The New Orleans Saints had little trouble dispatching the Seattle Seahawks while rolling to a 34-19 win in the Superdome. Despite gaining 424 yards of total offense, the Seahawks made far too many mistakes, killing drives and opening the door for New Orleans. Marshawn Lynch was the biggest culprit, fumbling twice to kill promising drives. In addition to the mistakes, poor tackling and a porous defense allowed Drew Brees and the Saints to pick Seattle apart, turning what appeared to be a close game before the half into a rout.
Olindo Mare is proving to be the Seahawks’ most valuable player thus far this year. With many Seattle drives stalling in New Orleans territory, Mare was saw plenty of action again this week after hitting five field goals against the Arizona Cardinals last week. Mare was perfect on the day, connecting on four field goals, including two 43-yarders in the dome.
Brees had an outstanding day, throwing for 382 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Marques Colston and Robert Meachem both caught two Brees touchdown passes. Colston finished with 113 yards on eight catches to lead all receivers. New Orleans running back Chris Ivory spent the day punishing the Seattle defense for 99 yards and a touchdown. Without Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas, Ivory, a former Washington State Cougar, has proved to be a capable back.
Hasselbeck had another strong performance after throwing for over 300 yards last week in a win over the Arizona Cardinals last week. Playing with a broken left wrist, Hasselbeck threw for 366 yards and a touchdown, nearly matching Brees’ yardage. Mike Williams reeled in six catches for 109 yards, though he was limited after injuring his leg on a 68 yard catch and run in the first quarter. Ben Obomanu added 87 yards and a touchdown for the Seahawks. Marshawn Lynch led the Seahawks’ running backs with 36 yards on seven carries, but his fumbles proved costly.
The Seahawks fell to 5-5 on the year with the loss, but remained atop the NFC West after the division went 0-4 on the day. New Orleans, coming off a bye last week, improved to 7-3. Seattle hosts the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday while the Saints travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys on Thanksgiving day.