Jenkins saves day (season?) for Saints
 

"It could have been a catastrophe,'' Jenkins said.


That's no exaggeration. Jenkins' play helped the Saints defeat the Cowboys, 30-27, in a bizarre Thanksgiving game at Cowboys Stadium. Jenkins chased Williams knowing he had to make more than a tackle. He needed something close to a miracle.

After all, Jenkins was a big part of the reason why Williams was running free downfield and the Saints were about to blow a game that seemed so winnable early on.

With Dallas leading 27-23, Williams caught a slant pass from Jon Kitna. Jenkins said he took a bad angle in pursuit, and a cornerback had slipped. That left Williams running free down the middle of the field with three minutes remaining. If Williams scored, the Saints would need two possessions to have a chance. Even if he didn't score, the Cowboys might have been able to run out the clock or, at worst, kick a field goal.

"If I just tackled him there, the game is over,'' said Jenkins, a second-year pro who made the transition to safety after playing cornerback as a rookie.

With Williams running free, cornerback Tracy Porter was the only New Orleans player downfield and Williams had a lot of room to beat him. As Williams got near Porter, he tried to wrap the ball up. Jenkins was in pursuit from the blindside.

At the New Orleans 11-yard line, Jenkins caught up to Williams and somehow popped the ball free.

"It kind of fell right into my stomach,'' Jenkins said. "All I can say about that is God is good.''

Divine intervention? Well, that might be extreme, but there's no doubt Jenkins did something extraordinary.

"I think I did everything I could have done,'' Williams said. "It went through my head to just fall down, but that’s not in my repertoire. The guy just made a great play. We had it in our pocket, and I let it go.''

Jenkins fell down with the ball and Drew Brees and the offense came onto the field.

"Whenever you have No. 9 out there, you have a chance,'' Jenkins said.

Brees marched the Saints 89 yards in five plays and one minute and eight seconds. He put New Orleans ahead to stay with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Lance Moore on the first play after the two-minute warning.

Even then, it wasn't over for the Saints, who spent most of the second half of the game looking like they were going to blow a game they'd led by 17 points against a 3-7 team. The Cowboys moved downfield. David Buehler's 59-yard field-goal attempt to tie the game with 31 seconds left had the distance, but was left of the goal post by just a few feet.

"To give up that lead and go home, it would have been a terrible weekend,'' Jenkins said.

An embarrassing loss after the Saints led by as much as 20-3 in the first half might have had implications beyond the weekend. It would have put the Saints two games behind the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South race and started a downward spiral for a team that's been inconsistent all season.

Jenkins saves day (season?) for Saints - NFC South Blog - ESPN


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"I think I did everything I could have done,'' Williams said. "It went through my head to just fall down, but that’s not in my repertoire. The guy just made a great play. We had it in our pocket, and I let it go.''


This says it all for me. The reason the Saints are world champs and the Cowboys are "The league's most talented team" with a 3-8 record.

Dallas has players like him and we have team players.

Exactly right Rocky

Coach payton has developed a team first mentality, and he makes sure every single one of the players knows that we do everything as a team. Thats what makes this team so great and it helps us become a more complete team in instances where other team members struggle.

My take on the game and on the Saints in general is this:
The Saints were just starting to show true chemistry with their running backs over the past few weeks. The Saints truly did not need to bring back Reggie Bush for this game, imho. All he did was drop a sure touchdown, and turn over the ball so that the Cowboys could get back into it. If the Saints had lost, it would have been all Reggie Bush's fault, because he single-handedly caused an 11 point swing: not getting the touchdown, having to settle for a field goal and then fumbling which led to a Cowboys' touchdown. In my view, both Chris Ivory and Julius Jones seem more than capable of being effective in the Saints backfield and Bush is NOWHERE NEAR worth $8 million.