It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. That’s what they say, at least. Yesterday, that was not the case. The New Orleans Saints scored the first 27 points of the game, holding a 27-0 lead for over 40 minutes of the game. For most of the contest, Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts looked confused, beaten, and lifeless. A late surge nearly helped them complete what would have been an improbable come back, but Drew Brees and the Saints came through in the end. New Orleans held on for a 27-21 victory, securing their first road victory of the season and improving to 3-4. The loss dropped the Colts to 3-4, as well.

Recap

It was a slow start to the game, as both teams punted on each of their first two possessions. They combined for 43 yards of offense on the first four drives of the game. On their third possession, it appeared as if the Saints had stalled again. Sean Payton lost two challenges on the same drive, with the second one resulting in a 4th and 9 at the Colts 26 yard line. Kai Forbath and the special teams unit lined up for what looked to be Forbath’s first field goal attempt in black and gold. Instead, New Orleans ran a fake field goal and Luke McCown found a wide open Ben Watson, who converted the 4th down gamble and was tackled at the 1 yard line. One play later, Khiry Robinson slipped in to the end zone for the first score of the game, giving the Saints a 7-0 lead.

After that, thing started to spiral out of control for the Colts. On the first play of their ensuing drive, Andrew Luck was picked off by Stephone Anthony, setting up the Saints with great field position at the Indianapolis 23 yard line. The first quarter ended with a Brandin Cooks reception at the 6 yard line, setting New Orleans up with a 3rd and 2. On the first play of the second quarter, Robinson punched it in for his second touchdown run of the day, extending the lead to 14-0.

That was just the beginning of the Colts’ problems, though, as Griff Whalen fumbled the ball away on the following kickoff. It appeared as if David Hawthorne and Hau’oli Kikaha both laid hits on Whalen’s ball-carrying arm, causing it to pop loose. Kyle Wilson recovered the ball at the Colts 27 yard line. It only took the Saints three plays capitalize off of a takeaway for the second time in the game, as Drew Brees hit Michael Hoomanawanui for a 16 yard touchdown pass to open up a three touchdown lead. Forbath missed the extra point, leaving the score at 20-0. With the way things were going, it did not appear as if that one point would make a big difference, but as we eventually saw, it nearly did.

After a few punts on the next few possessions, Brees and the offense drove down and were threatening again. A 44 yard run from Mark Ingram got them down to the 2 yard line. On the next play, it looked like Brees had his second touchdown pass of the game, but Josh Hill was called for offensive pass interference for pushing off of his defender. The penalty turned out to be very significant, as just three plays later, Brees was picked off by Vontae Davis in the end-zone after some miscommunication with Marques Colston.

Indianapolis could not take advantage of the turnover, going three and out and punting the ball away. The Saints, too, would go three and out, giving the Colts one last chance to get points in the first half. Luck and his offense put together a decent drive, but they faltered again when Cam Jordan’s pressure forced an errant throw that was picked off by Kyle Wilson. Brees took a knee with 00:02 on the clock, ending the first 30 minutes.

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Indianapolis opened the second half with a three and out, much to the despise of the home crowd, who spattered a few boos to let their home team know about their disgust with the poor effort. That disgust grew even larger, as Brees and the Saints marched right down field to extend their lead. Ingram opened the drive with runs of 35 and 17 yards, eventually cashing in with a one yard touchdown run for his first score of the day. Forbath’s extra point made the score 27-0.

A couple of drives later, the Colts finally got on the scoreboard. With just a few minutes left in the third quarter, Luck took a shot deep to T.Y. Hilton and it paid off. Delvin Breaux was in coverage, but tripped and fell down, leaving Hilton wide open to make the reception and out-run Jairus Byrd for an 87 yard touchdown. The Saints had to punt the ball right back after a short drive and it was like deja vu. On a 1st and 10 from the Saints 46 yard line, Luck looked Hilton’s way again and it paid off. Breaux, once again, fell down in coverage and Hilton made a fantastic out-stretched reception for another quick touchdown, pulling the Colts within two touchdowns.

