CBS4 News Takes Center Stage
Oct 25, 2009 9:22 pm US/Eastern
Saints Beat Dolphins In Shootout, 46-34
By Solange Reyner
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Davone Bass #15 of the Miami Dolphins pulls in this reception against the Atlanta Falcons at Georgia Dome on September 13, 2009 in Atlanta
Doug Benc/Getty Images
Drew Brees looked up at the scoreboard with less then five seconds on the clock before halftime, his New Orleans Saints on the losing side of a 24-3 score.
That's when he lobbied Coach Sean Payton to go for a touchdown instead of a field goal.
Brees threw for 298 yards and rushed for two touchdowns and the New Orleans Saints scored 22 unanswered points to beat Miami, 46-34, on Sunday night.
His quarterback sneak going into halftime made it 24-10, giving the Saints a much needed boost.
"I knew we could get the ball in on a QB sneak and I knew what a huge momentum boost that would be for our team going into half 24-10 having just scored a touchdown," Brees said.
"They ended up going forward and we didn't make the play," Miami coach Tony Sparano said.
The Dolphins looked like they had the upper hand and gave the unbeaten Saints a scare in the first half. Miami scored points with ease, and took a 24-3 lead on a Ronnie Brown touchdown with 1:43 left before halftime.
That's when the shootout started. Brees scored on two quarterback sneaks, Darren Sharper and Tracy Porter returned interceptions for scores, and Reggie Bush and Marques Colston also had touchdowns in a wild comeback.
The fourth quarter was all Saints as New Orleans outscored Miami, 22-0.
Brees rushed up the middle for a two-yard score with 8:38 left on the clock to put the Saints ahead, 37-34, for the first time all game, John Carney kicked a 20-yard field goal five minutes later, and Porter returned an interception 54 yards for a score to rally.
"There were a lot of things we didn't do well in the first half, but Miami did a lot of things very well," New Orleans coach Sean Payton said.
"I was just proud of the way we kind of hung in there and hung in there, and we talked about playing a full game, four quarters, and I think we did that today."
Porter's touchdown put the game out of reach.
Down by six with 1:30 on the clock, the Dolphins had a chance to win it. But Miami's offense stalled.
Miami quarterback Chad Henne overthrew Lousaka Polite on third and 13, and Ricky Williams dropped a pass on second down. That's when Henne made his second mistake of the night. Under pressure on fourth down, the second-year pro threw a pass to the outside perimeter as receivers Ted Ginn and Greg Camarillo were breaking towards the inside.
The Dolphins, third in the league in rushing, got an early boost from its run game. Williams scored twice in the first quarter, once on a 68-yard rush with blocks from Polite, Camarillo and Anthony Fasano as part of a 120-yard rushing effort in the first half. Ronnie Brown added an eight yard touchdown early in the second.
Miami seemed to abandon the run in the second half, though, instead opting for Henne to pass the ball more. The plan didn't work.
On nine possessions, the Dolphins punted the ball away four times, turned it over twice, and spiked it to finish the game.
Henne finished with 211 yards on 18 of 36 passing with zero touchdowns.
Miami's defense halted Brees & Co. early, something teams had trouble doing in previous games against the Saints. Brees was sacked three times in the first half, and intercepted twice with both picks eventually turning into scores for Miami.
New Orleans, the league's highest scoring offense, didn't get a first down until 22 minutes into the game. The Saints then scored on touchdown drives of 82, 79 and 60 yards on successive possessions in the second half to overtake the Dolphins.
"We did a lot of things wrong," Payton said.
"We did a poor job in protecting, we were in third in longs and went 1-for-8 at the half they were 5-for-8, and so that kind of tells you a little bit about how the first half went."
How they scored:
Fourth quarter:
Saints 46, Dolphins 34
Tracy Porter scores on a 54-yard interception return.
The plays: Chad Henne makes another mistake, and the Saints take advantage.
Saints 40, Dolphins 34
John Carney kicks a 20-yard field goal with 4:38 left.
The plays: Miami stalled the Saints on their own 2-yard line to keep New Orleans from scoring nother touchdown.
The drive: 10 plays, 64 yards, in 4:38.
Saints 37, Dolphins 34
Drew Brees scores on his second quarterback keeper as the Saints take the lead for the first time in the game.
The plays: Brees marches New Orleans 60 yards with a mix of short and mid-range passes.
The drive: 8 plays, 60 yards, in 4:17.
Dolphins 34, Saints 31
Reggie Bush jumps over two defenders to get into the end zone.
The plays: Jeremy Shockey pummels Vontae Davis & Gibril Wilson for a 56-yard gain off a pass from Brees.
The drive: 3 plays, 79 yards, in 1:40.
Third quarter:
Dolphins 34, Saints 24
The Wildcat works again. Ricky Williams takes a direct snap out of the formation for the touchdown.
The plays: Receiver Brian Hartline catches a pass for 25 yards to get the Saints on the 4-yard line.
The drive: 3 plays, 71 yards, in 1:06
Dolphins 27, Saints 24
Marques Colston eludes two defensive backs in the end zone for the score.
The plays: Mike Bell breaks away for a 35-yard run to get in Miami territory.
The drive: 8 plays, 82 yards, in 4:50.
Dolphins 27, Saints 17
Dan Carpenter connects on a 33-yard field goal to put the Fins ahead by 10.
The plays: After sacking Drew Brees and forcing a fumble on the Saints' 15-yard line, Miami can't get into the end zone.
The drive: 4 plays, 0 yards, in 1:18.
Dolphins 24, Saints 17
Darren Sharper returns an interception 42 yards for the score.
The plays: Chad Henne gets picked off after getting pressured in the backfield by former Miami Hurricanes' linebacker Jonathan Vilma.
Second quarter:
Dolphins 24, Saints 10
Drew Brees scores New Orlean's first touchdown of the game on a quarterback sneak.
The plays: Marques Colton pulls down what appears to be a 21-yard touchdown that gets reversed, putting the Saints on the Miami 1-yard line. Previously, the Saints recovered a fumble to get the ball with 1:38 left in the half.
The drive: 8 plays, 51 yards, 1:36.
Dolphins 24, Saints 3
Ronnie Brown runs in for an 8-yard touchdown.
The plays: Miami linebacker Reggie Torbor intercepts Brees, and takes it to the New Orleans-19.
The drive: 4 plays, 19 yards, in 2:04.
Dolphins 17, Saints 3
Dan Carpenter connects on a 32-yard field goal.
The plays: Chad Henne passes deep to Camarillo for 24 yards to get on the Saints' 17-yard line.
The drive: 12 plays, 46 yards in 7:24
Dolphins 14, Saints 3
Ricky Williams takes off for a 68-yard touchdown run with blocks from Lousaka Polite, Greg Camarillo and Anthony Fasano.
The drive: 1 play, 63 yards, in :19.
Dolphins 7, Saints 3
John Carney hits a 46-yard field goal to get New Orleans on the board.
The plays: Courtney Roby returns a kickoff 87 yards to get the Saints close.
The drive: 4 plays, -7 yards, 2:14.
Dolphins 7, Saints 0
Ricky Williams takes the direct snap and runs it in for the score.
The play: Tyrone Culver picks of Drew Brees to get the Dolphins on the Saints'
The drive: 1 play, 4 yards, in :05.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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