The New Orleans Saints did not give Drew Brees much to celebrate on his big night.
On an evening in which the team inducted its Super Bowl MVP quarterback into its franchise Hall of Fame, the Saints lost in blowout fashion to former head coach Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos. New Orleans mustered only 10 points in the 33-10 Week 7 loss on “Thursday Night Football,” and the only touchdown came after third-string quarterback Jake Haener entered the game.
For the Broncos, the night belonged to their defense and running back Javonte Williams, who had his first multi-touchdown game in his fourth season and 44th career game.
Denver strip-sacked Saints backup quarterback Spencer Rattler twice – one of which led to a 52-yard touchdown – as Derek Carr missed a second straight game with an oblique injury.
Rattler exited in the fourth quarter after getting banged up, which allowed Haener to throw his first career NFL touchdown.
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Here’s how it all happened in the Week 7 edition of “Thursday Night Football:"
Rattler, New Orleans' rookie quarterback, got banged up with about two minutes left in the game. To avoid risking a bigger injury, the Saints subbed in second-year quarterback Jake Haener.
Five plays later, Haener threw his first career NFL touchdown on a pass over the middle to receiver Cedrick Wilson. The third-stringer was 3-for-4 for 38 yards and the touchdown pass in his brief outing.
It's 33-10 Broncos now with one and a half minutes left to play.
Two quarters after his fumble recovery touchdown was overturned for an offsides penalty, Barton gets the last laugh. A Ja'Quan McMillian sack of Spencer Rattler resulted in another fumble, and this time, there were no penalties to overturn Barton's 52-yard run to the house.
It's 33-3 Denver with four minutes left.
With just under seven minutes remaining in the game, the Saints forced their first turnover: Willie Gay Jr. forced a fumble from rookie running back Audric Estime. New Orleans takes over possession in Broncos territory.
Denver still leads, 26-3.
Lattimore suffered a hamstring injury late in the third quarter. After spending some time in the Saints' medical tent, the team has ruled him out for the remainder of the game.
There hasn't been any scoring since Williams' second rushing touchdown. The Broncos will continue their drive with the ball at their own 21-yard line on second-and-10 to begin the fourth quarter.
Williams has starred in the Broncos' offense all night, and he scored his second touchdown of the night to extend Denver's lead even further. With six minutes left in the third quarter, he plunged up the middle on a 5-yard rush for the score after a long, 32-yard rush from Bo Nix set him up.
The Broncos' lead is up to 23 points. It's 26-3 Denver with roughly 21 minutes to play.
Denver's kicker is the lead scorer in tonight's "Thursday Night Football" clash with his 13 points — 12 of which have come on field goals. Lutz's fourth converted field goal of the night from 38 yards away gave the Broncos a 19-3 lead less than five minutes into the second half.
The Broncos' first possession of the second half has been dominated by their run game. After a couple of runs for longer than seven yards on the first two plays, McLaughlin went on a 21-yard rush nearly untouched. Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu was able to save a potential long touchdown run by wrapping his hand around the running back's ankle, but the rush had Denver knocking on the door of the red zone.
The Saints inducted their former, Super Bowl-winning quarterback into the team's Hall of Fame Thursday. When halftime rolled around, Brees got the crowd going by leading the stadium in a chant from midfield.
In his 15-year Saints career, Brees set 14 franchise records, including most passing yards (68,010) and touchdowns (491).
The Saints ran a couple of plays after Wil Lutz's long field goal, but they ultimately ended the half with a quarterback kneel.
New Orleans will receive the ball to start the second half.
The former Saints kicker is 3-for-3 on field goals against his old team. His latest was a 52-yard kick that pushed the Broncos' lead back up to 13 points.
It's 16-3 Denver with 16 seconds left in the first half.
New Orleans' drive stalled at the Denver 17-yard line immediately after Spencer Rattler's big gain. However, Grupe nailed his first field goal attempt of the game from 35 yards out to get his team its first points.
It's 13-3 Broncos with just under two minutes remaining in the half.
Rattler slipped on his dropback after a play-action fake, but he was able to escape from more Denver pressure. He tucked and ran to his left after breaking through the pocket and picked up 28 yards and a first down. It was the Saints' longest run of the night so far.
New Orleans has the ball just outside the red zone with three minutes left in the first half.
Just a few plays after Troy Franklin's big gain, Williams took a handoff for an 8-yard rush into the end zone. The running back was completely untouched on the score, and he further extended the Broncos' lead.
