The drive that put the Saints ahead of the Eagles in Sunday’s 20-14 win started with over 13 minutes to go in the third quarter and ended with 1:40 left on the clock.
After taking over at their 8-yard-line, the Saints drove 18 plays and picked up 112 yards due to penalties before Michael Thomas’ touchdown catch. Thomas was busy throughout the drive with four catches for 53 yards and everyone was left in need of a breather after 11:29 on the field.
Right guard Larry Warford said after the game that he was “still tired” and explained how the Saints kept on pushing on a drive that changed the shape of the contest.
“You smell that vulnerability,” Warford said, via the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “You can smell that they’re getting tired, you can see it, you can feel it. It gives you that momentum and that drive to push through and keep pushing. It was tough. It was one of the hardest drives I’ve been a part of. I was out of breath getting down there. It was coming to crunch time down in the red zone, everyone is tired, but you smell the end zone and you can’t give it away, you can’t give it back.”
A fake punt in the first half sparked the Saints to life after they stumbled out of the gate. Doing everything in their power to avoid another fourth down decision went a long way toward winning the game for the Saints in the second half.