Recap

Thanks, San Francisco.

By Chris Dunnells | CSC

Ryan Ramczyk was not the New Orleans Saints first choice with the 32nd pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The Saints wanted Rueben Foster, but the San Francisco 49ers saved the Saints in that regards by selecting Foster with the 31st pick. The Saints then went to their back-up plan: offensive lineman Ryan Ramczyk.

It was a great selection for the Saints in hindsight. Ramczyk has continued to excel as a member of the Saints, and has been an ironhorse for the team, missing only one game in his first two years. Ramczyk battled a hand injury some in 2019, but was still a major asset to the Saints offense, both in the passing game and run game...

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Ten days passed without a peep from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell since the infamous missed pass interference call that arguably cost the New Orleans Saints a trip to the Super Bowl. Goodell will almost certainly break the silence Wednesday at noon in Atlanta at his annual state-of-the-league address.

Goodell's Super Bowl-week address will not change the outcome of Los Angles Rams-Saints NFC Championship game. Officials failed to call interference or roughness penalties when a Rams player leveled a Saints receiver with a helmet-to-helmet hit at a crucial point in the in the final minutes of regulation time. The Rams won the Jan. 20 game in overtime and are set to play the New England Patriots in Sunday's Super Bowl. ...

The NFL quickly admitted the referees missed the call. Senior Vice President Al Riveron told head coach Sean Payton in a postgame phone call that pass interference should have been called. The league also fined Rams defense back Nickell Robey-Coleman for an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit on the play. ...

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Advocate staff photo by SCOTT THRELKELD

By Nick Underhill | The Advocate

Here are a few things that stood out about how the Saints approached the Eagles during Sunday's win:

- Drew Brees came off the field for a snap. Taysom Hill played quarterback during the play.

- Kurt Coleman didn't play on defense.

- Hill was back in the mix at 25 percent of the snaps.

- Keith Kirkwood played more snaps than Ted Ginn.

- Garrett Griffin was called up and played 19 percent of snaps.

- David Oneymata saw a huge uptick after Sheldon Rankins' injury.

- Cam Jordan doesn't get tired.

- Tyeler Davison held a big edge at NT.

- Ken Crawley logged one snap on defense. ...

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New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore (23) runs the ball after an interception against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second half of the divisional round of the NFC playoff game in New Orleans, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019. The Saints won 20-14. Advocate staff photo by SCOTT THRELKELD

By Nick Underhill | The Advocate

Dennis Allen knew this week was going to give his Saints defense a unique challenge.

It is hard to make plays against a quarterback who is willing to throw the ball to the first guy he sees open, and even then, open is a relative term for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles. He’ll throw the ball in the smallest of windows and often doesn’t like to keep it in his hands for more than two seconds.

Three steps, quick read, throw. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

So the Saints defensive coordinator felt there were two keys to disrupting Foles and the Eagles offense this week. The first was to try and take away his first read and force him to look to the second or third guy. That would make him hold the ball longer and maybe give the Saints' pass rush a chance. Otherwise, Foles would be able to dink and dunk his way down the field and settle in rhythm.

The second key was to understand the defense was only going to be able to force Foles into his reads so many times, a...

Kevin Seifert | ESPN Staff Writer

NEW ORLEANS -- It all came down to a pass thrown right into a receiver's hands. Even if he caught it, the New Orleans Saints had defenders in position to make the tackle well short of a score. But then suddenly, inexplicably, maddeningly … the unthinkable happened.

"If you play this game long enough," Saints quarterback Drew Brees said, "you're going to be part of some crazy stuff."

The ball bounced off the hands of Philadelphia Eagles receiver Alshon Jeffery for only his third drop of the season and landed softly in those of Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore. The interception sealed the Saints' 20-14 victory, sending them to next week's NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams for a chance to head back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2009.

When reporters entered the Saints' locker room, remnants of a dance-club fog machine still wafted through the air. But the haze did little to cloud long-term memories. It was lost on no one that Lattimore's interception came nearly one year to the day after the Saints were eliminated from the divisional playoff round by another freaky play. ...

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By Scott Rabalais | The Advocate

Teddy Roosevelt, the president who once threatened to abolish football because it was getting too violent, first coined the now well-worn phrase, “Nothing in the world is worth having … unless it means effort, pain and difficulty.”

The New Orleans Saints lived that idiom to the hilt Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a day filled with effort, pain, difficulty and big plays erased by little yellow flags. But ultimately, the biggest thing in the Saints’ world wound up in their slightly sweaty palms:

A 20-14 victory in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs over the reigning Super Bowl champions, and the right to host the NFC championship game next Sunday for just the second time in franchise history.

