TAYSOM TOUCHDOWN
#NOvsPHI |
: FOX pic.twitter.com/6Q0c0UojuS
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) January 1, 2023
Now that’s more like it. The New Orleans Saints finally got aggressive on fourth down, handing the ball to Taysom Hill deep in Philadelphia Eagles territory. And it went so well that Hill gained 8 yards when he only needed 2 yards for the conversion. Now in a goal-to-go situation, the Saints kept it going with another run by Hill, who barreled into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown.
That capped an impressive 15-play drive which ate up 8 minutes and 58 seconds during the first quarter. It’s exactly what the Saints needed to do in a tough situation on the road against a Super Bowl contender. They need to keep making the most of their scoring opportunities and control the pace of play in a game with such high stakes.
Being more bold on fourth down will do a lot to help. The Saints went into this game with the fewest fourth down conversion attempts (9) in the NFL, having converted just 3 of them. As for Hill, this was 23rd touchdown run in a Saints uniform, tying running backs George Rogers and Rueben Mayes to rank eighth in franchise history.