Every score mattered in a barnburner with Carson Palmer’s Cardinals
It’s Day 65 in our countdown to the New Orleans Saints‘ season opener, which means this 65-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees to Brandin Cooks is our choice for the Saints Play of the Day. You can see it for yourself right here.
This was the second touchdown pass from Brees to Cooks in about five minutes, and the Saints needed it. They need all 389 passing yards and each of Brees’ four touchdowns to win the day back in 2016. The Arizona Cardinals gave them everything they could handle, and New Orleans only escaped with a win by a margin of 48-41. Unfortunately, this was exactly the kind of game the Saints were known for in the mid-2010’s.
But how did this score come to be? Cardinals defensive lineman Calais Campbell had just stunned the Saints by recovering a fumble and returning it 53 yards for an Arizona score, but Brees answered him with a touchdown of his own. Brees dropped back, faked a handoff to running back Tim Hightower, and found Cooks wide open down the middle of the field. Safety D.J. Swearinger wasn’t able to catch up to the speedy receiver, and the Saints retook the lead. A few minutes later, Cooks scored again (this time from 45 yards) and the Saints stayed on top even with Carson Palmer leading a furious comeback effort for Arizona.
Dennis Allen was calling the Saints defense at this point, not Rob Ryan, but it still felt like New Orleans was always playing from behind. It took time for that side of the ball to clean itself up and not just end their days of being a liability, but start to become a strength of the team. And we’re fortunate they did eventually find their way with Allen on the headset. If things had played out differently and the Saints defense had been a little competent, or just not historically terrible in 2014, 2015, or 2016, maybe Brees’ career looks a lot different. But we’ll always have these memories.
