The Saints fell behind 10-0, lost quarterback Drew Brees to a rib injury, but still ended up beating San Francisco 27-13 for their sixth straight win. Brees took a big hit in the first half and that drew a roughing the quarterback penalty. He did not play in the second half.
“He’ll get an MRI and an X-ray,” said Coach Sean Payton. “His back felt sore as he tried to throw, he just came up to me and said hey I don’t feel like I’m capable of playing, so quickly we made the switch.”
Jameis Winston took over as the number one QB in the second half and led the Saints on an important fourth-quarter drive that resulted in a Alvin Kamara touchdown, his third of the day. Kamara says he knew Winston would be ready.
“He’s not at home because he’s the second-string quarterback, he’s in there getting his reps, going over the game plan he knows what’s going on, just like Josh Hill goes down, just like Tre’quan (Smith) goes down, this sport does not stop for just one person,” said Kamara.
Brees says he’ll take his injury one day at a time and he may have injured more than one rib.
He wasn’t the only starter who got hurt on Sunday. Tre’Quan Smith and Josh Hill both left the game with a concussion. Payton says his team was able to adapt to the personnel changes.
“We’re battled tested that way, we’ll continue to work on it, we’ll see where these guys are coming out of this week’s game and get ready for a rested Atlanta team that’s playing well,” said Payton.
The Saints host the Falcons this Sunday at noon.
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