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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- In his first year Ricky Williams made all the
wrong moves. He was photographed in a wedding gown, signed a bad
contract, then produced few yards.
|  | | New Orleans defensive tackle La'Roi Glover had three sacks Sunday to run his total to nine. The NFL single-season record is 22. |
These days, Williams is busy paying off the huge debt the Saints
ran up to get the Heisman Trophy winner.
Williams rushed for touchdowns of 1 and 2 yards as the Saints
beat the Carolina Panthers 24-6 Sunday. But the back that former
Saints coach Mike Ditka traded seven draft picks to get did a lot
more than just score his first-ever touchdowns in the Superdome.
By the time Williams hit the end zone for the second time, with
5:16 left, he already had his fourth-straight 100-yard rushing
game, a team record.
"When you watch him out on that field, you have to say he was
worth every draft pick and more," Saints quarterback Jeff Blake
said. "We made enough mistakes to kill us early in the game, but
Ricky didn't make a single wrong move."
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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The No. 1-rated Saints defense stepped up big again today.
Some observers said last week that the No. 1 rating was deceptive because it
was accomplished against some inferior teams. So the Saints felt they had
something to prove -- and they did it.
New Orleans held Carolina to just 10 yards rushing and produced eight
quarterback sacks. For the second week in a row defensive tackle La'Roi Glover had three sacks for
New Orleans.
Pass protection has been an ongoing problem for Carolina this year.
Offensively, Ricky Williams
went over the 100-yard mark for the fourth straight game (and completed a
34-yard halfback pass). Williams helped the Saints dominate time of
possession.
With the win, the Saints have established themselves as a legitimate
playoff-type football team.
For the Panthers, after a convincing win last week over Seattle, this was a
major disappointment. Panthers QB Steve Beuerlein came down with
the flu Saturday and was very ineffective Sunday.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director
of football operations.
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Williams carried the ball 38 times for 144 yards, caught three
passes for 35 and even threw a 34-yard pass. The Saints outgained
the Panthers 383-152, outrushed them 201-10, and held the ball
34:03 to Carolina's 23:57.
"They were getting tired," Williams said. "We knew that and
we just kept pounding them. It was great. It was fun."
Williams' second touchdown came after a fake punt on which Fred
McAfee gained 40 yards to keep the drive alive.
"I shouldn't admit it, but that play took the air out of our
tires," said Carolina coach George Seifert. "We shouldn't let
that happen and look what happened from then on."
The Saints (3-3) added a final touchdown on a 29-yard pass from
Blake to Joe Horn with 3:10 remaining.
If the Saints offense generally was one dimensional, the defense
had eight sacks and was a kaleidoscope of big plays and solid
performances.
The Panthers (2-4) managed just two field goals, converted just
three of 14 third downs, and had only eight first downs.
"They did an excellent job of scheming and attacking us,"
Seifert said. "They were about as offensive as you can be from a
defensive standpoint. Their offense made just enough plays to keep
the whole team in the game."
The Saints defense, smarting from criticism that their No. 1
ranking had been earned against some of the league's less
productive offenses, came out tough against Carolina.
"We don't care what people say, we aren't listening," said
Saints defensive lineman La'Roi Glover. "We're just going to play
our game and see if that makes a mark when everything's over. We
know what we have to do and we're going to do it."
New Orleans continually pressured Steve Beuerlein, who completed
15 of 28 for 172. Glover ran his sacks total to nine on the year,
decking Beuerlein twice in the first half and once in the final
quarter. It was second straight game that Glover had three sacks.
Darren Howard and Keith Mitchell each sacked Beuerlein twice and
Joe Johnson got him once. Beuerlein was intercepted once.
"Whenever we'd get it going at all, they'd come up with a key
third-down stop or put us in a tough spot," Beuerlein said. "It's
hard to drive 80 or 85 yards against those guys, they're too
good."
Beuerlein joined the Panthers in New Orleans on Saturday night
after remaining behind to receive medical attention for flu-like
symptoms. Beuerlein turned the game over to Jeff Lewis late. He
also missed two plays trying to stop a nosebleed sustained when he
tried to scramble in the second quarter.
The Panthers failed to take advantage of New Orleans mistakes in
the second quarter. Chad Morton muffed a punt and Brad Hoover
recovered on the Saints 45. But after driving to the 17, Kevin
Mathis intercepted Beuerlein.
After Doug Brien's 29-yard field goal made it 10-3 with 13
seconds left in the first half, a 17-yard kickoff by Toby Gowin set
up Carolina on the Saints 48. Beuerlein hit Donald Hayes for
24-yard gain and Joe Nedney kicked a 46-yard field goal that made
it 10-6 at the break.
Michael Bates fumbled the opening kick of the game at the
Panthers 21-yard line. But on the Saints' second play of the game,
Blake fumbled.
On New Orleans' next possession, Williams uncorked a 34-yard
pass to Keith Poole to the 2. Blake fumbled a snap, however, and
Carolina recovered.
The Saints lost three of four fumbles and had eight penalties
for 59 yards.
Game notes
The game was Brien's 100th in the NFL. ... The Saints
have limited opponents to six TDs this year. The offense and
special teams have given up four. ... Entering the game, Carolina
had permitted an NFL low one passing TD this year. The Panthers
gave up one to the Saints. ... Panthers safety Rashard Anderson
sprained his right knee and tight end Wesley Walls hurt his ribs,
both in the fourth quarter.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Carolina Clubhouse
New Orleans Clubhouse
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