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| Other Week 12 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL at SD | BUF at JAX | DEN at CHI | GB at DET | HOU at CLE | IND at ATL | MIA at PIT | MIN at NYG |
| NO at CAR | NYJ at DAL | OAK at KC | PHI at NE | SEA at STL | SF at ARI | TEN at CIN | WAS at TB |
Week 12 Game Recap: New Orleans Saints 31, Carolina Panthers 6
What you need to know
| New Orleans Saints |
The Saints were a little sluggish to start the game but after half time Drew Brees got them rolling. Brees ended up throwing for 260 yards and three touchdowns. He was intercepted once but it was off a nice play by Julius Peppers who tipped the pass at the line and then caught the ball. Brees also ran in a touchdown from the eight yard line.
With Reggie Bush nursing a sore leg, he didn't see many carries. He ran the ball just nine times for 32 yards. Aaron Stecker got the majority of carries going 13 for 42 yards. Stecker was brought in near the goal line but three of the Saints touchdowns were through the air. When the game was out of reach Pierre Thomas took over the running duties and ran the ball exclusively in the fourth quarter. He ended up with 12 carries for 32 yards.
Marques Colston had a nice game catching seven passes for 93 yards and a short touchdown pass. Billy Miller and Lance Moore also caught short touchdown passes from Brees. Miller ended up with four receptions for 32 yards. Moore caught three passes for 16 yards. Brees spread the ball around to nine different players in the game.
The Saints defense shut down Carolina. The Panthers are having all sorts of problems at the quarterback position. It has become a situation of you don't know who will start each week. New Orleans held David Carr under 100 yards passing and intercepted him twice. After the second interception, Matt Moore replaced Carr and he was promptly intercepted as well. Overall the Panthers were only able to net 195 yards rushing and passing.
| Carolina Panthers |
The Panthers continued their terrible play at home. They have lost all five games at home this year. With Testaverde out with back spasms, David Carr stepped in and did not play well. He went ten for 22 for just 95 yards. He did not throw a touchdown and was intercepted two times. The crowd was calling for Matt Moore. After the second interception, Moore stepped in and he also was picked off. Moore ended up going eight for 14 for 66 yards.
The Panthers running game was dreadful. Overall they ran the ball 18 times for 43 yards. DeShaun Foster carried the ball nine times for minus five yards. He fumbled on back to back possessions but Carolina was able to recover one of those fumbles. The Panthers leading rusher was Steve Smith who picked up 22 yards on an end around.
Steve Smith also led the receivers with six catches for 47 yards. The Saints held him to just short passes and forced the other receivers to beat them. Drew Carter added three catches for 41 yards and Jeff King had five catches for 36 yards.
The Panthers defense played well against the run but they gave up three short passing touchdowns. Brees was able to throw for 260 passing yards and he also added an eight yard touchdown run in the third quarter. The defense did give up over 100 rushing yards but it was on 39 carries for a rushing average of just 2.9 yards per carry. The defense came up with just one turnover and no sacks.
What you ought to know
| QB Drew Brees, Pass: 24 - 36 - 260 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 8 - 1 |
Drew Brees went 24 of 36 for 260 yards. He threw three touchdown passes and also ran one in from eight yards out. He spread the wealth around hitting Moore, Miller and Colston for touchdowns. With the Panthers down just four points at the half, Brees took over the game in the second half. He put together three touchdown drives in the third quarter to put the Saints ahead, 31-6. Brees was intercepted once but it did not hurt the Saints as they forced a turnover on downs on the Panthers next possession.
| RB Aaron Stecker, Rush: 13 - 42 - 0, Rec: 2 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Early on in the game, Stecker got the bulk of the carries for New Orleans. He picked up 42 yards on 13 carries. Stecker also caught two passes for eight yards. Stecker was in the game for goal line carries. In the second quarter, Stecker carried the ball down to the one yard line. On the next play he lost four yards. Brees went back to him on the following play and he got back to the one yard line. The next play was a touchdown pass to Lance Moore.
| RB Pierre Thomas, Rush: 12 - 32 - 0 |
Thomas had 12 carries for 32 yards. Most of his carries were in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach. Thomas had ten carries in the fourth quarter but none of them were even inside the Carolina 46 yard line.
