The New Orleans Saints cruised to 3-0 in their season with a commanding victory over the Arizona Cardinals at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in the NFL.
Carson Palmer started well for the visitors as he got their offense moving towards the New Orleans side of the field with a couple of throws to wideout Larry Fitzgerald. The Cardinals took the lead when running back Alphonso Smith powered into the endzone with a three-yard run.
The Saints were back in it minutes later, though, as Drew Brees fired a 27-yard strike to wide receiver Robert Meachem, who re-signed for Sean Payton's side last week, on a go-route over two Cardinals defenders to tie the scores.
New Orleans took the lead late in the quarter when Brees engineered another scoring drive as he drove his team downfield with his arm and he found his favourite redzone target Jimmy Graham for a 16-yard strike.
After the break the Saints added to their total as Brees drove his team down the field yet again but this time he was kept out of the endzone by some stout defending from the Cardinals and kicker Garrett Hartley knocked a 31-yard effort through the posts.
New Orleans extended their lead in the fourth quarter when Brees ran in for a seven-yard score himself after he found all of his receivers covered in the endzone to give the Saints a 21-point lead.
It got better for the Saints as they moved out of sight of the Cardinals with five minutes to go in the game when Brees found Graham in the endzone again with a seven-yard strike on a slant route to seal the win for Payton's side.
Simon Sinclair