Was it worth it, Saints fans? I’ll ask you after you stop hyperventilating. But I think we know the answer.

This was nothing like the regular-season meeting between these two teams on Nov. 18, when the Saints demolished the Eagles like a condemned building 48-7. You knew it would not be. Looking back it was that game that represented the height of the Saints’ form this season. And Philly to its credit rebounded to win five of its last six games plus a nip-and-tuck wild-card round playoff game last week at Chicago. ...

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Jordan bats a pass Saints DE Cam Jordan bats a pass on third down, forcing the Eagles to punt late in the half. (NOLA.com Photo)

By Luke Johnson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

The Philadelphia Eagles seized control with a haymaker at the opening bell. The New Orleans Saints wrenched it back with a methodical assertion of dominance.

What better way to stake a claim as the team to beat in what has now become a best-of-four tournament than to grind an opponent to dust with an 18-play, 92-yard drive that lasted 11 minutes and 29 seconds for the go-ahead touchdown drive? What was once a 14-point first quarter deficit became a three-point Saints lead when Michael Thomas bullied Eagles defensive back Cre’Von LeBlanc for a 2-yard go-ahead touchdown.

In the commercial break between the touchdown and the ensuing kickoff, “Choppa Style” blared from the stadium speakers. Linebacker Demario Davis danced on the sideline. The press box shook as the 73,000-plus in attendance lost their minds.

The Eagles had a chance for quarterback Nick Foles to deliver some more postseason magic, driving inside Saints territory with less than two minutes remaining and needing a touchdown to take the lead. But Foles’ off-target pass to Alshon Jeffrey was tipped, and Marshon Lattimore snared his second interception of the game to clinch a 20-14 win. ...

Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

By Jeff Duncan | NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

The New Orleans Saints rallied from an early deficit to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 20-14 in the NFC Divisional playoffs Sunday (Jan. 13) at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The victory advances the Saints to the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday (Jan. 20) at 2:05 p.m. It's only the third NFC Championship Game appearance in Saints club history.

A look at my takeaways from the big win:

1. The game-winning drive was an all-timer

Drives don't get any better or more dominant than the one the Saints compiled midway through the second half. Trailing 14-10, the Saints marched 92 yards in 18 plays for the go-ahead touchdown, a 2-yard catch by Michael Thomas. The Saints actually gained 112 yards in the drive because they overcame three penalties, including a pair of holding calls that left them with two second-and-20 situations. The monster scoring march took the starch out of the Eagles' defense and surely will go down in Saints' lore if the team continues on its Super Bowl run. ...

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By Josh Katzenstein, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

The New Orleans Saints overcame a terrible first quarter to beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-14, and advance to the NFC Championship Game next Sunday (Jan. 20) at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Despite trailing 14-0 in the first quarter, the Saints proved to be resilient as the offense found its footing and the defense completely shut down the Eagles in the final three quarters.

What went right: The Saints took their first lead, 17-14, with 1:40 remaining in the third quarter after an incredible 18-play drive that last 11 minutes, 29 minutes. The drive included three penalties on the Saints, including a holding call on left guard Andrus Peat that nullified a 46-yard touchdown pass from Taysom Hill to Alvin Kamara, but the Saints eventually scored on a 2-yard touchdown catch by Michael Thomas.

Thomas had an amazing performance with 12 catches for 171 yards, setting a franchise postseason record for yardage. ...

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New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas (13) celebrates a first down reception against the Eagles. (AP)

By Frank Schwab | Yahoo Sports

All season, the unexpected in the NFL didn’t faze us.

We expected the best teams to get upset out of the blue, or teams that hadn’t looked good in weeks — sometimes months — to snap out of it and go on a run. The Philadelphia Eagles, who rallied from 6-7 to make the playoffs, were a prime example. It wasn’t just parity, it was a game of “Boggle” for 17 weeks. Everything was shaken up week after week, and that continued in the wild-card round with three road teams winning.

Then we got to the divisional round and the favorites took over. The New Orleans Saints got the toughest test of the weekend, falling behind to the Eagles 14-0 in the first quarter but turning it on after that for a 20-14 win. Receiver Michael Thomas led the way for the Saints, making big catch after big catch, setting a franchise record for receiving yards in a playoff game with 171 on 12 catches. And Marshon Lattimore saved the day, intercepting a pass that went through Alshon Jeffery’s hands with 1:52 left and the Eagles driving.

The top two seeds in each conference will play in the championship games next weekend. The top-seeded Chiefs will host the No. 2 seed Patriots in the AFC title game, and the No. 2 seed...