Former Saints-Turned-Eagles Come Marching In, Make Statement In 15-12 Win

The Saints' high-powered offense was shut down, and two of their former draft picks had a big hand in doing it.

Sep 22, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (8) yells at New Orleans Saints tight end Foster Moreau (87) during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Saints came marching in. Make that the ex-Saints came marching in.

Linebacker Zack Baun and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson started their pro careers in the Bayou. Now they are with the Eagles.

The two defensive players made sure New Orleans remembered who they were with strong games in the Eagles’ 15-12 victory at the Superdome on Sunday.

Baun finished with a game-high 13 tackles, his second double-digit tackle game of a season just three games old. He has a team-leading 37 tackles.

Gardner-Johnson had a season-high eight tackles and a near interception.

“We did our job,” said Gardner-Johnson. “We did everything we could do. We got a victory.”

Aug 1, 2024; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni talks with Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun (53) during a training camp practice at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Gardner-Johnson, drafted in the fourth round in 2019 by New Orleans and played three seasons for them before being traded to Philly, made no secret of wanting to make his former team pay for letting him go.

“Man, there’s so much hate on that side for me,” he said. “I don’t know why they hate me. You can’t hate something y’all created, respectfully.

“They showed me the respect by letting me go two years ago, three years ago, and I showed respect by coming in here and getting ‘a dub.’ …They showed hate to me for no reason. Y’all know. The fans called me the worst safety in the league.”

Baun taken by New Orleans in the third round of the 2020 draft, made perhaps one of the Eagles’ best defensive plays among a slew of them. After the Saints blocked Braden Mann’s punt late in the third quarter already leading 3-0, they set up at Philly’s 27 but couldn’t get a first down on four tries.

On fourth-and-one, Baun hopped on the back of Alvin Kamara and spun him to the ground for no gain. The Eagles took over on downs.

Together, Baun and Gardner-Johnson helped spearhead a defensive effort that completely shut down a Saints offense that roasted the Panthers and Cowboys in back-to-back weeks.

New Orleans had scored 31 points in the first quarter on those first two weeks. They had just three against the Eagles in the opening 15 minutes.

The Eagles’ much-maligned run defense, ranked 25th after the first two weeks, gave up just 89 on the ground. The defense was ranked 30th in defending the pass, but Derek Carr had just 142 yards passing.

The Saints were averaging more than 400 yards of total offense. They finished with just 219.

“We do the same thing every day,” said Gardner-Johnson. “We come in early like 7:30, 8 o’clock. It’s the same message: We gotta be physical. We gotta tackle … onto the next play.

“Our offense, we got faith in them. ‘Go for it! We ain’t gonna give up no points, as you all see! Go for it!’ Vic (Fangio, defensive coordinator) always hones in on being the best defense and understanding who we are. Find your mentality, and that’s what we did.”

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