NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints' running back duo of Pierre Thomas and Khiry Robinson earned my game ball Sunday by running through (and over) the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defense to seal a 37-31 overtime victory.
I just as easily could have given it to the offensive linemen who blazed their path while dominating the battle of "attrition," as coach Sean Payton called it, in a game in which the Saints' offense was on the field for a total of 86 snaps -- including 35 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Or I even could have rewarded Payton himself for once again recognizing what was happening down the stretch and calling four straight run plays at the end of overtime -- finishing with Robinson's 18-yard run that linebacker Junior Galette described as "beast mode."
"It was just a battle of wills at that point," Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "And our guys controlled the scrimmage and allowed Khiry the opportunity to really put it to 'em. He was the hammer and had a couple great runs there down the stretch there to obviously win the game."
Robinson followed a series of perfectly executed blocks on the game-winner before finishing the job himself by running over safeties Bradley McDougald and Mark Barron.
The end of this game played out much like the Saints' playoff win at Philadelphia last season. The Bucs' defense took away the deep ball, so the Saints found a different way to make them pay.
"There are times people are going to take something away from you, and I think it's important you can function in the other area," Payton said. "I thought, especially in that closing drive, we had some big runs that were well blocked and gave us an opportunity to get a little more than maybe we were expecting. ... And it was great to finish with a run like that."
Robinson had five carries for 34 yards on the final TD drive and finished with 21 carries for 89 yards, plus one catch for 8 yards.
Meanwhile, Thomas emerged as the Saints' go-to guy in regulation, with a huge 27-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter and the return of some of his vintage screen passes (including a 15-yard touchdown in the second quarter and gains of 19 and 13 in the fourth).
Thomas, who finished with four carries for 35 yards and eight catches for 77 yards, deflected most of the praise to his blockers after the game, saying those were their yards. But Thomas did allow that he prides himself on his consistency.
"I guess you can say that's my gift. I don't have the top speed like some of these guys. Consistency is my gift and what I bring to the table. It helps me out and it helps this team out," said Thomas, who had only four touches in a 38-17 loss at Dallas last week -- but said he quickly moved past that.
"My whole intention was to go out there and play this game like I know how, like I've been doing for years, and when my name is called, I'm gonna do my job," Thomas said. "And that's what I did."
Asked about wanting the ball in his hands down the stretch, Thomas said, "Definitely, you've gotta have that mindset. All great athletes think like that, 'Hey. I'm gonna win this game for us.' A lot of guys had that mindset. And Khiry had a heck of a run at the end of the game and sealed the deal.
"I'm happy for him, and I'm glad it was a run call that sealed the deal at the end of the game."
