The Saints looked ready to run away with Sunday’s game against the Jets at a couple of different points in the first half, but they couldn’t quite do it.
Drew Brees threw a pass under heavy pressure from Xavier Cooper that Cooper’s fellow defensive lineman Leonard Williams picked off inside the Saints’ 20-yard-line with under two minutes to play in the first half. Williams set the Jets up at the 11-yard-line, but Bryce Petty couldn’t get them into the end zone and the half ended with the Saints up 17-10.
That miscue was the biggest one of the first half for the Saints, who scored on their first three possessions and kept the Jets offense in check outside of a touchdown drive that saw the Jets run the ball 10 times and get some help from a pass interference call on Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro.
The Saints have a 221-103 edge in total yards and Petty hasn’t been able to mimic the success that Josh McCown had through the air at points this season. He hasn’t had any turnovers, though, and Brees’ inability to say the same has kept things closer than the game has felt for much of the first 30 minutes.
