasn’t a money thing,’’ said Rosenhaus, who acknowledged McKenzie signed a one-year deal at league minimum. “Mike wanted to play in New Orleans. He has a house here, he has friends, he likes his teammates. It made sense to sign here, and now look at him.

“This is like a movie. I’ve been an agent for 21 years and that’s one of the most unbelievable performances I’ve ever seen. To think he hadn’t played football in more than a year and he was coming off two major surgeries.’’

In McKenzie’s words, he simply was carrying out his responsibilities.

When asked how many snaps he played Monday night, he replied with a smile. “Maybe 100. But I feel very fresh. I feel I can go out and play another game.’’

No doubt, the proud but beaten Patriots wish they had that opportunity.