The next seven drives all resulted in punts before Indianapolis really made things interesting. With 3:04 left in the game, Luck hit Donte Moncrief for an 8 yard touchdown strike, pulling within just six points and making the score 27-21. With only one timeout remaining, the Colts attempted an onside kick and came very close to recovering it, but Marcus Murphy was able to fall on the ball and secure possession. With 2:09 left, the Saints faced a huge 3rd and 4 with the chance to ice the game. Despite all of the issues so far this season, Brees looked to his old trusty target, hitting Marques Colston for a gain of 20 to secure the victory. The 27-21 lead gave the Saints their third win of the season, bringing their record to 3-4.

Game Stats

Saints

• Drew Brees – 28-44 / 255 yards / 1 TD / 1 INT / 63.6% completions / 77.4 QB rating / 2 times sacked
• Mark Ingram – 14 carries / 143 yards / 1 TD / 10.2 yards per carry / 2 receptions / 5 yards
• Khiry Robinson – 14 carries / 28 yards / 2 TDs / 2.0 yards per carry / 1 reception / 3 yards
• C.J. Spiller – 4 carries / 16 yards / 4.0 yards per carry / 6 receptions / 32 yards
• Brandin Cooks – 6 receptions / 81 yards
• Ben Watson – 4 receptions / 59 yards
• Michael Hoomanawanui – 5 receptions / 31 yards / 1 TD
• Willie Snead – 3 receptions / 25 yards
• Brandon Coleman – 1 reception / 24 yards
• Marques Colston – 1 reception / 20 yards
• Stephone Anthony – 7 tackles / 1 INT / 1 pass defended
• Dannell Ellerbe – 7 tackles
• Kenny Vaccaro – 5 tackle / 1 tackle for loss / 1 sack / 1 pass defended
• Kyle Wilson – 2 tackles / 1 INT / 1 fumble recovery
• Cam Jordan – 2 tackles / 2 tackles for loss / 2 sacks
• Bobby Richardson/John Jenkins – .5 sacks each
• Kai Forbath – 3/4 XPs

Colts

• Andrew Luck – 23-44 / 333 yards / 3 TDs / 2 INTs / 52.3% completions / 81.0 QB rating / 4 times sacked / 3 carries / 27 yards
• Frank Gore – 9 carries / 43 yards / 4.8 yards per carry / 5 receptions / 32 yards
• T.Y. Hilton – 4 receptions / 150 yards / 2 TDs
• Coby Fleener – 3 receptions / 47 yards
• Andre Johnson – 4 receptions / 44 yards
• Donte Moncrief – 4 receptions / 34 yards / 1 TD
• Jerrell Freeman – 12 tackles
• Dwight Lowery – 9 tackles
• D’Qwell Jackson – 8 tackles / 1 tackle for loss
• Greg Toler – 7 tackles / 1 pass defended
• Vontae Davis – 6 tackles / 1 INT / 2 passes defended
• Kendall Langford – 3 tackles / 1 tackle for loss / 1 sack
• Robert Mathis – 2 tackles / 1 tackle for loss / 1 sack
• Adam Vinatieri – 3/3 XPs

Team Stats

• Total yards: Saints-449, Colts-376
• Pass yards: Saints-266, Colts-301
• Rush yards: Saints-183, Colts-75
• 1st downs: Saints-22, Colts-15
• 3rd down conversions: Saints-7/20 (35%), Colts-3/13 (23%)
• Red zone TD conversions: Saints-4/5, Colts-1/2
• Turnovers: Saints-1, Colts-3
• Points off turnovers: Saints-14, Colts-0
• Penalties: Saints-12/100, Colts-7/42
• Possession: Saints-38:23, Colts-21:37

Week 8

After notching their first road victory of the season, the New Orleans Saints (3-4) will return home to welcome the New York Giants (4-3). The Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys 27-20 in New York today, but are just 1-2 on the road. The last time these teams played was three years ago in 2012 when Sean Payton was suspended. It was a cold, blustery Week 14 matchup that resulted in a 52-27 Giants victory. The last time that New York came to New Orleans was the season before when the Saints dominated with a 49-24 victory. Former Newman and LSU standout Odell Beckham Jr will make his first NFL appearance in New Orleans, as fellow former Newman Greenie Eli Manning returns for the fourth time. The will be on Sunday, November 1st at 12:00 central time. Stay tuned for Grading the Saints and Sinners to follow within the next day or two.

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Follow David Billiot Jr on Twitter @DCBilliotJr