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NEW ORLEANS — With a chance to get the “much-maligned” tag off its back — at least for one night — the Saints defense did.

After being ripped for 288 yards in the first half and then allowing an embarrassingly easy touchdown early in the third quarter, the league’s bottom-ranked unit shut out the San Diego Chargers the rest of way holding on at the end to secure a 31-24 victory.

“It feels good to get the monkey off our backs,” Saints linebacker Curtis Lofton said. “It just a collective effort, going from the front four getting pressure to the secondary locking down their man and playing together as a defense.”

The key play — Roman Harper’s interception and 41-yard return of a Phillip Rivers pass which was tipped by Malcolm Jenkins with 5:45 left, brought a response from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome crowd that was louder than Drew Brees’ record-setting touchdown pass to Devery Henderson in the first quarter.

It was Harper’s first interception since 2010 and only his second since 2008.

“I got there clean, got my arm in there, and he (Harper) was able to get the interception,” Jenkins said. “It couldn’t have happened to a better person.”

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"Effort can make up for a lot of things. We all ran to the ball a lot better," Harper said. "We're gonna miss some coverages and make some mistakes. But effort can make up for a lot of that. And if we keep that up, we'll play solid. And the key to defense is holding your opponents to fewer points than your offense scores. So now we've just got to keep this thing rolling."

Drew Brees finally gets a little help from his friends as New Orleans Saints defense finishes strong: First take - New Orleans Saints Football NFL News - NOLA.com

Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

All little common sense goes a long way.

Rugby Saint II

One out of two ain't bad I guess.