Chargers @ Saints: Breaking It Down - Fourth Quarter

Saints Defense First Drive (12 plays, 63 yards, 5:14, Field Goal)

• Saints do a nice job early of holding the Chargers to nothing on the first two downs. Then, as per usual, Rivers completes a 21 yard pass over the middle to Malcolm Floyd, keeping the drive alive. Vilma, Gay and Kaesviharn were all in the area but unable to make a play.
  
• A couple of plays later Rivers fires a bullet over the middle to Antonio Gates for 20 yards. McCray almost gets to Rivers in time. It looks like Gay is covering him at the line but the Saints are in a zone and so after Gates cuts inside Gay gives up on him and passes him off to Harper. Gates gets the pass in the soft spot between all zones.
  
• The Chargers continue to dink and dunk down the field into the red zone. Saints hold them to third and eight and a delay of game pushes them back to third and thirteen. The line gets a good push and flushes Rivers out of the pocket who throws it too high to a Kaesviharn covered receiver. They settle for a field goal.

Saints Defense Second Drive (5 plays, 57 yards, 2:14, Touchdown)

• Chargers recover the onside kick. The Saints are unsuspecting. Usama Young is the only player with a chance to make a play on the ball.
• Rivers wastes no time hitting Vincent Jackson for 17 yards. He finds that soft spot again between four Saints defenders. Shanle, Harper, Glenn and Vilma. All form a box around him and none of them can make a play on the ball. Frustrating.
• Then another 17 yard strike to Chris Chambers on a comeback route. Aaron Glenn is no where near him, about 5 yards behind him, protecting against the big pass play.
  
• Vincent Jackson makes the touchdown grab. He comes across the field and is straight up too fast for Kaesviharn. Beautiful catch.

Saints Offense First Drive (6 plays, 25 yards, 3:13, Punt)

• On second down the Chargers get a good jump on a quick snap that the Saints aren't ready for. Brees is forced to throw it away.
• Drew finds a wide open Billy Miller over the middle for a much needed first down.
• A San Diego interception call gets overturned keeping the Saints drive alive.
  
• Deuce carried the ball twice on this drive but I would have liked to see the Saints run a bit more and try and kill more clock. The "almost" interception came on a first down pass. I would have preferred to see a  run called there but I know some people are of the "keep attacking" philosophy.
• Saints are forced to punt it away.

Saints Defense Third Drive (9 plays, 46 yards, 2:59, Interception)

• First and twenty for the Chargers after a penalty. Rivers has forever while the Saints blitz and dumps it off to LT who runs for a gain of 32 yards.
  
• Saints hold San Diego to fourth and two. Rivers hits Antonio Gates for 11 yards and the first down. Rivers put up some huge passing numbers in this quarter. More in the fourth quarter than in the first three quarters combined.
  
• Saints only put three guys on the line and drop everyone else back. They do a good job of holding the Chargers to third and fifteen.
  
• Rivers throws to Chris Chambers who is being covered by Scott Shanle. Shanle tips it up, Harper gets a finger on it and Vilma finally brings it in for the interception. Drive over.

Saints Offense Second Drive (4 plays, -18 yards, 1:01, Safety)

• Thankfully the Saints run three straight times with Deuce to force San Diego to use their timeouts. They're not that stupid.
  
• To try and kill some clock and get better coverage on the free kick the Saints elect to take a safety by having Drew run backwards into the endzone. Deuce and Karney both let their guys beat them so Drew is forced to throw it through the back of the endzone. Drew nails a photographer in the head with the throw away.

The Chargers have time to throw one Hail Mary. It goes incomplete. Saints win.