| RB Reggie Bush, Rush: 9 - 32 - 0, Rec: 3 - 30 - 0 (5 targets) |
Bush started the game but he was used sparingly. He only ran the ball nine times for 32 yards. He also caught three passes for 30 yards. Bush had a couple of carries that got close to the goal line but then he was pulled for Stecker. Bush was lined up at wide receiver a few times in the game.
| RB Mike Karney, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 (1 targets) |
Karney carried the ball once for two yards. The carry was from the Carolina six yard line. He also was targeted once in the game but the pass was incomplete on a third and 12 play.
| WR Marques Colston, Rec: 7 - 93 - 1 (8 targets) |
Colston caught seven passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. He caught a four yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to put New Orleans up by 24 points. Five of his seven catches went for first downs. He had two red zone chances and both of them were on the same drive that ended with his touchdown reception.
| WR Lance Moore, Rec: 3 - 16 - 1 (5 targets) |
Lance Moore was targeted five times in the game. He caught three passes for 16 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown came on a one yard pass on fourth and goal at the one yard line. He got another red zone opportunity in the third quarter. Brees hit him for a pass of 10 yards that took the ball down to the Carolina eight yard line. Brees ran it in on the next play.
| WR David Patten, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (5 targets) |
Patten caught two passes for 17 yards and he picked up one first down. Brees tried to hit him deep a couple of times but both passes were incomplete.
| WR Terrance Copper, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (2 targets) |
Copper was thrown to twice. He caught one pass for 12 yards to the Carolina 47 yard line. The play resulted in a first down but the drive would ultimately end in a punt.
| WR Devery Henderson, Rec: 1 - 33 - 0 (1 targets) |
Henderson got one look and he made it count. Brees hit him deep down field for a 33 yard gain. The catch put the ball at the Carolina 23 yard line. Three plays later, the Saints scored to take an 11 point lead.
| TE Billy Miller, Rec: 4 - 32 - 1 (5 targets) |
Billy Miller caught four passes for 32 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown started the second half scoring for the Saints. Miller picked up a first down earlier in the drive on a third down play. The drive continued and then he caught the one yard touchdown pass to put the Saints up by 11 points. On the Saints final scoring drive, Miller caught an eight yard pass for a first down at the Carolina six yard line. Two plays later, the Saints scored to go up by 25 points.
| TE Eric Johnson, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (2 targets) |
Johnson caught one pass for 19 yards that brought the ball down to the Carolina four yard line. Brees hit Billy Miller two plays later for the touchdown. The only other throw to Johnson was a four yard completion that got negated by a New Orleans holding call.
| PK Olindo Mare 1 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points |
Mare made a field goal from 46 yards in the second quarter. His only miss was at the end of the first half when the Saints tried a 57 yard field goal. The kick may have been tipped as it came up well short. Mare did make all four extra point attempts.
| NO Rush Defense |
The New Orleans rush defense was outstanding. They only gave up 43 rushing yards on 18 carries. They gave up just one first down on the ground. DeShaun Foster carried the ball nine times and ended up with minus five yards rushing. Twice they forced Foster to cough up the football. On one of the plays New Orleans couldn't manage to pick up the ball and it was recovered by David Carr for a 12 yard loss. On Carolina's next possession, Foster again fumbled as he tried to pick up extra yards but this time New Orleans recovered. Both times the Saints scored touchdowns on the ensuing drive.
| NO Pass Defense |
The New Orleans pass defense played very well. They forced three interceptions on the Carolina quarterbacks. Carolina went 18 for 36 for just 161 yards and no touchdowns. The Saints recorded one sack of David Carr. The New Orleans pass defense was able to cover Steve Smith and not allow him to pick up a big play. They held him to just 47 yards on six catches. Nine of Carolina's twelve drives were five plays or less. The Saints defense was able to keep Carolina's offense off the field. The Saints won the time of possession battle by almost 19 minutes.
| QB David Carr, Pass: 10 - 22 - 95 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 5 - 0 |
Carr got the start with Testaverde being inactive. He started the game by throwing seven straight incompletions. Carr's first completion came right at the end of the first quarter. His final stats for the game were 10 of 22 for 95 yards and two interceptions. After his second interception he was pulled from the game in favor of Matt Moore.
