Saints running back Pierre Thomas (23) scores on a third-quarter touchdown run against the Minnesota Vikings in New Orleans. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)The Story
In a rematch of last year's NFC championships game, the New Orleans Saints showed the Minnesota Vikings why they are the Super Bowl champions.
While not the offensive explosion many had anticipated, the Saints kicked off the NFL season with a 14-9 victory over Brett Favre and the visiting Vikings on Thursday night.
The surprising aspect of the victory was the Saints' ability to use a strong running game to deny the Vikings, who sport one of the league's best rush defences.
Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees, who led the NFL with a 109.6 passer rating last season, destroyed the Vikings on the opening drive. He guided New Orleans on a five-play, 77-yard drive, ending after he found a streaking Devery Henderson for a 29-yard TD pass.
With Saints down 9-7 at halftime, New Orleans opened the third quarter with another touchdown march, but this score was done mostly on the ground.
Of the 11 plays, seven were courtesy of the run. Pierre Thomas finished off the drive with a one-yard dash, giving New Orleans a 14-9 lead.
Offensive guard Carl Nicks was a dominating force on that series, destroying any Vikings defensive tackle he lined up against and created huge holes for his Saints running backs.
Vikings quarterback Brett Favre, missing most of training camp while contemplating his future for a third straight season, was clearly hurt by the layoff. The 40-year-old was out of synch with most of his receivers, especially second-year speedster Percy Harvin.
Favre's lone touchdown pass came in the final minute of the first half when he found tight end Visanthe Shiancoe for a 20-yard TD strike, giving Minnesota a 9-7 advantage.
The Vikings never recovered after the Saints regained the lead in the third quarter.
The Saints then turned to Thomas, who picked up a pair of first downs in the final minutes to effectively run out the clock.
However, New Orleans was fortunate kicker Garrett Hartley's miserable evening didn't come back to bite the team. Hartley missed two field goals, including a 32-yarder that would have secured the victory earlier in the fourth quarter.
What this means
The Saints open the season with an important victory, gaining the upper hand on the Vikings for home field advantage should these two franchises meet again in the playoffs. Minnesota, meanwhile, goes home for two games against the Dolphins and Lions before travelling to New York to face the Jets in Week 5.
Game-changers
The key injury — Vikings cornerback Cedric Griffin missed Thursday night's opener because of knee injury. The loss hurt Minnesota immediately as Brees finished the game's first drive by connecting with Henderson on a 29-yard TD pass. Henderson beat CB Asher Allen, the man who replaced Griffin in the lineup. Allen then dropped a certain interception in the second quarter that would have set up Minnesota in Saints' territory.
New Orleans pass defence — The Saints did a masterful job limiting Favre in the passing game. The frustrated QB missed on his first seven passes in the second half and failed to bring the Vikings back despite only trailing by five points. Part of the problem could be attributed to the loss of No. 1 receiver Sidney Rice, who will miss at least six games following off-season hip-surgery.
What they said
"There's three of four throws that I just missed. I have no excuse. I just missed." — Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre
"We knew we would have to play better in a lot of areas than we did last year [against the Vikings] and I felt like we did. We just showed that we can win in a lot of different ways." — New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees
