Premier Madden League games have officially started and the Saints first three opponents were all three of their division mates. Week 1 started off with the Saints facing off against the Atlanta Falcons. Both teams came into the game dealing with injuries and missing players, however, the biggest missing player was Calvin Ridley for the Falcons. Ridley is the best player on the Falcons by far and it showed in this game.
The Falcons came out strong in their run game and were able to find some success running the ball and with the short passing game. This was a neck and neck game until Cam Jordan blew up a play action play in the backfield, causing a fumble, which resulted in a touchdown. After this play, the Saints defense just attacked the ball at all levels of the field. The Falcons rookie quarterback Ridder had a bad day throwing the ball as Maye and Adebo both intercepted him in this game. Ridder also fumbled the ball twice. These turnovers were key in the game as they were able to give the Saints the led they needed, which resulted in a 29-10 Saints victory. The only negative thing about this game was the injury to pass rushing defensive tackle, David Onyemata. He will be out for the next three weeks.
The victory of week 1, had everyone on the Saints fired up. This was something that everyone on the team needed as in week 2 they played the suped up Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints came out on fire, with Winston throwing multiple touchdowns, as well as the defense making key stops. All of this resulted in the Saints going up 21-3. This is where the Buccaneers would make their comeback. After the Buccaneers brought the score to 21-10, Coach Burn told Winston that the key to closing out the rest of the game was to protect the ball. Ironically the next play later Winston threw a pick six on a short route. Kamara would run in an 80 yard touchdown, and Tom Brady went down the field to secure a field goal before the half, making the score 28-0 at halftime.
The Buccaneers got the ball after halftime and scored a touchdown, however, would miss the two point conversion. On the ensuing drive, Wintson threw another pick six on the same short route that he threw his first one. This put the Buccaneers up 33-28 and they didn’t let that lead slip away. Winston would go on to throw 2 more interceptions, which resulted in a 43-31 victory for the Buccaneers. Two interceptions for touchdowns is all it took to lose the lead. Coach Burn could be seen on the sidelines chewing out Winston on his decision making.
Losing a game in that fashion, especially to a division rival would lower the spirits of any team, however, the Saints didn’t have time to sulk as they had their third straight division game in week 3. The Panthers and Cam Newton were looking for their first win of the season, and they thought they could catch the Saints slipping due to their loss in week 2.
The Panthers are known for their heavy blitzing, and Winston wasn’t ready for it. He threw two early interceptions, however, would settle down which resulted in a ten point lead going into the half. Winston would stick to keeping the ball safe for the rest of the game, increasing the Saints lead to 28-7 with 1:24 left in the game. The Panthers would score a garbage time touchdown, making the final result 28-14, however the moral of the game was the fact that the Saints did not blow two leads in back to back games.
The Saints defense came to play, especially Marcus Davenport and Paulson Adebo. Davenport contained Cam Newton all game, and ended the game with 2 sacks and 4 tackles for loss. Adebo ended the game with two interceptions which made for three on the season. These statistics among the others that both teams had would all be for nothing as at the end of the game, father time poofed into existence and rewound the game to the beginning. Both teams agreed to a restart, with the final result being a 24-17 win for the Saints
After running their 3 week divisional gauntlet, the Saints are 2-1. They still have a lot of things to work on which consist of running the ball with greater effectiveness as well as Winston making better decisions with the football. Up next, the Saints will take on the 0-3 Vikings. The Vikings record doesn’t reflect how dangerous of a team they are. Coach Burn knows that it will take alot to beat this team. We will be back in a few more weeks to check up on how the Saints do in their next few games.
