Brian Allee-Walsh

Reflecting fondly on Saints' lone Thanksgiving Day appearance

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Lance Moore (16) celebrates scoring the game winning touchdown with teammates Jonathan Goodwin, left, and Jermon Bushrod during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2010, in Arlington, Texas. The Saints won 30-27. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Lance Moore (16) celebrates scoring the game winning touchdown with teammates Jonathan Goodwin, left, and Jermon Bushrod during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2010, in Arlington, Texas. The Saints won 30-27. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes) Mike Fuentes ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW ORLEANS

The day is November 25, 2010.

On that Thanksgiving Thursday five years ago, the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints played the Dallas Cowboys at Jerry Jones' billion-dollar playground now known as AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas., as part of the NFL's annual holiday extravaganza.

To this day, it represents the one and only Turkey Day appearance by the Black and Gold in their storied 49-year history.

And what a day it was.

After squandering a 20-3 lead, the Saints scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Drew Brees to wide receiver Lance Moore with 1:55 remaining to post a dramatic 30-27 victory and stay hot on the heels of the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South.

And while the Brees-Moore collaboration proved to be the winning margin, it was a terrific hustle play by free safety Malcolm Jenkins that saved the day and kept the Saints within striking distance late in the fourth quarter.

With Dallas leading 27-23 and facing a third-and-6 at the Dallas 42, Cowboys quarterback Jon Kitna hit wide receiver Roy Williams in stride with a short pass over the middle. Nothing but an open field stood between Williams and a clinching touchdown.

As Williams raced toward the end zone, he kept the ball clutched in his left arm and failed to pick up Jenkins who was closing fast from behind. Finally, Jenkins caught Williams around the 15, forced a fumble and recovered the loose ball at the Saints' 11 to preserve a four-point deficit with 3:03 remaining.

I'm convinced if Williams would have had a jumbotron in the end zone in front of him (as the case at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome), he'd have seen Jenkins coming and switched the ball into his right arm and not fumbled.

But Jones had to put the $42 million HD TV overhead.

It didn't take long for Brees to make the Cowboys pay for their mistake. Following completions of 22 yards to Marques Colston and 55 yards to Robert Meachem, Brees and Moore covered the final 12 yards on a quick slant with 1:55 left.

Armed with two timeouts, the Cowboys took over at their 24 after a 29-yard kick return by rookie Dez Bryant. The drive stalled at the Saints 41, leaving Cowboys kicker David Buehler with a daunting 59-yard field goal attempt with 31 seconds remaining. It had the distance but missed wide left and the Saints escaped with a keepsake moment.

The historic victory improved the Saints to 8-3, one-half game behind the Falcons (8-2) and one-half game ahead of Tampa Bay (7-3) in the NFC South.

I reflect fondly on that game as football fans everywhere prepare for Thursday's tripleheader featuring Philadelphia at Detroit (FOX) at 11:30 a.m., Carolina at Dallas (CBS) at 3 p,m. and Chicago at Green Bay (NBC) at 7:30 p.m.

And I wonder, too, how long will it be before the NFL schedule makers put the Saints back on the Thanksgiving Day stage?

Let's hope sooner than later.

Brian Allee-Walsh, a longtime Saints reporter based in New Orleans, can be reached at sports@sunherald.com.

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Reflecting fondly on Saints' lone Thanksgiving Day appearance ."

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