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Week 1 Game Recap: New Orleans Saints 10, Indianapolis Colts 41
What you need to know
| New Orleans Saints |
Drew Brees and the explosive Saints offense were surprisingly dominated by a speedy and aggressive Colts defense that only allowed three points in the game. The Colts did a good job of shutting down the Saints deep passing attack, and even though Brees was ten for 14 in the first half, he only had 53 yards of passing. Brees averaged just under seven yards per pass on 28 completions in the game, an extremely low average for that many completions. He was forced to throw short passes underneath the Colts coverage throughout the game. New Orleans struggled to get first downs and sustain drives as a result. The Saints receivers also had difficulty getting open against a tough Indianapolis secondary and the Colts pass rush forced Brees into three turnovers in the second half.
RB Reggie Bush and RB Deuce McAllister both had only 38 yards rushing in the game against a revamped Indianapolis defense that lost a lot of key players to either free agency or injury. Bush had only seven yards receiving as the Colts did a good job of covering him and not allowing him to break any big plays.
WR Marques Colston had a quiet game as well, he had six catches for only 47 yards. The Indianapolis defense didn't allow him a reception longer then 13 yards and the Saints as a team only had one pass play over 13 yards for the entire game, and that came with less then a minute left in the game.
| Indianapolis Colts |
Super Bowl XLI MVP Peyton Manning picked up where he left off last season by leading the Colts to 31 unanswered points in the second half and a blowout victory. The Saints were able to keep Manning and the high powered Indianapolis offense in check most of the first half, but Manning led them to two quick scoring drives in the third quarter and they never looked back from there. He finished with stellar numbers as he had 288 passing yards and three touchdowns. Manning looked liked he was in mid-season form in the second half of the game as he picked apart the Saints secondary and the Colts moved the ball at will. Manning and the Indianapolis game plan seemed to target former Colts CB Jason David, as he was responsible for giving up all three of Manning's passing touchdowns in the game. The Colts line did a good job of protecting Manning, including rookie LT Tony Ugoh, and they did not give up a sack.
The Colts ran at the Saints a lot early in the game because New Orleans played a lot of cover two zone in hopes of stopping any big plays by Indianapolis' passing game. RB Joseph Addai took advantage of all the running room by rushing for 75 yards on 13 carries in the first half. The Colts line opened big holes for Addai and he looked very good shredding the Saints defense early on in the game. He added a two yard touchdown in the second half as the Indianapolis offense heated up. Addai would also add three receptions and finished the game with 143 total yards.
WR Reggie Wayne got off to a slow start as he only had three receptions for nine yards in the first half, including a fumble that was taken back for a Saints' touchdown. Wayne made up for the error, and then some, by catching touchdown passes of 28 and 45 yards in the second half. He would finish with a team high seven receptions and 115 yards receiving. Not to be left out, WR Marvin Harrison had 83 yards receiving yards and one touchdown. The score was Harrison's 123rd career touchdown.
What you ought to know
| QB Drew Brees, Pass: 28 - 41 - 192 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - 4 - 0, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (1 targets) |
Brees had a tough game as he and Saints offense struggled to sustain drives and put points on the board. Brees only led the offense to three points. He was ten for 14 in the first half, but only had 53 yards passing. The Colts pass defense simply would not give Brees or his receivers anything deep and he was forced to hit receivers for short, underneath passes.
Things did not get better Brees in the second half as the Colts built a big lead and Indianapolis unleashed an effective pass rush. He only had 75 yards passing after three quarters as the Colts pulled out to a big lead. He added three turnovers in the second half as he had two interceptions and a lost fumble. He did add 117 yards passing in the fourth quarter while the game was out of reach. Brees didn't have a pass over 13 yards until he hooked up WR Devery Henderson for 23 yards with 38 seconds left in the game.
| RB Reggie Bush, Rush: 12 - 38 - 0, Rec: 4 - 7 - 0 (8 targets) |
Bush had a disappointing first game as only had 45 total yards of offense. He had six carries for 21 yards rushing in the first half. He picked up a nine yard gain on an end around in the first quarter which would be his longest play from scrimmage all game. Bush did get a first down on a seven yard carry on a rare run up the middle that helped set up set up the Saints only offensive points of the game. The tough Colts pass defense held Bush to only two catches for a negative three yards in the first half. Things didn't get much better for Bush in the second half as he was held to 17 yards rushing and ten yards receiving. The Colts speedy defense did a good job of containing Bush and covering him in the open field.
