Saints Survive Seahawks on Monday Night Football

The Saints survive in Seattle and knock off the Seahawks 13-10 on Monday Night Football.

Author:
John Hendrix
Publish date:
Oct 25, 2021 11:19 PM EDT

SEATTLE -- The New Orleans Saints are 4-2 on the season after knocking off the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football. It wasn't pretty, but a heavy dose of Alvin Kamara and rallying defensive effort led by Demario Davis helped Sean Payton's team escape Lumen Field with a 13-10 win.

Game Recap

The Saints elected to defer the opening kickoff after winning the coin toss, putting the Seahawks on offense to start the game. Seattle wanted to establish some tempo early and stuck with the run game, but it ended in a three-and-out after New Orleans stopped Alex Collins on 3rd-and-1.

The New Orleans offense didn't fare much better, running four plays and picking up a first down via a Seahawks offsides penalty. Jameis Winston tried Tre'Quan Smith twice on the drive, but couldn't connect with him including a 3rd-and-6 that led to a 58-yard Blake Gillikin punt.

Seattle struck first, but New Orleans recovered
Oct 25, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; New Orleans Saints outside linebacker Demario Davis (56) reacts after a tackle against the Seattle Seahawks during the first quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

It took the Seahawks two plays to find the end zone, as Geno Smith connected with D.K. Metcalf for an 84-yard touchdown pass. Marshon Lattimore appeared to have slipped, and Marcus Williams didn't make the sideline tackle to have Metcalf run free to the end zone to go up 7-0 at 10:08 of the opening quarter.

The Saints offense did their best to counter, but was only able to muster up a 7-play, 33-yard drive that resulted in another Gillikin punt. This time, it was downed by Kevin White at the 1-yard-line. On the drive, the offense got good pickups by Adam Trautman on a tight end screen and another good connection to Juwan Johnson. Winston tried a shot play to Kenny Stills, but it was overthrown.

Seattle got themselves out of a hole quickly, thanks largely in part to Marshon Lattimore taking an unnecessary roughness call against Metcalf. The damage wasn't too severe, as New Orleans was able to get off the field and get the ball back with 2:52 left in the first quarter, but went three-and-out on the ensuing series.

The Seahawks were stopped on their next offensive series, and the Saints got things going offensively. Early in the drive, Andrus Peat was lost due to injury, which put in Calvin Throckmorton. On the first play with him in, the offense dialed up a screen play that went 23 yards with Alvin Kamara. New Orleans would get close to the end zone, but had to settle for a 21-yard Brian Johnson field goal to get on the board with 4:23 left until the half. The drive went 86 yards in 19 plays and took 10:16 off the clock.

With the score 7-3, the Seahawks didn't do much on their next offensive possession, punting the ball back the New Orleans right before the two-minute warning. They did pick up a first down due to a C.J. Gardner-Johnson unnecessary roughness penalty, but went backwards after Smith connected with Gerald Everett for another first down that had a taunting penalty attached to it.

New Orleans was able to take advantage this time, putting together a 7-play, 85-yard drive that resulted in Winston finding Kamara for a 13-yard touchdown. On the play, Winston actually didn't get the snap, but recovered quickly in the gun and got it to him. Big plays to Kamara and Trautman helped move the ball quickly downfield in the two-minute offense. As a result, the Saints went up 10-7 with 40 seconds left before the half.

Second Half

As New Orleans opened with the ball and looked to build momentum, it didn't pan out. The offense went three-and-out to start the half, after two good opening plays. However, they couldn't convert the 3rd-and-2 and were forced to punt.

The Seattle offense went to work, getting 30 yards via penalties from the Saints. One of them came from Marcus Davenport, who was called for a questionable unnecessary roughness call on Geno Smith. The other was from Lattimore, who kept going at it with D.K. Metcalf. The Saints defense got back-to-back sacks on the drive, the first coming from Demario Davis and the second from Cam Jordan. Jason Meyers ended up being wide right from 44 yards out after Seattle got 14 yards on 3rd-and-19, as the game remained 10-7 with 8:43 left in the third quarter.

New Orleans had a quick drive that saw them get a first down on it, but that was about it. Devine Ozigbo, who made the first down, lost 3 yards on the next play. Winston tried deep shots to Kevin White and Kenny Stills, and both were good throws, but were not caught. Blake Gillikin came on to punt the ball back to Seattle with 6:33 left in the quarter.

Seattle had a short outing with several plays attached, but ended up punting back to the Saints. A great 3rd-and-2 run stop by Demario Davis and Cam Jordan helped get the defense off the field. It wouldn't last long for the Saints offense, as they ended up turning the ball over to the Seahawks after Adam Trautman fumbled on a tight end screen.

As Seattle took over at the New Orleans 32-yard-line, they'd have a tough time moving the football, but did manage to get a 50-yard Jason Myers field goal out of it to tie things at 10 with 14 seconds left in the third quarter. Demario Davis did an incredible job on back-to-back plays blocking a lineman into the runner and then coming with pressure on the 3rd-and-10 play.

The Saints offense looked flat again, not being able to get anything going. There was a holding penalty on Erik McCoy that wiped out a big gain to Marquez Callaway, and then the 3rd-and-12 play saw Jamal Adams break up the pass that forced a Saints punt back to Seattle with 12:21 to go.

Seattle would threaten after getting some things going through the air. A big 28-yard hookup to Freddie Swain put the Seahawks in business at the Saints' 24-yard-line. Demario Davis shot through the next play to force a 1-yard loss, while the the 2nd Down play went for no gain. On 3rd-and-10, Tanoh Kpassagnon came up with a huge sack resulting in an 11-yard loss, and Myers missed from 53 to keep things at 10-10 with 6:44 left in the game.

New Orleans went to work on offense. Things looked to end rather quickly on a 3rd-and-9 play, but Winston was roughed up and the Saints got a free 15 yards out of it. The next two plays looked ugly, but Alvin Kamara kept things going by picking up 12 yards on 3rd-and-10. The Saints would pick up an offensive pass interference call from Tre'Quan Smith, and then it turned into a 3rd-and-5.

As New Orleans lined up for a field goal, Al Woods would jump to give the Saints fresh set of downs. On the very next play, Winston found Callaway for an 11-yard gain. Unfortunately, the Saints couldn't punch it into the end zone after a few tries. They closed out the 13-play, 42-yard drive with a 33-yard Brian Johnson field goal to take a 13-10 lead with 1:56 left in the game.

Seattle was set to rally and try to tie, but the Saints had other plans. They got back-to-back sacks from Malcolm Jenkins and Demario Davis, which forced the Seahawks into a 4th-and-28. They couldn't connect, and turned things back over to New Orleans with 1:04 left to play. The Saints just ran out the clock, winning 13-10.

The Saints return home for a two-game Superdome stand against the Bucs and Falcons.