blacksaint

Doug Miller, NewOrleansSaints.com
Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 9:30 PM




Cincinnati, Ohio- In front of an announced crowd of 65,227, the second largest preseason crowd in Cincinnati Bengals history, the New Orleans Saints picked up their first win of the 2007 preseason with a 27-19 victory over the Bengals.

The Saints opened the 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 on their first drive and then turned around and on their very own first offensive possession churned out a 10-play, 69-yard drive in 4:57, culminated by a powerful eight-yard touchdown run by Deuce McAllister right up the middle.

On the Saints’ drive, Drew Brees completed all six of his passes for 55 yards, distributing the football to 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 K 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. WR David Patten, who didn’t play last week with a turf toe injury, started the drive by taking an end-around and scampered for eight yards. QB 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 and added three extra points and two field goals for a nine-point night.

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 the 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 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.

The Saints took the opening possession of the second half and began it with a 13-yard pass from Martin to Lance Moore out to the Saints’ 33-yardline. The Saints were unable to advance any further than their own 41-yardline and Steve Weatherford hammered a 54-yard punt that was returned only seven yards before former Bengal Kevin Kaesviharn dropped the return man at the Bengals’ 14-yardline.

The team’s took turns trading possessions early in the second half. The Saints settled down behind the veteran leadership of Martin and drove 62 yards in 10 plays in 5:23. The catalyst for the Saints on the drive were crisp passes from Martin to 2007 camp and early season sparkplug Lance More, who caught four passes for 48 yards on the drive, including a sliding 19-yard completion on a third-and-14 in between Cincy defenders. On the drive the Saints managed five first downs and the touchdown, the Saints’ third rushing of the evening.

After the Saints stopped the Bengals on the next possession and forced a punt, first-year man WR Tramain Hall made a scintillating return on a punt return, racing nearly yards for a score, but the play was nullified due to two Saints special teams penalties on the play.

DE Anton Palepoi showed up on the playmaking docket, first by making a hustling play on a pass completion to Chris Henry in which he tackled the big, speedy receiver down the field. Then a few series’ later, he batted down two passes from QB Doug Johnson.

1st year QB Matt Baker, signed by the Saints last week, led a 17-play, 84-yard drive in 17 plays late in the fourth quarter. The former UNC stand-out’s biggest play on the drive was a perfectly thrown 15-yard strike to TE Billy Miller on a third-and-one deep in the Saints’ own territory. Baker led the Saints all the way down to the Cincy four yard-line but the Saints were forced to accept the three points Mare provided as compensation for the long drive.

The Bengals scored their lone touchdown of the night with :02 remaining in the game when rookie QB Jeff Rowe hooked up with former LSU man Skyler Green for a 14-yard touchdown completion, which made the final score 27-19.


New Orleans Saints - Saints at Bengals

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