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Saints WR Michael Thomas Scores Two Touchdowns in First Game since 2020
Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas hadn’t played in a game for well over a year, but he didn’t miss a beat in his return to action against the Falcons on Sunday.
Taking the field for the first time since Dec. 13, 2020, Thomas showed flashes of his former self in New Orleans’s 27–26 win at Atlanta. The 29-year-old wideout hauled in five catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns, proving to be a pivotal figure in the Saints’ comeback effort.
It took Thomas a little time to get into the flow of the game, but by the fourth quarter, he was the most effective offensive player on the field. He hauled in his first scoring catch from quarterback Jameis Winston with 11:12 remaining in the contest, bringing New Orleans within 10 points of Atlanta at the time.
What a pass, what a catch
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 11, 2022
Welcome back @CantGuardMike 💪
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/G3Er1aTCfl
The former NFL Offensive Player of the Year then found paydirt against less than eight minutes later with an impressive nine-yard catch from Winston.
CAN'T GUARD 'EM.
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 11, 2022
📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/hswfhNkr5q
Thomas, who missed most of the 2020 season and all of the ’21 campaign with an ankle injury and subsequent complications with his recovery, was previously listed as questionable for the Week 1 contest with a hamstring injury. He practiced for the first time in over a year in July but then missed about three weeks of training camp due to an ailing hamstring.
When he last played in 2020, Thomas was far from the player that won the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award during the ’19 season. He made just 40 catches for 438 yards and no scores in the seven games he played after returning from an ankle sprain.
However, the last time that Thomas was on the field for a full season, he was magnificent. During the ’19 campaign, he caught an NFL-record 149 passes for 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns.
More NFL Coverage:
- Browns Beat Panthers to End Winless Streak in Season Openers
- Lamar Jackson Leads Ravens to 24-9 Win Over Jets
- Bengals WR Tee Higgins Ruled Out vs. Steelers With Concussion
- Saints News Network: Saints Final Injury Report: Week 1
For more New Orleans Saints coverage, go to Saints News Network.
Zach Koons is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about Formula One. He joined SI as a breaking/trending news writer in February 2022 before joining the programming team in 2023. Koons previously worked at The Spun and interned for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently hosts the "Bleav in Northwestern" podcast and received a bachelor's in journalism from Northwestern University.