| RB Deuce McAllister, Rush: 10 - 38 - 0, Rec: 2 - 7 - 0 (2 targets) |
McAllister was the primary ball carrier between the tackles but he didn't have any more success rushing the ball then his teammate RB Reggie Bush. He gained a first down on the first drive of the game on a five yard run up the middle to keep a drive alive in Colts territory that gave them a field goal opportunity. His biggest gain came on 12 yard run in the third quarter, but McAllister and the running game simply couldn't run consistently on a very aggressive and quick Colts defense that got good penetration on the line of scrimmage.
| RB Aaron Stecker, Rush: 2 - 21 - 0, Rec: 2 - 20 - 0 (1 targets) |
Stecker only had two rushing plays, his longest was an end around play that gained 13 yards on the left side for a first down. He caught a pass for 11 yards in the second half.
| WR Marques Colston, Rec: 6 - 47 - 0 (7 targets) |
Colston and the Saints receivers had a hard getting open deep and had to settle for short passes underneath the Colts coverage. His longest catch in the first half was a 13 yard pass for a first down with less then one minute in the first half. That would be New Orleans longest pass play until there was less then one minute left in the game. Colston finished the game with six catches for 47 yards.
| WR Devery Henderson, Rush: 1 - 5 - 0, Rec: 3 - 34 - 0 (6 targets) |
Henderson caught a meaningless 23 yard pass with less then one minute in the game; this was the Saints longest play of the game. Before that he had two passes for 11 yards and was pretty much a non-factor in the game.
| WR David Patten, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (3 targets) |
Patten caught a 13 yard pass in the fourth quarter when the game was well out of hand for the Saints.
| TE Eric Johnson, Rec: 8 - 57 - 0 (9 targets) |
Johnson had three catches for 19 yards in the first half, but he became a frequent target in the second half. QB Drew Brees may have targeted him so much since Indianapolis did such a good job of taking away the Saints receivers and the deep ball, but Johnson led the team in catches, receiving yards, and targets in the game. This was a very promising start for Johnson.
| PK Olindo Mare 1 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points |
Mare missed a 52 yard field on the Saints first drive of the game. He did make a 34 yard field goal in the second quarter.
| NO Rush Defense |
The Saints run defense did not have a good game as they gave up 164 yards on the ground, including a two yard rushing touchdown.
| NO Pass Defense |
Saints DB Jason David, who played for the Colts last year, gave up an early TD reception to Marvin Harrison. Soon after, he forced a fumble and then returned the fumble 55 yards for the Saints first and only touchdown of the game. It was all down hill for David and the Saints pass defense after that, as they gave up three passing touchdowns and many big plays in passing game. They also failed to register a sack.
| QB Peyton Manning, Pass: 18 - 30 - 288 - 3 TD / 0 INT |
Manning and the Colts got off to a slow start in the first half, but got it rolling in the second half and put up big numbers offensively against an over matched Saints defense. After going three and out on the first drive of the game, Manning lead the Colts on a 58 yard scoring drive. Manning hit Marvin Harrison on a 27 yard strike in the back of the end zone. It was the 107th touchdown pass Manning and Harrison have connected on over there career together. The Saints didn't give Manning too many looks down the field in the first half as they kept their safeties back in coverage and played a lot of cover two. Manning's biggest pass play of the first half was a strike to Dallas Clark up the middle for 39 yards.
Manning and the offense came out firing in the second half. He hit Marvin Harrison for a big gain of 42 yards on Indianapolis' first drive of the second half when the Saints came on a blitz leaving Harrison alone on man to man coverage. Manning put a perfect deep pass for Harrison and he was tackled on the two yard line. That play would lead to a two yard rushing touchdown. He would come back on the Colts next possession and lead the offense down the field for another touchdown, hitting Reggie Wayne for a 29 yard touchdown pass. Manning came back to Wayne again for another big play late in the third quarter, hitting him on a 31 yard pass that set up another Indianapolis field goal. Manning kept going to Wayne in the second half as he hit him in full stride on 45 yard pass for his third touchdown throw in the game.
| RB Joseph Addai, Rush: 23 - 118 - 1, Rec: 3 - 25 - 0 (4 targets) |
Addai's season got off to a scary start as he had to come out the game after the first play after getting hit hard trying to make a catch. He returned to the game on the next offensive series. Addai would go on to have a very nice first half, rushing 13 times for 75 yards. This was in large part because the Saints played a lot of cover two zone and kept there safeties deep. This gave Addai a lot of running room between the tackles in the first half. Addai had a nice 12 yard where he was able to cut it back up the middle and get it to the Saints 20 yard line which set up the Colts first field goal in the game. His only catch in the first half was a nice pass in the flat for a 14 yard gain with two minutes left.
