New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore hadn't played since Week 5 because of a lacerated kidney but made the play of the game in the New Orleans Saints' 20-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
Lattimore picked off Philadelphia quarterback Gardner Minshew and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown with 5:27 to play as the Saints won their third consecutive game to stay at least briefly stay alive for the NFC South title. Tampa ended up beating Carolina 30-24 on Sunday to win the NFC South. The Buccaneers are 8-8 with their final regular-season game against Atlanta.
"We got a gritty, tough group," Coach Dennis Allen said. "Really proud of our team, players, coaches, everybody."
The Saints (7-9) had a slim chance of earning a wild-card spot in the playoffs but that was extinguished when the Packers demolished the Vikings on Sunday evening. Even though they missed the playoffs the Saints have played much better since the bye week, especially the defense, which just surrendered fewer than 20 points for the seventh consecutive game.
The New Orleans offense and defense dominated the first half, grabbing a 13-0 lead while holding Philadelphia (13-3) to 61 and allowing them to possess the ball for a little more than seven minutes. But the Eagles came to life in the second half, shutting down the Saints' offense with six sacks and scoring on a 78-yard Minshew bomb to A.J. Brown and a 56-yard Jake Elliott field goal.
Quarterback Andy Dalton played a strong game, going 18 of 22 for 204 with one interception. Running back Alvin Kamara had 16 carries for 74 yards while Taysom Hill had another all-purpose outing, scoring on a 1-yard run, completing two passes, catching one pass and running 14 times for 46 yards.
The Saints defense sacked Minshew six times, with Cameron Jordan leading the way with three, making him the franchise's all-time sack leader with 115.5. Jordan moved past Pro Football Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson who had 115.
The Saints will end the season at home against Carolina (6-10). The NFL has yet to announce whether the game will be played Saturday or Sunday.