Halfway through the second quarter, it's 13-0 Denver.
The rookie-to-rookie connection between Bo Nix and his former college teammate gets the Broncos inside the red zone once more. The pass is the longest completion for Nix on the night.
The Saints' cornerback went down on the fourth play of the Broncos' drive, a 9-yard reception by Javonte Williams. Adebo had to be carted off the field. There was an air cast on his leg.
Injury updates will come as they are available.
Williams broke away for his longest run of the night after the Broncos took over possession following a New Orleans punt. His long rush moved Denver ahead to its own 38-yard line as it continues its second drive of the second quarter.
Williams has been one of the most productive players on either team in the game so far. He's up to 49 yards on six carries (8.2 yards per carry) and 15 yards on two catches.
Spencer Rattler attempted to scramble when he again felt pressure from the Broncos' pass-rush on the first play of the Saints' next possession. The rush got home for a strip-sack, and Cody Barton picked up the ball for an apparent fumble recovery touchdown. However, the play was overturned for a D.J. Jones offsides penalty at the start of the play.
One possession after he started the scoring, Lutz knocked through another field goal — this one from 32 yards away — to give the Broncos a 6-0 lead.
After its takeaway, Denver is driving with the ball in the red zone as this game rolls on into the second quarter. The Broncos will have first-and-10 from the Saints' 17-yard line when the second quarter starts.
Linebacker Cody Barton brought the pressure on rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler on the fourth play of the Saints' second drive. He was able to knock the ball loose from Rattler's hand before he started his throw, and Kwon Alexander recovered the fumble further downfield.
Denver will take over possession on its own 45-yard line.
After an eight-play Broncos drive stalled at the New Orleans 28-yard line, Lutz came out and split the uprights on a 46-yard field goal. The kick gave Denver the lead over Lutz's old team; it's 3-0 Broncos with five and a half minutes left in the first quarter.
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The Saints-Broncos game will kick off Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season with "Thursday Night Football" at 8:15 p.m. ET.
"Thursday Night Football" will exclusively stream on Amazon Prime Video.
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Here are the USA TODAY Sports staff’s predictions for the “Thursday Night Football” Week 7 matchup:
The Saints enter the Week 7 “TNF” showdown in third place in the NFC South. With a win tonight New Orleans would still remain in third.
The Broncos enter the Week 7 “TNF” showdown in third place in the AFC West.
It's going to be a clear night in New Orleans with a high of 64 degrees at kickoff and a low of 61 degrees at midnight. According to the Weather Channel, winds will max out at five mph while chances of precipitation are at 0% for the entire game. The game will be played indoors in the Caesars Superdome where the weather will have no effect.
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Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) will be in the broadcast booth for Prime Video, with Kaylee Hartung (sideline) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst) providing additional coverage.
The Prime Video pregame, halftime and postgame shows feature Charissa Thompson as host, as well as former NFL players Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tony Gonzalez, Richard Sherman and Andrew Whitworth as analysts.
Taylor Rooks is the feature reporter for Prime Video's "Thursday Night Football" coverage. Albert Breer provides reports and analysis.
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These interconference opponents have met twelve times in history. The Broncos lead the matchup all-time with a 9-3 record. The most recent matchup was in November 2020 where the Saints were victorious in a 31-3 romp on the road in Denver. The quarterback matchup that day was Taysom Hill for the Saints and Kendall Hinton for the Broncos. Hill started for the injured Drew Brese and Hinton was famously remembered as the practice squad receiver who was forced into action when all of Denver’s quarterbacks were put on the Covid-19 list.
For the first time since Jan. 2, 2022, Sean Payton will be on the sidelines of the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The Denver Broncos coach returns to the place where he spent 15 seasons as the head coach and the all-time winningest coach in Saints' franchise history in "Thursday Night Football" this week.
The New York Post's Andrew Marchand initially reported that Michaels' contract would be for three years and "north of $30 million," but that number may have gone up. About one week after that first report, in March 2022, Marchand shared that the Amazon deal would be "in the Joe Buck neighborhood." Buck signed a five-year, $75 million deal ($15 million annually) with ESPN earlier that same month.
We have a complete list at every position:
The NFL's top 18 players in average annual salary are all quarterbacks, according to OverTheCap.com. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott became the league's highest-paid player on Sunday morning, agreeing to a four-year, $240 million deal. Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is the first non-quarterback on the highest-paid list after striking a four-year, $140 million contract extension this offseason.
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