Saints Show Up Late in Foxborough
Patriots hold off furious Saint rally; Brooks sets franchise TD record

posted November 20, 2005 - print me!
neworleansprofootball.com
By Chris Pika - courtesy of neworleanssaints.com

FOXBOROUGH, Mass.--QB Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes and New England held off a furious fourth quarter rally by New Orleans as the Patriots beat the Saints, 24-17 in Gillette Stadium.

New England (6-4) got out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter and held a 24-7 lead after a 37-yard field goal by K Adam Vinatieri with 7:52 remaining. New Orleans (2-8) rallied with 10 points in the final five minutes and had a chance for a potential tie game, but QB Aaron Brooks' pass intended for WR Joe Horn in the back of the end zone was intercepted by FS Eugene Wilson as time expired.

"I was proud of the team today," said Saints Coach Jim Haslett after the game. "I thought they played hard. We hung in there until the end. We fought and we had an opportunity to tie it up at the end, but things did not work out."

With 1:36 remaining and one timeout left, the Saints got the ball back after a punt at their 22. Brooks threw a 23-yard strike to Horn out to the New Orleans 45. Out of the no-huddle offense, Brooks got a nine-yard pass to TE Zachary Hilton to the Patriots' 46 with the clock moving. Brooks got the first down with a four-yard toss to RB Aaron Stecker to the 42 and the Saints used their final timeout with 34 seconds to play.

Flushed out of the pocket, Brooks scrambled for 20 yards to the Pats' 22. He spiked the ball to stop the clock with 15 seconds remaining. Brooks lofted a pass for WR Donte' Stallworth in the back corner of the end zone fell incomplete with nine seconds left. Brooks went to the opposite corner of the end zone for Horn, but two defenders got between Horn and the ball. Wilson grabbed the ball and fell to the turf as the clock ran out.

Brooks, who set the club career passing TD mark with 116, was 27-of-50 passing for 343 yards, two TDs and one interception for New Orleans. Fourdifferent receivers had six catches - Horn (80 yards), Stallworth (76 yards, 2 TDs), Hilton (72 yards) and Stecker (72 yards).

Brady was 15-of-29 passing for 222 yards and three TDs for the Patriots. WR Deion Branch had five catches for 38 yards and one TD and TE Benjamin Watson had four receptions for 66 yards for the Pats.

The Saints got the ball to start the game and the New Orleans converted a pair of third downs, including a 26-yard pass from Brooks to Stallworth to get to the Patriots' 29. Brooks could not connect with Horn on a third-and-13 from the 32 and New Orleans punted away as P Mitch Berger's boot was downed at the New England 2 by CB Fred Booker.

Brady took the Patriots on a 16-play, 98-yard drive that consumed 8:05 off the clock for a 7-0 lead. A 29-yard pass from Brady to Watson gave the Pats a first down at their 44. Later, in Saints' territory at the Saints' 39, Brady completed a seven-yard pass to FB Patrick Pass on third-and-nine. After a Pats timeout, Brady found Watson for a four-yard gain and a first down at the 28. The next play, Brady went to Watson again, this time for a 23-yard gain to the New Orleans 5. Two plays later, Branch caught a two-yard TD pass with 2:30 to go in the first quarter.

New England extended their lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter as the Patriots needed five plays to cover 48 yards. On first-and-10 at the Saints' 31, Brady found Pass on a 29-yard reception to the New Orleans 2. Two plays later, LB Mike Vrabel, who reported as eligible, caught a two-yard TD pass from Brady in the back of the end zone with 13:30 left. It was Vrabel's fourth career TD catch.

Brooks tied Archie Manning's career TD record late in the first half as the Saints cut the Patriots lead in half at 14-7. New Orleans took over at their 17 with 6:20 to go and Brooks converted a third-and-11 at their 27 with a 32-yard pass to WR Az-Zahir Hakim to the Pats' 41. Later, the Saints faced third-and-20 at their own 49, before Brooks completed consecutive passes to RB Aaron Stecker for 23 and 21 yards to the New England 7. On the next play, Brooks found Stallworth for a seven-yard TD reception with 1:12 to go before halftime.

In the third quarter, the Patriots started deep in their own end at the 7, but a 31-yard run by Pass set up a 60-yard TD pass from Brady to WR Andre' Davis on the next play with 4:19 left which capped a five-play, 93-yard drive.

Vinatieri's 37-yard field goal with 7:52 remaining in the fourth quarter gave the Patriots a 24-7 lead.

Brooks broke Manning's career passing TD mark with 5:00 remaining in the game as he threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Stallworth, the 116th of his career in New Orleans.

After a New England punt, the Saints drove 24 yards in eight plays for a 46-yard field goal by K John Carney with 2:20 to go as the Saints pulled to 24-17.

Former New England RB Antowain Smith rushed 11 times for 32 yards to lead the Saints. Brooks had three rushes for 30 yards and Stecker added 25 yards on seven carries.

New England FB Heath Evans led the Patriots with 74 yards on 16 carries.

The Saints out-gained the Patriots, 425-326 and held the ball for 32:57 to New England's 27:03.

The Saints travel to New York next Sunday night (Nov. 27) to take on the Jets (7:30 pm CT; ESPN, WWL 870-AM, KGLA 1540-AM [Spanish], Saints Radio Network, Westwood One) in the Meadowlands.

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