Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
The Saints were coming off a tough loss and managed to bounce back nicely with a blowout win over the Colts. Here are my observations:
The Good
-The Drew Brees/Sean Payton pairing is arguably the second best quarterback/head coach tandem in this era of football. The synergy they have is unreal. Outside Tom Brady/Bill Belichick, you can't name a better duo. Props to Brees for breaking the all time passing touchdown record on another big stage. Brees went 29/30 (96.7% is a single game record) for 307 yards and four touchdowns.
-Michael Thomas is not human. He's Brees' favorite target. Teams know he's going to get targeted at least 10 times a game or more. He doesn't have take the top off the defense speed. Yet, he still gets wide open! Thomas had 12 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown. He's now 11 catches away from breaking the catches in a season record.
-Demario Davis is the playmaker the Saints have severely lacked at linebacker. He blitzes, covers, and stuffs the run better than any line backer this team has had since the Dome Patrol. I'm not saying he's a future Hall of Famer, but he's definitely making the team's Ring of Honor. Davis pressured Jacoby Brissett, as well as made key stops in both the run and pass game.
The Bad
-There was a play in the 1st quarter in which Brees got up from the turf and had to adjust his jersey, pads, and mouthpiece. That's something no saints fan wants to see, much less something Brees wants to feel. Keeping him clean is a high priority.
-43 seconds into the 2nd quarter, Brees threw his first and only incompletion of the first half short right to Latavius Murray. Bum! He couldn't complete 100% of his passes tonight because he missed that throw to Murray. What a joke! This bum deserves to lose his job!
-The defense played very well...until they put more backups in. That's when Saquan Hampton gave up an unnecessary pass interference call that set up the Colts' one touchdown with a shade over four minutes left in the game. So much for serving donuts.
The Ugly
-When right guard Larry Warford went down, so did the hearts of many Saints fans. He's been a lynchpin of that offensive line unit since he signed as a free agent from the Lions a couple years ago. His leg got rolled up on from friendly fire. Looks like he should be okay.
-An offensive pass interference call wiped out Brees' would be record breaking touchdown pass at the end of the first half. Tre'Quan Smith was flagged when the refs assumed his slight hand push gained him a significant enough advantage that the touchdown shouldn't count. I've seen way worse not be called or reviewed. At minimum, the booth should've upheld the touchdown. But then again this is like asking criminals to judge other criminals.
-With Sheldon Rankins and Marcus Davenport out for the season, it's time for the next man up mentality. While those guys will be missed, the Saints can't let up. They were fortunate to get by the Colts and their power run game without incident because they jumped out to a big lead. The Titans next week will present a different challenge in stopping the run, so will the Panthers if they decide to play for pride in week 17, as will every NFC playoff team outside possibly the Packers.
There's just something magical about the Saints and Monday Night Football in the Brees/Payton era, especially when Brees has a shot at breaking some sort of record. The Saints took full advantage of the opening created by the 49ers inexplicably losing to the Falcons by beating the Colts. The NFC race for the #1 seed is now wide open and up for grabs over the last couple weeks of the regular season. Maybe those blown coverages and questionable calls to go for two in the 49ers loss won't come back to haunt the Saints afterall. Or maybe they will. Only time will tell. There's still two more games left to play for everybody and anything can happen.
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Bloop single drives in 2 runs as Reds hold off Astros for a 5-3 win
Sep 2, 2024, 8:48 pm
Yordan Alvarez homered twice and Jon Singleton added a two-run shot as the Houston Astros completed a four-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals with a 7-2 win Sunday.
It’s Houston’s fifth straight win overall and comes after the Royals swept a three-game series against the AL West leaders at home in April.
“They kicked our butts early in the season in Kansas City when we were not playing our best,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “But that's why you play 162 and we are a different club. We're getting closer to our goal and we're playing with a different type of intensity and focus and we demonstrated that this series.”
Kansas City lost a season-high fifth straight game to fall into a tie with Minnesota for second in the AL Central, 3 1/2 games behind division-leading Cleveland. The losing streak comes after the Royals won the first of three games of a four-game set against the Guardians and moved into a tie for the division lead. Cleveland and the Royals open another three-game series in Kansas City on Monday.
“The whole series was frustrating,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “We didn’t come out of here with any wins. That’s what we play for, is to win every day. So that stinks.”
It’s the sixth multi-homer game for Alvarez this season and his second this week after the Cuban slugger tied a career high with three home runs in Wednesday’s 10-0 rout of the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies.
Alvarez connected off Alec Marsh (7-8) in the fourth inning before Singleton’s shot made it 3-0. Alvarez belted his 30th home run of the season off Sam Long to start the sixth. He joins Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell as the only players in franchise history with at least four consecutive seasons with at least 30 home runs.
He nearly had another three homer game Sunday, but Tommy Pham caught his fly ball in the eighth inning on the track, just in front of the bullpen.
Sunday was the first time since June 22 that Alvarez homered at Minute Maid Park.
“When I hit the ball, there was like a stress that just left me,” Alvarez said in Spanish through a translator. “Obviously, there had been a while where I hadn’t been hitting the ball for homers here. So I hit that one, then came the other one and then almost the third one came. So hopefully that bad streak is gone."
Houston starter Ronel Blanco (10-6) allowed three hits and struck out three in five innings for his first win since July 9.
Yuli Gurriel hit an RBI single for Kansas City in the sixth and Bobby Witt Jr. homered for a second straight game with a solo shot in the seventh. Gurriel made his debut with the Royals on Sunday after being acquired from Atlanta on Saturday for cash considerations.
The Astros led by three runs when MJ Melendez walked with one out in the sixth and Freddie Fermin singled. Gurriel then singled on a line drive to left field, scoring Melendez and cutting the lead to 3-1.
Witt collected his 30th home run of the season with one out in the seventh, when he connected off Héctor Neris for a second straight game. Witt, who leads the major leagues in hits, batting average and runs, was 0 for 11 in the series before his home run on Saturday.
The Astros padded the lead in the eighth when Yainer Diaz hit an RBI double and Jeremy Peña scored two more on a single to make it 7-2.
Marsh permitted four hits and three runs in five innings.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros: OF Kyle Tucker, who has been out since fouling a ball off his shin June 3, continues to improve and could return next week. … 3B Alex Bregman missed a third straight game with elbow inflammation Sunday. But manager Joe Espada said the swelling is almost gone and he should return to the lineup Monday.
WELCOME BACK
Gurriel, who spent his first seven MLB seasons with the Astros, was given a big ovation when he was introduced before the game. Houston fans also cheered loudly for him each time he came to the plate.
The 40-year-old helped the Astros to two World Series titles and won a Gold Glove Award and the AL batting title in 2021.
Gurriel played his first game in the majors this season on Sunday after spending the year in Atlanta’s minor league system.
UP NEXT
Royals: RHP Michael Wacha (11-6, 3.50 ERA) opposes Cleveland RHP Gavin Williams (2-7, 4.99) when Kansas City opens a three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday.
Astros: RHP Justin Verlander (3-4, 4.16) will start the opener of a three-game series at Cincinnati on Monday. The Reds haven’t released their rotation for the series.