My first year on the New Orleans Saints beat was an unforgettable one.
The 2000 Saints, led by a dominant, attacking defense, were the surprise of the NFL and won the NFC West Division with a 10-6 record. They went on to win the first playoff game in franchise history.
Jeff Duncan's 25 for 25 logo
The Dome Patrol was before my time. So this defense was the best I've covered — by far. It ransacked the NFL in coach Jim Haslett's debut season, sacking and blitzing its way into the record books. It was basically the defensive version of the 2011 Saints offense.
The Saints recorded an NFL-high and team-record 66 sacks. Only six teams ever have recorded more sacks in a season and only the 2022 Eagles (70) have registered more since then. And they did it in just 16 games. Three Saints — La'Roi Glover (17), Joe Johnson (12) and Darren Howard (11) — recorded double-digit sacks.
Glover, Johnson, and linebackers Keith Mitchell and Mark Fields earned Pro Bowl invitations that season.
Unsurprisingly, the 2000 team dominated the list of best defensive performances in my 25-year tenure covering the Saints.
Here is this week’s installment of my season-long “25 for 25” series:
No. 5: Panther punishment
(Nov. 12, 2000)
Mitchell was one of the most underrated Saints defenders of his era, and he had a dominant day in the Saints’ 24-6 win against the Panthers in 2000.
His 90-yard fumble return for a touchdown killed a potential go-ahead scoring opportunity for the Panthers and gave the Saints a 14-3 lead late in the third quarter. It remains the longest fumble return for a touchdown in team history.
Oh, and for good measure, he also had five tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, a quarterback hit and another fumble recovery. Games by linebackers don’t get much more dominant than that.
No. 4: Good Knight
(Sept. 9, 2001)
There’s a reason Sammy Knight retired as the Saints’ third leading interceptor. The veteran safety was a punishing hitter and instinctive center fielder in the secondary.
He single-handedly wrecked the Buffalo Bills with a career-high three interceptions in a 24-6 Saints win to open the 2001 season.
Each of his three interceptions proved to be crucial. His first prevented a Bills' scoring opportunity at the Saints 35-yard line. His second and third picks set up a Saints field goal and touchdown and his team erase a 6-0 halftime deficit. Knight was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.
The interception total tied a Saints' record. No Saints player has had that many in a game since then.
Incidentally, this game came two days before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. The Monday after the game, my flight from Buffalo connected in Newark International Airport, the same place terrorists would hijack United Flight 93 the next day. It was an eerie feeling watching the attacks.
No. 3: Double-D dominance
(Jan. 13, 2019)
Demario Davis ranks alongside Hall of Famer Sam Mills as the best inside linebacker in team history. I never covered Mills, but I’ve been fortunate to watch Davis play for all seven years of his Saints career.
His performance against the Philadelphia Eagles in the Saints’ 20-14 divisional playoff win exemplified his dominance.
Davis played all 51 defensive snaps for the Saints and was credited with 14 combined tackles. The Saints had only 39 total tackles on the day, meaning Davis was in on more than a third of them. The combined tackle total tied a club record.
Davis’ sideline-to-sideline pursuit single-handedly shut down the Philly rushing attack. The Eagles rushed for 49 yards on 16 attempts, a meager 3.1 yards per carry. Davis was so dominant, the Eagles simply stopped trying to run. In the second half, they attempted three rushing attempts.
No. 2: Cam's slam
(Nov. 28, 2019)
In this Thanksgiving Day showdown between NFC rivals, Cam Jordan feasted (sorry) on the Atlanta Falcons offensive line with a career-high four sacks in a 26-18 Saints win.
Jordan led an onslaught by a defense that produced a team-record-tying nine sacks on the night.
And the Saints needed every one of them to hold off a frantic Falcons comeback aided by not one, not two, but three onside kick recoveries down the stretch.
Fittingly, Jordan ended the comeback attempt with his fourth sack of quarterback Matt Ryan on a fourth-and-8 play from the Saints 44.
Jordan was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.
No. 1: Ram-sacked
(Nov. 26, 2000)
If you are a New Dat and never got a chance to see Glover play, you missed out. His 2000 season was the most dominant of any defensive player I’ve covered, and this game was his coup de grace.
Glover was a one-man demolition crew as the Saints stunned the reigning Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams 31-24 on their home field. The Saints were two-touchdown underdogs in the game and won without their starting quarterback (Jeff Blake), running back (Ricky Williams) and No. 2 receiver (Jake Reed).
They won because the Glover-led defense dominated.
Glover not only sacked Trent Green three times but twice forced fumbles, stopping Rams’ scoring threats at the Saints 10 in the second quarter and the 5 in the fourth. His sacks led to 20 yards in losses and helped the Saints hold the legendary Greatest Show on Turf offense to a season-low 279 yards, the first time the Rams were held below 300 yards that season.
The three sacks gave Glover a league-leading 16, en route to what would be a Saints-record 17 on the year. He earned the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.