| QB Matt Moore, Pass: 8 - 14 - 66 - 0 TD / 1 INT |
Moore came into the game with ten minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Moore went eight of 14 for 66 yards and an interception. He was picked off on his first drive of the game. He moved the ball a little bit on the final drive of the game but the defense was a little soft with the 25 point lead. The drive ended at the New Orleans 38 yard line when a fourth down pass was incomplete.
| QB Vinny Testaverde |
Testaverde was inactive for the game with back spasms.
| RB DeShaun Foster, Rush: 9 - -5 - 0, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (2 targets) |
Foster had a forgettable game carrying the ball nine times for minus five yards. He caught two passes for 16 yards. On back to back drives in the third quarter, Foster inexplicably fumbled. The first time he was stopped but reversed direction to try to pick up more yards and just dropped the ball. Carolina was able to recover the ball after a 12 yard loss. On the next series, Foster was spun around and tried to stay on his feet. As he turned up field he again dropped the ball since it wasn't tucked away. This fumble was lost. The two fumbles led to 14 points for the Saints.
| RB DeAngelo Williams, Rush: 4 - 19 - 0 |
Williams ran the ball four times for 19 yards. He did not have any red zone carries in the game. Williams had a 14 yard run brought back due to a holding penalty.
| RB Brad Hoover, Rush: 2 - 2 - 0 |
Brad Hoover carried twice for two yards. He picked up two yards on a first down play from Carolina territory. In the second quarter, he carried on a fourth and one play but was stuffed for no gain.
| WR Steve Smith, Rush: 1 - 22 - 0, Rec: 6 - 47 - 0 (12 targets) |
Steve Smith caught six passes for 47 yards. The Saints kept him in check and only allowed short completions. Smith was shaken up while blocking and left the game in the second quarter. He returned on the next series though. He got a look when Carolina got down to the nine yard line. The short pass went for minus two yards. It was the only chance Smith saw in the red zone.
| WR Drew Carter, Rec: 3 - 41 - 0 (9 targets) |
Drew Carter caught three passes for 41 yards. Carter also had a 35 yard reception brought back due to a penalty. He was the deep threat in this game. His longest catch went for 24 yards. The play was reviewed and upheld. It got the ball down to the New Orleans seven yard line but the drive stalled and Carolina had to settle for a field goal.
| WR Keary Colbert, Rec: 2 - 21 - 0 (5 targets) |
Colbert was thrown to five times but he caught just two passes for 21 yards. His first target didn't come until right before the end of the first half.
| WR Dwayne Jarrett (2 targets) |
Jarrett was able to get into the game. He received two targets but neither pass resulted in a completion. The first pass was a deep ball that was intercepted. The second was another deep pass that was incomplete late in the game.
| TE Jeff King, Rec: 5 - 36 - 0 (8 targets) |
Jeff King caught five passes for 36 yards. He was thrown to from the New Orleans 11 yard line but the pass was incomplete. After three straight incompletes, King went on to catch his final five targets. He picked up three first downs in the game.
| PK John Kasay 2 - 2 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 6 points |
Kasay made both of his field goal attempts. The first one was from 45 yards and the second one was from 29 yards.
| CAR Rush Defense |
The Carolina rush defense didn't give up any big plays and they allowed 113 yards overall. New Orleans attempted 39 runs so the defense only allowed 2.9 yards per carry. New Orleans got inside the Carolina ten yard line four times. The rush defense only allowed one touchdown on the Brees eight yard run. The rush defense stopped the Saints on three drives when they got inside the five yard line. Unfortunately the Carolina pass defense gave up three passing touchdowns on those drives.
| CAR Pass Defense |
The Carolina pass defense played well in the first half although they did allow a one yard touchdown pass to Lance Moore. In the second half they gave up two short passing touchdowns both times inside the five yard line. Overall the pass defense gave up 260 yards and three touchdowns to Drew Brees. They did intercept him once but were not able to record any sacks. The interception was by Julius Peppers after he jumped up and deflected a Brees pass which he then caught.