Addai got an early touchdown in the second half after QB Peyton Manning and WR Marvin Harrison connected for a long pass that put the ball on the two yard line of the Saints. He easily punched it in from two yards out for his first touchdown of the year. Addai had another nice 14 run in the third quarter to help set up the Colts third touchdown. He finished the game with 118 rushing yards and a very impressive 5.1 yards per carry average. He also added three receptions for 25 yards as Manning looked to Addai often as one of his check down receivers. The Colts running game looked very impressive overall in their debut.
| RB Kenton Keith, Rush: 5 - 32 - 0, Rec: 1 - -2 - 0 (1 targets) |
Keith got his first NFL action sooner then expected when RB Joseph Addai had to come out of the game on the first play. On the next play, he took a sweep to the left for seven yards for his first career carry. He didn't play much after that and didn't get his next carry until the fourth quarter when the Colts were up big in the game. He did have a real nice run up the middle for 13 yards. Keith got a lot of playing time toward the end of the game as Indianapolis tried to run the clock out.
| WR Reggie Wayne, Rec: 7 - 115 - 2 (10 targets) |
The game started badly for Wayne as he had the ball stripped from him after a reception by Saints DB Jason David and the ball was returned for a touchdown in the second quarter. He only had three catches for nine yards in the first half as the Saints defense did a good job of keeping the Indianapolis receivers from getting deep for big plays.
Wayne and the Colts passing offense would pick it up in a big way in the second half. He would get his revenge on David by burning him on a post route for a 28 yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. Wayne would make another big play by catching a 31 yard pass down the left side of the field on the last play of the third quarter putting the ball on the New Orleans 16 yard line. Wayne would beat Saints defender David again on a deep 45 yard pass early in the fourth quarter. He would finish the second half with four receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns in what turned out to be a big rebound for him from the first half.
| WR Marvin Harrison, Rec: 4 - 83 - 1 (6 targets) |
Harrison and QB Peyton Manning didn't waste anytime in hooking up for their first score of the season on the second drive of the game. Manning hit him on a perfectly timed pass in the back of the end zone for a 27 yard touchdown. Harrison did a great job of dragging both feet to stay in bounds. Manning did try to hit Harrison again for another touchdown late in the first half when the Colts were in the red zone, but ball fell incomplete. Harrison took a back seat to WR Reggie Wayne in the second half, but did catch a 42 yard pass early in the second half when he beat CB Mike McKenzie deep and was tackled on the two yard line. Harrison finished the game with four receptions for 83 yards and one touchdown.
| WR Anthony Gonzalez (1 targets) |
In his first game as pro, Gonzalez only had one pass thrown his way and it went for an incompletion.
| TE Dallas Clark, Rush: 1 - 14 - 0, Rec: 2 - 48 - 0 (5 targets) |
Clark got an early first down in the game on a nine yard reception in the first quarter. Clark had his one big play of the game with less then two minutes left in the first half with a catch up the middle for 39 yards that led to a Colts field goal. He got his first league rushing attempt on an end around play for 13 yards and another Colts first down.
| TE Ben Utecht, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (1 targets) |
Utecht caught a 19 yard pass up the middle in the third quarter on his only reception of the game.
| PK Adam Vinatieri 2 - 2 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 11 points |
Vinatieri made a 33 yard field goal with less then two minutes left in the first half. He hit another 33 yard field early in the fourth quarter. Vinatieri added five extra point conversions in what turned out to be a high scoring game for the Colts.
| IND Rush Defense |
The Colts run defense did a very good job of containing one of the more formidable rushing tandems in the league of RB Reggie Bush and RB Deuce McAllister by holding them to a combined 76 rushing yards. Considering Indianapolis' rush defense is a big question mark coming into this season, this is a promising start for this unit.
| IND Pass Defense |
The pass defense caused three turnovers and scored one touchdown, and seemed to frustrate QB Drew Brees most of the night. LB Freddie Keiaho intercepted a Drew Brees pass in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, DE Robert Mathis forced and recovered a fumble on QB Brees while he was in the pocket. DB Matt Giordano capped the night off for the Colts defense by intercepting a pass and bringing it back 82 yards for a touchdown late in the game.
