Gumbo
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- Mar 19, 2019
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The Saints didn’t take a step back when Teddy Bridgewater took over at quarterback for Drew Brees and they didn’t take a step back in Brees’s return from a right thumb injury on Sunday.
Brees threw three touchdowns in the second half and the Saints defense kept the Cardinals out of the end zone for the entirety of a 31-9 home win. The victory runs the Saints’ winning streak to six games and leaves them with a 7-1 record at the midway point of their 2019 season.
The Saints lost a couple of chances for points in the first half when Wil Lutz missed a field goal at the end of the opening drive and an apparent touchdown just before halftime failed when left tackle Terron Armstead was flagged for holding. It looked like that might come back to haunt them when Patrick Peterson picked Brees off to start the third quarter, but the Cardinals made a strange decision to go for it on fourth-and-one from their own 30-yard-line on the ensuing drive.
The Saints stuffed Chase Edmonds and Latavius Murray had the first receiving touchdown of his career a few plays later to get the Saints offense rolling. Brees would hit Taysom Hill for a touchdown on their next drive and then hit a big play to Hill to set up a Michael Thomas touchdown that put the final icing on the cake.
Brees ended the day 34-of-43 for 373 yards and Murray churned his way to 102 yards with Alvin Kamara on the sideline with an ankle injury. The Saints could get Kamara back after the bye and that would only add to a team that looks suited for another extended playoff run this winter.
The Cardinals don’t look to be on that track. They only managed 237 yards and didn’t have the success on the ground that Edmonds enjoyed against the Giants last weekend. He only had eight yards on seven carries before departing with a hamstring injury. Kyler Murray was 19-of-33 for 220 yards before being pulled in favor of Brett Hundley once the game was out of reach.
The overall offensive picture wasn’t much better last week, but eight sacks from the defense made life easier. They never got to Brees this Sunday, however, and they’re now 3-4-1 with a visit from a tough 49ers defense on tap for next Sunday.