New Orleans Saints: Week 7 victory over Ravens hugely important

The New Orleans Saints defeated the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday and the everlasting impact on what that holds for the remainder of the season

The Week 7 matchup between the New Orleans Saints, the number one scoring offense in the league, against the Baltimore Ravens, the number one defense, was bursting with hype coming into Sunday. It’s rare that such a great matchup between two franchises of that caliber — especially when both teams compete in opposite conferences.

There was much more at stake than just a win for the Saints on Sunday, however. It was an opportunity for New Orleans to show exactly what type of team they want to be this year, along with a chance to add more records towards Drew Brees’ legacy.

After being well-rested from their bye week, the Saints had two big stories leading up to the game versus Baltimore. Brees was on his 499th career touchdown pass, and he was also 0-4 against the Ravens during the 17 years he’s played in the NFL — the only NFL team he’d yet to beat. The tribulations that Baltimore had put Brees through in the past were nothing compared to what the Ravens has in store in 2018.

Despite the reunion of the boom-and-zoom combination in the backfield, the Ravens sustained a great defensive front of stop any momentum both Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram. It wasn’t until late in the second quarter that Brees found momentum with his offense that led to his 500th career touchdown pass to his tight end Ben Watson.

Brees has officially joined the prestigious 500 Club along with Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady, who all coincidentally also threw their 500th pass in October as well.

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Any great defense can only stop the Saints temporarily. The brilliance that Sean Payton and Brees bring to the offense is being able to adjust accordingly to exploit an opening.  New Orleans found a small window of opportunity and picked up a stride to catch up from a 7-17 deficit in the third quarter to mount a 24-17 lead in the fourth. The offense wasn’t the only contribution towards their win, however.

The Saints defense started the season a little shaky, but has been able to find their identity once again with each passing week. Joe Flacco has faced some controversy regarding his ability to lead the Ravens to another Super Bowl. This year, Flacco is surrounded by a heavy margin of talent that contributes towards their success.

The struggling Arizona Cardinals offense must miss John Brown, who has been flourishing on the Ravens. The Oakland Raiders might have a similar feeling of guilt by releasing Michael Crabtree to Baltimore. The established run game from Alex Collins and Buck Allen also helps open up the passing lanes for Flacco. Plus, don’t forget about the first-round pick Lamar Jackson, who appears to be a complete parallel to the Saints’ Taysom Hill.

The New Orleans defense looked sharp keeping up with Baltimore’s offensive talent. The tired defense gave up the most yards from a crucial late fourth-quarter drive where the Ravens marched downfield on an intense two-minute drill.

Flacco found a wide-open Brown in the corner of the end zone, making the score 23-24 and an extra point attempt to force the game into overtime. The wind ended up shanking the kick, however, giving us the gift of Justin Tucker’s astonished reaction.

Right on time for Halloween, Tucker looked on in horror as if he saw a ghost. The seven-year veteran made his previous 222 extra-point kicks, only to miss the most crucial kick of the entire game.

Tucker’s end of the game nightmare only brings a gift to the New Orleans Saints, as Brees has officially defeated all 32 NFL teams. Another prestigious club that holds Favre, Manning and now Brees. At this point, the Hall of Fame gold jacket is just a given for the signal-caller. These types of career statistics give a serious argument of being the greatest quarterback of all time.

The Ravens are a legitimate contender this year in the AFC. The fact that the Saints were able to take down the best defense in the league, while on the road no less, should prove to the top-heavy NFC how good New Orleans really is.

Being able to defeat Baltimore is a huge win, and the upcoming matchups will determine how strong the Saints truly are. This week’s Sunday Night Football is a rematch of the NFC Divisional game versus the Minnesota Vikings. After that, the Saints take on the undefeated Los Angeles Rams. If there is one team that has a great shot on finally taking down the Rams, it would be New Orleans.