Team Report: Inside Slant

Inside Slant | Notes and Quotes | Strategy and Personnel
Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks answered his many critics on Sunday by leading his team to the game-winning points in the fourth quarter or overtime for the 17th time in his five-plus seasons with the club.

Needing just a field goal to upset the Carolina Panthers on the road, the Saints turned to Brooks to take them where they wanted to go -- at least to the Panthers' 30 -- to give John Carney a crack at a game-winning kick.
Brooks certainly isn't Brett Favre, but he did spend his rookie season as the third-stringer for the Green Bay Packers and watched Favre work a little two-minute magic when they were teammates.

Nearing the end of a long and emotional day in which he completed his first eight passes and led his team on an 80-yard touchdown drive on their first possession of the season, Brooks put together a 49-yard drive that led to Carney's 47-yard field goal with three seconds left and a 23-20 win.

Left tackle Wayne Gandy said no one said anything when the Saints stepped into the huddle after the Panthers tied the game with 1:04 remaining. Gandy said he knew the Saints were destined to win when he looked into Brooks' wide eyes.

"I felt like we were going to score," said Gandy. "Aaron came over there on the sideline and he has a look in his eyes. It was like, 'Give me three seconds (pass protection) and I'm going to find someone.' It was boom, boom, boom, boom - and John made a brilliant kick."

Brooks completed 3-of-4 passes for 41 yards on the drive, the biggest being a perfect 25-yarder over the middle to Horn with 19 seconds left that put the ball at the Panthers' 38. Two plays later, Carney knocked through the game-winner.

"First of all, the offensive line did a great job and the receivers did a wonderful job catching the ball," said Brooks, who was 18-of-24 for 192 yards with a passer rating of 97.9. "Over the years, we have had extreme confidence when it came down to the final minutes. I think a lot of our games have showed that.

"Anytime we're put in that situation, we're going to go for it," he added. "But it wasn't just me, it was everybody. Everyone was determined to go down there and finish this game."