Saints Angels of Week 13: The Backups, Saints Quarterbacks - Teddy and Taysom
It was two weeks into the regular season when Teddy Bridgewater came off the bench. Drew Brees just sustained a horrific injury from the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, LA Rams DT Aaron Donald. Their 2019 season was in danger. The “unthinkable” happened in New Orleans. Drew Brees was down and out for an extended period. How can the Head Coach Sean Payton keep the team upright and playing solid football towards the NFL playoffs without their leader and future Hall of Fame quarterback? Or, would this be the reality Saints fans have dreaded for years? Life without Drew Brees.
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Bridgewater had not seen extended playing time since the Week 17 lost in 2018 to the Carolina Panthers. The oddsmakers and NFL pundits believed Teddy could steer the Saints to "at best” a 50/50 outcome while Brees was on the mend. This was not Sean Payton’s plan. Neither was it Bridgewater’s. The run defense looked excellent, the defense stepped up and helped Bridgewater to win his first solo game over Seattle. Fast-forward to Week 8 and the Saints have 5 straight victories under Bridgewater’s leadership. Bridgewater earned a 5-0 record for the Saints during the most difficult portion of their schedule. Looking back, without those wins by Teddy, the Saints’ 2019-2020 season and playoff hopes would be gloomy.
Now we are in Week 13 and the Saints have four weeks remaining in regular season. They clinched their third consecutive NFC South Championship and became the first team to gain a playoff berth in the NFL. Best of it all was the fact that New Orleans got revenge against their NFC South foes and roasted the Atlanta Falcons on Thanksgiving, Night. That win resulted from the legendary performance of QB/RB/TE/KR and Special Teams Ace, Taysom Hill.
Taysom Hill entered the game and tipped/blocked a punt, then scored the Saints’ first touchdown of the contest. He added a 30-yard rushing touchdown later in the match. After the game, Hill remained humble when he was interviewed about his record-breaking game,
“When you have guys like Mike Thomas, Alvin Kamara, Jared Cook, the list goes on, it kind of creates opportunities for little old me because it creates so much attention that’s put on those guys,” said Hill.
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
The New Orleans Saints are now 10-2 and the 2019 NFC South Champions! The Saints have been playoff favorites and contenders for most of this season. Defeating the Atlanta Falcons helped the Saints keep pace with the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC playoff race as they face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. We can commend the entire Saints organization and coaching staff for the wins without Brees, but if it were not for the contributions of Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom Hill the Saints season could look different. We celebrate the great accomplishments of Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom Hill, you are the Saints News Network/SI’s Saints Angels of the Week for Week 13.
