With just over five minutes left in the second quarter Monday night, the Saints scored their second touchdown to take a 17-7 lead over the Raiders. It looked like the Saints might win this one going away. And yet somehow by the time the clock ran out at the half, the game was tied 17-17.
How did this happen?
Well, first it was a drive by the Raiders to score their second touchdown and pull the score to 17-14. With under two minutes remaining, and the Saint showing early on that they could move the ball at will, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the Saints would not just head into the half with the lead, but extend that lead.
That all changed when Drew Brees seemed to throw a ball right to Nicholas Morrow. I asked Morrow what he saw on that play and he laid it out.
“Well I think Jared [Cook] ran the (inaudible) and then I saw two sit down so I knew there was something behind me, like a helmet behind me. I didn’t think he was going to throw it right to me but we just sit in my zone and outside the hash and he threw it to me. It was a good job by the D-Line, getting pressure making them throw out the basement window, honestly.”
Here is the play:
Going the other way!
Nick Morrow with an absolute game-changer. #NOvsLV live on ESPN pic.twitter.com/O9WBNBbJGY
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) September 22, 2020
The pressure from the Dline that Morrow mentions comes from Maurice Hurst up the middle. You might recall, it was Hurst who got pressure last week for the Raiders only sack. This one wasn’t a sack, but it turned out to be far more impactful, keeping Brees from stepping into his throw and thus dropping it right into Morrow’s waiting arms.
Morrow got his hands around a Teddy Bridgewater pass in the opener too, but the ball went right through his hands and was caught for a long gain. He was again in position to make the pick, but this one was much easier to secure.
With the game tied up, and the momentum securely in the Raiders’ favor, they got the ball to begin the second half as well. And they drove right down for another touchdown to take their first lead of the game 24-17. They would extend that lead to 31-17 in the fourth quarter and go on to win 34-24.
It all began with that interception helping to make it a new game at the half.
