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The Saints blew open a closely-fought 21-13 game with three consecutive touchdown drives in the third quarter (two of them in the first five minutes, and the Vikings even started with the ball to open the second half!), on their way to a convincing 42-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15.
Despite two early turnovers by the Saints offense (Jimmy Graham and Brian De La Puente being the guilty parties) giving the Vikings ball in Saints territory both times, no one lost their cool and the defense even rose to the occasion better than expected by denying any forward movement on those drives, forcing FGs each time.
Make the jump to share all your feelings, observations, hopes, and dreams as we take 24 hours to enjoy this win before beginning preparations for the Falcons.
ESPN.com's Saints-Vikes GameHQ (stats, recap, highlights, play-by-play, etc.)
Drew Brees was nothing short of magnificent in the Metrodome today, going 32 of 40 for 412 yards and 5 TDs. He owes much to his o-line for protecting him well again today: no sacks and much time to throw. Other player of the game candidates include: Lance Moore (5 catches for 91 yards and 2 TDs), Darren Sproles (over 100 yards rushing/receiving and a TD to go with 3 punt returns for 45 yards and 75 yards in KO returns), Pierre Thomas (85 rush/rec yards and a TD). Jimmy Graham grabbed 7 passes for 70 yards and a sweet sideline of the end zone TD that saw both feet land in bounds this time. Honorable mention goes to Marques Colston and Chris Ivory, who each went over 70 yards at their respective positions.
On the defensive side, Roman Harper had 4 tackles (1 sack) to go with his "phantom hit" of an unnecessary roughness penalty. Tom Johnson, Junior Galette, and Jeff Charleston each added a sack as well.
While not many individual plays stand out, the defense as a unit just played a great game, allowing only 207 yards of offense to the Vikings, keeping them in check until the Saints offense was able to crack this game wide open in the second half.
All in all, a very nice win on the road, and we can wait and hope for a Steelers win over the 49ers Monday night to put the Saints in position to snatch that #2 playoff seed.
The Saints have now won six in a row to reach 11-3, with a two-game lead over the 9-5 Atlanta Falcons heading into next week's much anticipated NFC South tilt on Monday Night Football.