Maybe the New Orleans Saints want to win the NFC South after all. They broke out of a three-game losing skid on Sunday, riding a five-touchdown day from Drew Brees and a resurgent defensive performance to drop the Pittsburgh Steelers, 35-32, and take sole possession of the division lead.
Saints vs. Steelers 2014 final score: 3 things we learned from New Orleans’ 35-32 win
The final score doesn’t tell an accurate story of the Saints’ impressive performance.
The Saints, who are now 5-7 and hold a half-game lead over the Atlanta Falcons, manhandled one of the league's best offenses, shutting down the Steelers' formidable rushing attack and forcing Ben Roethlisberger into two interceptions and a middling completion percentage. Pittsburgh scored just one touchdown outside of garbage time and it was immediately answered by a long Saints touchdown.
A pair of Roethlisberger touchdown passes narrowed the gap late, giving a misrepresentation of just how one-sided this game was.
Here’s what we learned from the game:
1) Mark Ingram is driving the Saints' offense.
This game was a kind of a microcosm of New Orleans' offense this season. The Brees-led passing game, which typically gets all the hype and attention, accounted for five touchdowns. But like he has for most of the season, Ingram was the unheralded offensive engine. The running back, who had averaged under three yards per carry in each of his last two games, broke out of his slump to post 122 yards on 23 carries. Though he didn't find the end zone, Ingram accounted for 58 yards combined on each of the Saints' first two touchdown drives, hammering the interior of the Steelers' defense and opening things up on the back end for Brees. Ingram's 31-yard romp early in the fourth quarter gave the Saints a first-and-goal and set up the kill shot, a 3-yard pass from Brees to Marques Colston.
2) Kenny Stills had a career day.
Ingram wasn't the only one on the Saints offense getting it done. Stills tallied 162 yards and a touchdown on five receptions. Three times he got behind Ike Taylor for big plays, the second of which was a 69-yard touchdown in the third quarter. The play was huge for swinging momentum back to New Orleans after the Steelers scored their first touchdown of the day to pull within eight points.
With star rookie Brandin Cooks out for the season, New Orleans needs Stills to step in and pick up the slack, especially with the 31-year-old Colston on the backside of his career. On a day when Jimmy Graham didn't record a single reception, Stills stepped up and got the job done.
3) The Saints defense came to play.
New Orleans' defensive performance this season has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. After a rough start, the Saints looked dominant in a two-game stretch against the Packers and Panthers, only to fall back into a slump. They allowed an average of 29 points in their last three games, all of which they lost.
They were back in form on Sunday. The Steelers, who came in ranked in the top seven in both points and yards, may have gained over 500 yards, but a good chunk of that came in garbage time and that stat doesn’t tell the real story. The Saints were particularly dominant in run defense, holding Pittsburgh to 103 yards on the ground.
This is the way the Saints envisioned this team playing coming into the season. With a competent ground game complimenting Brees and the defense playing its best ball, New Orleans looked like a legitimate Super Bowl contender, not a struggling team three games under .500. If they can keep this momentum going, they’ll easily win the pathetic NFC South and could be a dangerous team in the playoffs.
★★★
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