New Orleans Saints vs Miami Dolphins Match Player Stats On Oct 01, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Oct 1, 2017

Drew Brees passed for 268 yards and two touchdowns to lead the New Orleans Saints to a 20-0 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Wembley Stadium in London.

Brees completed 29 of 41 passes and the Saints (2-2) shut down the Dolphins (1-2), forcing six punts. It was the Saints' first shutout since 2012.

Saints cornerback Ken Crawley also came up with an interception. Crawley started in place of P.J. Williams, who was benched as part of an unspecified disciplinary action, according to Fox Sports.

The Dolphins, who escaped a shutout on the last play of last week's embarrassing loss at the New York Jets, were not so fortunate this time. Dolphins quarterback Jay Cutler was 20-of-28 passing for 164 yards and the one interception.

Each team had the ball just once in the first quarter.

Miami's drive ended when Cutler threw an interception in the end zone. He tried to connect with Julius Thomas, but Crawley outmuscled him for the pick despite a 75-pound weight disadvantage.

New Orleans' drive failed when Will Lutz missed wide right on a 41-yard field goal. Lutz, though, redeemed himself with a 43-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, giving New Orleans a 3-0 lead.

The first half featured 11 penalties, including seven against the Dolphins for 60 yards.

New Orleans finally put a touchdown drive together, starting the third quarter with an 11-play, 77-yard march that took nearly six minutes. Michael Thomas caught a 3-yard pass from Brees and powered his way into the end zone, giving the Saints a 10-0 lead.

Brees converted a fourth-and-1 on that drive. His quarterback sneak gave New Orleans the first down by just a couple of inches.

The Dolphins had the ball for just 3:51 in the third quarter. The Saints took advantage of a tired Dolphins defense, mounting another drive that resulted in a Lutz field goal, this one a 45-yarder with 12:32 left in the fourth quarter.

New Orleans capped the scoring with another 11-play drive, this one for 87 yards. Brees capped it with a 12-yard shovel pass to running back Alvin Kamara.

NOTES: Dolphins CB Xavier Howard left the game in the fourth quarter due to an unspecified injury. ... Saints RT Zach Strief missed practices this week due to an injury to his right knee, and he left the game in the fourth quarter after a collision with Dolphins DE Charles Harris. The diagnosis was an injury to that same knee. New Orleans, already without LT Terron Armstead, moved first-round pick Ryan Ramczyk to right tackle and Senio Kelemete to the left side. ... Saints OLB Alex Anzalone (shoulder) was injured in the first quarter and did not return. ... Dolphins rookie CB Cordrea Tankersley made his NFL debut, starting the game. He was a third-round pick out of Clemson. ... The Saints have a bye before playing its next game on Oct. 15 against the visiting Detroit Lions. ... Miami doesn't have the luxury of a bye. The Dolphins will make the long trip home and play host to the Tennessee Titans next Sunday.