Tag Archives: New Orleans Saints

1997 Game 172 (Week 13) New Orleans at Atlanta

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Saints win a tale of two halves

In the first half of a game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, New Orleans Saints’ QB Billy Jo Hobert was atrocious. He was 5 of 12 for 92 yards with 3 INTs and the Saints trailed 17-0 at halftime. In the second half, Hobert flipped the switch, and he got hot in the second. He was 13 of 18 passing for 259 yards and 3 TDs and led the Saints to a 31-24 come-from-behind win over the Falcons.

The Falcons took a 17-0 lead at halftime due to their explosive offense. QB Chris Chandler and the Falcons racked up 236 yards by halftime and were rolling. Chandler hit RB Jamal Anderson on a 23-yard touchdown pass and then Anderson snaked his way through the Saints defense for another first half touchdown.

Then the Saints started rolling in the third quarter as they scored 24 answered points. RB Ray Zellars scored on a TD run of 3 yards, and then Hobert connected on TD pass of 5 and 59 yards to WR Andre Hastings.

The Falcons tied the game with 4 minutes to play in the game when Chandler tossed a TD strike to WR Terrence Mathis for 43 yards; however, a minute later, Hobert connected with WR Randal Hill on an 83-yard game-winning bomb. The Saints held on to win 31-24.

The Saints are now 7-5 and are in the thick of the NFC Wildcard race. They snapped a three-game losing streak with this win and will travel to Charlotte next Sunday to take on the Carolina Panthers. The Falcons are now 5-7 and are on the outside looking in of the NFC Wildcard race. They will travel next Sunday to take on the red-hot Seattle Seahawks.

1997 Game 172 Stats

1997 Game 160 (Week 12) Seattle at New Orleans

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Moon’s acquisition paying dividends

Seattle Seahawks’ QB Warren Moon was one of the big free agent moves in the offseason and it’s starting to pay off. The Seahawks went into the Louisianna Superdome Sunday and thumped the New Orleans Saints, 34-16. The victory has propelled the Seahawks into a legitimate Wild Card spot in the AFC now that they are 7-4.

Moon struggled to start the season. At one time, he held the distinct honor of throwing the most interceptions on the season. Over the past six weeks, the Seahawks have won 5 of their last six games and you can’t point to Moon’s play as the cause of it.

On Sunday, Moon came out slinging the football. In the second quarter, he zipped two touchdown passes to give the Seahawks a 17-0 lead. The first TD was a 49-yard catch and run from WR Mike Pritchard and the other was a 61-yard bomb to Joey Galloway. Later in the 4th quarter, Moon hooked up with WR James McKnight on another bomb from 68 yards out.

On the day, Moon threw for 316 yards on 18 of 28 passing with 3 TDs and 0 interceptions. He had a 138.4 quarterback rating.

The Seahawks defense has been up to the challenge also. They knocked Saints’ starting QB Heath Shuler out of the game and then harassed Billy Joe Hobert the rest of the game. The two quarterbacks were sacked and intercepted three times. DB Willie Williams had two of the Seahawks’ interceptions.

Seattle (7-4) will have a huge showdown on Sunday as they face the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs in the Kingdome. After starting the season 6-2, the Saints have now dropped three consecutive games and will travel to Atlanta next Sunday.

1997 Game 160 Stats

1997 Game 146 (Week 11) New Orleans at Oakland

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George bombs Raiders to victory

Oakland Raiders’ QB Jeff George is having a career-year despite the Raiders’ struggles as a team. They are now 2-8 with their victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, 33-13, but they have had an All-Pro season from George. He continues to put up unbelievable numbers in the passing game.

On Sunday, it was George’s big play ability that propelled the Raiders to victory. George threw two dynamic TD passes. One was an 80-yard bomb to WR James Jett, and the other was a 57-yarder to RB Napolean Kaufman. In the game, George threw for 258 yards on just 15 of 26 passing with the 2 TDs.

On the season, George is the leading passer in the AFC. He has completed 56.6% of his passes for 2,727 yards and 21 TD passes. The amazing part of his performance is that he has only thrown one interception all season. He has a 103 passing rating and that is second to only Steve Young in the entire NFL.

The Raiders also got a huge performance from RB Kaufman on the ground. Once the Raiders got the lead, Kaufman went to work. He rushed 28 times for 153 yards on the day.

As for the Saints, they have been one of the most surprising teams of the 1997 season. Most experts picked the Saints to finish at the bottom of the NFC West and no one thought they would be contending for the division title let alone a Wildcard position. However, despite their surprising start, the Saints fell back to Earth on Sunday.

QB Heath Shuler threw for 228 yards in the game, but he threw another interception. That gives Shuler 18 INTs on the season. The Saints’ defense has been the strength of the team, but they gave up 409 yards to the Raiders with 164 of it coming on the ground.

Next week, the Saints (6-3) will take on another surprising team in the Superdome…the Seattle Seahawks. As for the 2-8 Raiders, they will play on Sunday Night Football next week against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

1997 Game 146 Stats