A tweet from the Pope himself inspires the Black and Gold to a gritty 13-6 win over the Jaguars in Jacksonville keeping the team undefeated in games started by Teddy Bridgewater.
Coach Sean Payton says they expected more out of the offense today that didn’t crack the endzone until the fourth quarter, but TIAA Bank Field is not easy to play at.
“We are not going to like the third-down numbers offensively, and we’re not going to love some of the stuff, and that is really on me, and all of us to improve upon,” said Payton. “We’re going to love the way that we played defensively. I felt the energy was there again, and I felt that was going to be a challenge coming here honestly from an atmosphere standpoint.”
Bridgewater took three sacks but did not turn the ball over and threw for 240 yards and one TD. Alvin Kamara, who was limited in practice with an injury this week, was limited to 66 total yards.
Cam Jordan led another ferocious defensive effort with two sacks on the day. The team’s taken turns winning with offense and defense the past few weeks. Coach Payton’s OK with that.
“The key is understanding what wins in our league. Man, I told our defense that I felt like if we had played eight quarters they would not have scored a touchdown today,” said Payton.
Jag’s rookie sensation Gardner Minshew threw for only 163 yards and a pick. Former LSU star RB Leonard Fournette was held to less than four yards a carry on 72 yards rushing.
Earlier Sunday the Pope tweeted out “Today we give thanks to the Lord for our new #Saints. They walked by faith and now we invoke their intercession.” The use of the hashtag accidentally generated a Black and Gold Fleur De Lis emoji on the post.
