Drew Brees stages huge comeback in final minute of thrilling Saints win
Deshaun Watson is great. Drew Brees has been great for a lot longer.
In a fantastic Monday night game, Watson and Brees traded enormous drives in the final minute. Watson threw a 37-yard touchdown to Kenny Stills with 37 seconds left, and it seemed that would lift the Texans to a dramatic win.
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But Brees has been in this spot before. He got the Saints in field-goal range and as time expired, Wil Lutz won it with a 58-yard kick to give the Saints a great 30-28 victory.
It was the latest chapter in Brees’ legendary career, and a heck of a kick by Lutz.
Houston jumped out to big lead
The Texans started fast. Watson had a great touchdown run early on, and landed hard at the end of it. He spent time in the medical tent but never missed a play. He later hit DeAndre Hopkins for a pair of touchdowns. Houston led 21-10 midway through the third quarter.
The pylon cam look at Deshaun's dive is nuts pic.twitter.com/ecDFMnQ2By
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) September 9, 2019
Eventually the Saints took back control of the game. The pass rush was all over Watson. When he was sacked twice in the final five minutes and Houston had to punt, the game looked all but done. A field goal by the Saints gave them a 27-21 lead with less than a minute to go.
Watson completed two enormous passes to give the Texans the lead. Watson started the drive with a great 38-yard toss to Hopkins. He hit Stills for a score and it looked like Houston had a crazy win.
But Brees had time.
Saints win it on final play
Houston’s strategy will be picked apart, especially on Brees’ final pass. Brees hit Ted Ginn for 15 yards and Michael Thomas for 11. Then with six seconds left, the Texans gave the Saints way too much cushion. Brees hit Ginn for 9 yards, called a timeout, and that set up Lutz’s kick. He probably wouldn’t have hit it from 67 yards. The final 9 yards were huge.
I want to be sure I get the picture accurate. Here is the #Texans’ corner alignment on the play that gave up the yardage which allowed the field goal. Ted Ginn is in the slot. Why the corners aren’t in press with the safeties over the top, I’m not sure. pic.twitter.com/ktz2rI66bc
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) September 10, 2019
Brees is 40. When he was a rookie with the Chargers, Watson was 6. Watson already is a great quarterback. He showed that at Clemson and is showing it with the Texans.
But Brees isn’t done giving us magical moments.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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