Aug 9, 2012; Foxboro, Massachusetts, USA; The New England Patriots cheerleaders perform during the second quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE
The New Orleans Saints fell to the New England Patriots Thursday night at Gillette Stadium by a score of 7-6 in a low-scoring and boring game, even by preseason standards.
Offense was nowhere to be found for the Saints tonight, as they struggled to get a running game going and quarterback play suffered. Add to that a couple of interceptions and some costly penalties and you've got a recipe for epic failure. Courtney Roby was the one bright spot.
Fortunately their defense, which continues to look improved, really stepped it up and kept the Saints in the game. Curtis Lofton was very impressive in limited snaps while Akiem Hicks and Junior Galette made their mark in the pass rushing department. They even got good play from backup cornerbacks Marquis Johnson and Johnny Patrick.
With this win, the Patriots earn home field advantage in the Super Bowl if these two teams should wind up facing each other again in the big game.
Click the picture for all the rest from tonight's game. Make the jump for first half stats. Vote in the poll for player of the game.
Team Stats
| NO | NE | ||
| First Downs | 15 | 20 | |
| Total Yards | 280 | 279 | |
| Passing Yards | 188 | 153 | |
| Rushing Yards | 92 | 126 | |
| Penalties (Yds) | 10(66) | 5(81) | |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 | |
| Punts (AVG) | 7(39) | 8(46) | |
| Time of Pos. | 30:39 | 29:21 |
Top Performers
| NEW ORLEANS SAINTS | ||||
| Passing | CP/AT | YDS | TD | INT |
| C. Daniel | 4/6 | 62 | 0 | 1 |
| Rushing | CAR | YDS | TD | LG |
| P. Thomas | 2 | 18 | 0 | 13 |
| C. Ivory | 8 | 17 | 0 | 7 |
| Receiving | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
| C. Roby | 5 | 85 | 0 | 30 |
| M. Higgins | 2 | 21 | 0 | 15 |
| A. Tanner | 4 | 45 | 0 | 19 |
| NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS | ||||
| Passing | CP/AT | YDS | TD | INT |
| T. Brady | 4/7 | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| Rushing | CAR | YDS | TD | LG |
| S. Ridley | 8 | 40 | 0 | 9 |
| D. Woodhead | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Receiving | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
| J. Edelman | 4 | 36 | 0 | 23 |
| R. Gronkowski | 2 | 20 | 0 | 11 |
| A. Hernandez | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Poll
Who was the Saints player of the game?
Courtney Roby (101 votes)
Akiem Hicks (24 votes)
Junior Galette (23 votes)
Marquis Johnson (25 votes)
173 total votes
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