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NEW ORLEANS — Due to early breakdowns on both sides of the football, New Orleans put itself in a huge hole Sunday against Carolina at the Superdome.
Thanks to a solid second half, the Saints are 8-0 for the first time in franchise history after a 30-20 come-from-behind win
“It wasn’t pretty,’’ Saints coach Sean Payton said. “I thought we hung in there in the second half. I’m encouraged we’ve been able to win some of these games without playing our best football. You never lose sight of your ability to come back.’’
The win gives New Orleans a good opportunity to be 10-0 heading into a Monday Night showdown with New England at the Dome on Nov. 30, following road games at St. Louis and Tampa Bay.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who threw for 330 yards against the Panthers, didn’t dodge questions about a perfect season..
“Anything is possible,’’ Brees said. “We have not talked about it at all, not one bit. Every team we play from here on out has us marked. We understand what’s at stake and the opportunity we have. Would we like to win them all? Absolutely.
“It’s great. 1967 until now and we’re the only team to have done that.’’
Early on, New Orleans spotted the Panthers a pair of two-play drives for a 14-0 lead with 6:53 left in the first quarter.
On the second play of the game, DeAngelo Williams scored on a 66-yard run one minute into the game.
In comparison, New Orleans was forced to a three-and-out on its first offensive possession and started the second drive on its 11..
That drive ended when Brees was sacked by Tyler Brayton and Jon Beason recovered the ball at the Saints 11.
Two plays later, Williams scored on a 7-yard run to push the lead to 14-0.
New Orleans did respond and cut the lead to 14-3 on a 23-yard field goal by John Carney, but the Panthers came back with a 32-yard field goal to push the lead back to 14 at 17-3 with 5:30 left in the half.
When the first half came to an end, Williams had 115 rushing yards against a Saints defense that came in yielding 102.1 yards.
Williams, however, would be held to 34 yards in the second half as the Saints rolled up 250 yards of offense and the defense scored for the seventh time this season.
The opening drive of the half set the tone when the Saints drove 80 yards in four plays to cut the deficit to 17-13 with 13:14 left.
The big play was a 63-yard pass from Brees to Devery Henderson on third-and-3 at the New Orleans 27 that set up a 10-yard touchdown run by Pierre Thomas.
With the offense in sync, the defense came up with a key stand in the third quarter with the Panthers at the Saints 1-yard line.
Instead of falling behind 24-13, the defense forced a 25-yard field goal by John Kasey and Carolina led 20-13.
Six plays later, the Saints tied the game at 20 on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Brees to Robert Meachem.
The next possession saw the Saints move from their two-yard line to take a 23-20 lead on a 40-yard field goal by Carney.
New Orleans, which has outscored opponents 91-18 in the fourth quarter, put the game away with a 1-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Anthony Hargrove with two minutes left.
“It (8-0) doesn’t really promise you anything,’’ Payton said. “Early on, it would have would have been real easy to get discouraged and chalk it off. We battled back.’’
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