blacksaint

Doug Miller, NewOrleansSaints.com
Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 7:10 PM



The New Orleans Saints lead the Cincinnati Bengals 17-12 at halftime. The difference in the game until this point has been the Saints' ability to get into the end zone, while limiting the Bengals to four first half field goals.


The New Orleans Saints opened tonight’s game looking extremely sharp both offensively and defensively. The Black and Gold began the game by stopping the vaunted Bengals offense to a three and out in their first drive and then turned around and on their first offensive possession, churned out a 10-play, 69 yards drive in 4:57, culminated by a powerful eight-yard touchdown run by Deuce McAllister.

On the Saints’ drive, Drew Brees completed all six of his passes for 55 yards, hitting four different receivers along the way. The biggest plays on the drive were a 12-yard completion to Reggie Bush, and two 10-yard passes to Terrance Copper.

The touchdown drive by the Saints marked the first time this preseason, albeit it in very limited duty, that the Saints’ starting offense had scored a touchdown.

The Bengals, turned around and manufactured an impressive drive of their own, ending a 13-play, 52 yard drive in 5:07 with a 51-yard field goal by Shayne Graham. The longest play on the drive was a 15-yard pass from Carson Palmer to Chad Johnson for 15 yards on a third down.

The Saints’ second drive started with a bang, as Lance Moore ripped off a 47-yard kickoff return. David Patten, who didn’t play last week with a turf toe injury, took an end around and went for eight yards. Jamie Martin, who replaced Brees in the quarterback rotation, struck quickly, hooking up for 14 yards and a first down. The Saints were able to take advantage of the excellent field position Moore created when Olindo Mare hammered home a 48-yard field goal with 1:22 left in the first quarter, which put the score at 10-3 in favor of the Saints.

Mare hammered his first three kickoffs out of the end zone, which gives him six touchbacks already this preseason season. On the first play of the second quarter, DT Antwan Lake and DE Charles drilled Palmer for a 12-yard loss and forced Palmer to fumble to ball, which Lake alertly pounced on at the Bengals' 22. Four plays later, Bush bolted through the middle of the Bengals line untouched for a six-yard TD run and following Mare's extra point, and the Saints led, 17-3.

Just as the Saints took advantage of a Bengals turnover, so too the Bengals when they converted a Terrance Copper fumble at the Bengals 33 and converted it into a 33-yard yard Graham field goal that capped a six-play drive in 2:59 that covered 18 yards. The field goal closed the Saints lead to 17-6 with 7:34 left to play in the second quarter.

The Saints’ fortunes took another when Martin was sacked twice in three plays midway through the second stanza. On the second sack LB Eric Henderson came clean and knocked the ball away from Martin, and it was recovered by LB Caleb Miller at the Saints’ 3. However the Saints defense not only held the Bengals to a field goal, but they actually pushed them back four yards on the possession. Nevertheless the Bengals’ third field goal cut the Saints’ margin to 17-9.

Cincy continued to cut into the Saints’ lead with a late two-minute drill drive to end the first half. Veteran QB Doug Johnson guided the Bengals down the field on short, accurate passes, primarily to TE Daniel Coats. The Bengals again converted a field goal, this time a 32-yarder, with :03 left, on a third down. The score at halftime was the Saints 17 and the Bengals 12.

New Orleans Saints - Saints at Bengals

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