Wagering: 1.888.238.8018 - 1.888.889.4313
Customer Service: 1.877.717.7747 - 1.888.889.4368
Customer Service: 1.877.717.7747 - 1.888.889.4368
: 1.888.238.8198 - 1.888.889.4312
: 1.888.378.0888 - 1.888.889.4219
| Saints rout Cardinals 45-14,reach NFC title game |
All they needed was a week rest and a visit from the Arizona’s porous defense to resurrect their league-leading offense,and crush the NFC champions 45-14 in their divisional playoff game Saturday. Drew Brees threw 3 touchdown passes,and Reggie Bush scored on an 83-yd return and a 46-yd run. “So much for being rusty,”Saints coach Sean Payton said. “That bye week was critical,getting guys healthy…I knew we were ready,the way we worked all week and we were confident in what we were going to do.” Forgotten are the 2 straight losses at home against Dallas and Tampa Bay,and the regular-season finale at Carolina.The Saints are one win from their first Super Bowl,they will host an NFC title game for the first time in franchise history when they receive Sunday the Minnesota Vikings. “There’s been a lot of first since Sean Payton has been here in the organization and we want to keep that going,” Brees said. “We want to bring this franchise a championship.” Payton,Brees and Bush arrived in New Orleans in 2006,when the team returned to its hometown after Hurricane Katrina.The trio helped the franchise capture their second postseason win before losing at Chicago in its first NFC championship game. The Saints victory wounded up being so easy that Payton began pulling his starters early in the fourth quarter. They looked like the team that blew up opponents earlier in the season en route to a 13-0 start. It didn’t appear it was going to be so easy when the game started,though. Arizona took the opening kickoff, and with the Superdome crowd howling madly,Tim Hightower burst through a huge hole and stunned the fans into silence with a 70-yd TD run. But the Saints had 59:41 left to make up for it,and needed only one series to tie the game with Lynell Hamilton 1-yd run capping a 10-play,72-yd drive. On Arizona’s next possession,Warner hit Jerheme Urban,but Randall Gay stripped him from behind and the ball bounced right to Darren sharper who returned it to the Cardinals 37.Four plays later Brees hit Jeremy Shockey on a 17-yd TD pass. The Saints scored their third TD to make it 21-7 when Bush danced through defenders and ran into the open field for his 46-yd TD. “He’s a guy who can change the game” Payton said. Arizona cut the deficit to 21-14 with Chris Wells’ 4-yd TD rush,but the Saints made it 35-14 at halftime with 2 TD passes from Brees,first from 44-yd to Devery Henderson and then from 2-yd to Marques Colston. A 43-yd field goal and Reggie Bush’s 83 yard punt return in the third quarter set the final score. After beating Green Bay 51-45 in the wild-card round,Arizona wound up yielding 90 points in the postseason,the most ever allowed in consecutive playoff games in one season. “It didn’t end the way we wanted it to.” Said Warner “It wasn’t nearly as competitive as we wanted it to be,but sometimes you have those days.Today was one of those days for us.” It didn’t help that starting defensive backs Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (left knee sprain) and Antrel Rolle (concussion) went out in the first quarter. “We played with a depleted secondary today,”Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “That hurt us.The Saints exploited those matchups.That was obvious.” The Saints’ defense played well,forcing two turnovers,and knocking 38-year-old Warner briefly out of the game when,during Will Smith’s interception return,he was blind-sided by Bobby McCray’s block. Warner was 17 of 26 for 205 yds but,pressured constantly,was unable to move Arizona’s offense consistently.Aside from Hightower TD on the first play,the Cardinals ran for only 31 yds. Brees went 23 of 32 for 247 yds and 3 TDs with no interception,and Bush finished with 84 yds rushing,24 yds receiving and 109 yds on 3 punt returns.Colston caught 3 passes for 83 yds. The Saints have erased any doubts their fans might have had after the season ending three games skid,and keep marching toward their first Super Bowl appearance.Only one home- win separates them from the doors to Paradise. “There’s no fan base that deserves a championship more than New Orleans and the Who-dat nation,”Brees said “Just the bond that we have with them is special.They give us strength.They give us motivation,and we want to do it for them.” Check out the odds for the NFL’s conference championship games next weekend at BetPhoenix.com Sportsbook and back your favorite teams with a wager. 
|
Everybody wondered how the New Orleans Saints(14-3) would recover from the three losses to end the regular season.
BetPhoenix.com is a current leader in the North American and Asian Online Gaming sector. Sportsbook, Live Casino, Virtual Casino and Racebook. All in one! Customer satisfaction is our number one priority.
© 2012 BetPhoenix Chinese / Vietnamese Sportsbook & Casino Group. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information. All rights reserved.