The New Orleans Saints won their “Dome Opener” Sunday afternoon with a 20-9 victory over the visiting Minnesota Vikings.
The Saints have now won 18 straight games at the Superdome, a statistic that belies some still-shaky play on both sides of the ball.
On Sunday the Saints struck quickly, building a 13-0 lead in the first quarter. But they turned over the momentum, allowing three straight Minnesota field goals.
That is, until Vikings defensive back Captain Munnerlyn, amid a swarm of defenders bearing down on Drew Brees as the clock wound down on the third quarter, grabbed Brees and suplexed him — a wrestling move that drew a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty.
It galvanized the Saints and the flagging crowd. Head Coach Sean Payton:
“Obviously when you go from a sack, where you’re going to be punting, to a personal foul and now they have a first down — that can be a significant momentum shift any time that happens. And certainly at that point, it was,” he said. “I think obviously it was the right call, and fortunately we were able to take advantage of it.”
And take advantage they did. The Saints drove 90 yards down the field for a touchdown, the final score of the game.
The Saints victory was the sole highlight in an otherwise dreary weekend for Louisiana football. Tulane was stomped by Duke, the Ragin’ Cajuns were blown out by Boise State, and LSU dropped a wild heartbreaker to Mississippi State.
By the numbers:
26-0 — The Saints’ record under Sean Payton when the team doesn’t commit any turnovers
15 — The number of penalty yards given to the Vikings in exchange for Captain Munnerlyn’s suplex of Drew Brees
2:47 — Total time of the game in Hours:Minutes
68% — The humidity outside the Superdome at kickoff
69 — Saints running back Khiry Robinson’s total rushing yards (18 attempts; 3.8 yards per)
120.3 — Drew Brees’ QB rating