CANTON, Ohio — Drew Brees didn’t need much time to finish off a good weekend for the New Orleans Saints.
Brees smoothly led a touchdown drive on his only series Sunday night, and the Saints beat the Arizona Cardinals 17-10 in the Hall of Fame game, officiated by a crew with college experience.
The game was canceled last year for the first time in 45 years, a casualty of the NFL’s lockout of players. Labor issues also came into play in Sunday night’s game — the seven officials were replacements.
The referee announced the result of the coin flip incorrectly — Craig Ochoa said the Saints won the toss and deferred, then caught his mistake and said the Cardinals had won the toss. There were some other communication problems as well on the first-time crew.
The win completed a good visit for the Saints, who needed a few smiles after their rough offseason.
Players got to tour the hall and sat in the back three rows of the stadium for Roaf’s induction on Saturday, wearing black t-shirts with his No. 77. It was a proud moment for a franchise that’s been overshadowed by the bounty scandal all offseason.
Brees was sharp on the opening 10-play drive, completing 4 of 5 passes for 41 yards with one off-target throw. Brees skipped offseason workouts and minicamp because he was unhappy getting the team’s franchise tag. He later agreed to a five-year, $100 million deal.
Saints 17, Cardinals 10
Arizona 0 7 3 0 — 10
New Orleans 7 10 0 0 — 17
First quarter
NO—Ingram 1 run (Hartley kick), 10:52.
Second quarter
Ari—Smith 4 run (Feely kick), 9:02.
NO—FG Kasay 22, 4:41.
NO—Cadet 4 pass from Daniel (Hartley kick), :27.
Third quarter
Ari—FG Feely 27, 2:21.
A—18,100.
Ari NO
First downs 20 21
Total Net Yards 301 375
Rushes-yards 28-112 32-82
Passing 189 293
Punt Returns 4-11 4-55
Kickoff Returns 1-15 3-124
Interceptions Ret. 1-0 2-47
Comp-Att-Int 18-38-2 26-38-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 3-26 2-17
Punts 8-51.0 7-46.0
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 3-1
Penalties-Yards 2-9 4-25
Time of Possession 30:44 29:16
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Arizona, Smith 8-46, Powell 10-31, Stephens-Howling 4-25, Clayton 6-10. New Orleans, Banyard 5-18, Daniel 5-17, Ingram 4-14, Ivory 9-13, P.Thomas 1-12, Sproles 1-11, Canfield 1-0, Cadet 6-(minus 3).
PASSING—Arizona, Lindley 10-21-1-118, Bartel 3-7-0-61, J.Skelton 4-6-0-32, Kolb 1-4-1-4. New Orleans, Daniel 15-20-1-203, Canfield 7-13-0-66, Brees 4-5-0-41.
RECEIVING—Arizona, Byrd 4-54, Housler 3-51, Powell 3-26, S.Skelton 2-35, Roberts 2-14, Floyd 1-15, Fitzgerald 1-10, J.Johnson 1-6, Sherman 1-4. New Orleans, Cadet 8-80, Tanner 4-75, Roby 4-54, Morgan 3-35, Higgins 2-25, P.Thomas 2-21, Ivory 1-15, Sproles 1-8, Banyard 1-(minus 3).
MISSED FIELD GOALS—New Orleans, Kasay 54 (BK).
