By The Numbers: Saints vs. Broncos

A look inside the numbers from the New Orleans Saints Week 12 Victory over the Denver Broncos.

The New Orleans Saints (9-2) march out of Denver, CO, with their eighth consecutive victory after defeating the Denver Broncos (4-7) by the final tally of 31-3. The Saints defense dominated the Broncos quarterback-less offense for four quarters and set up Taysom Hill and Co. in the short field, allowing them to rush for four scores. 

Let's look inside the numbers from the Saints Week 12 victory. 

1: New Orleans are the NFL's Best in Total Defense

Nov 29, 2020; Denver, Colorado, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan (94) celebrates his sack in the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The New Orleans Saints have come a long way defensively over the last half-decade. Just five seasons ago, the Black and Gold defense ranked second to last in the league in total defense, dead-last in scoring defense, and allowed an NFL-record 116.1 passer rating to opposing quarterbacks. Following their victory over the Denver Broncos, New Orleans is now a top of the NFL in total defense, surrendering 284.9 yards per game. 

2: Taysom Hill is 2nd QB in the last 53 Years with 2+ Rushing TDs in 1st 2 Starts

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

In place of the injured Drew Brees, QB Taysom Hill has led the Saints to two consecutive victories without throwing a touchdown pass. After scoring his second rushing touchdown of the first half Sunday, Taysom Hill became the second quarterback in the Super Bowl era to rush for 2+ touchdowns in each of his first two NFL starts. The Swiss Army Knife joins Detroit's Eric Hipple, who accomplished the feat in 1981, on the exclusive list. 

11: New Orleans has not Allowed a Touchdown in 11 Quarters

© Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The month of November for the Saints defense has been one to remember. Over the last four games, New Orleans is surrendering an average of 7 points per game and have held 3 of their opponents out of the end zone. More impressively, Dennis Allen's defense has not surrendered a trip to pay-dirt in 11 quarters of play. The last touchdown against the Saints defense came in the first quarter of their Week 10 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers when QB Nick Mullens connected with WR Brandon Aiyuk for a 4-yard score.

31: Sean Payton has Defeated every NFL Franchise other than the Saints, are has He? 

Saints head coach Sean Payton.  © Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Since Sean Payton's arrival to New Orleans in 2006, the Saints have remained one of the most consistently dominant football teams, posting a win percentage of nearly 64%. With the Saints' first victory since 1994 against Denver on Sunday, Sean Payton becomes the 13th NFL head coach to defeat 31 or more teams in the NFL. Payton has beaten every NFL team outside the team he coaches, the New Orleans Saints.

Payton's sharp wit was on full display when he shared with WWL Radio the following about his record:

Sean Payton said on his coaches' show that he was told after Sunday's win vs. DEN that he had now beaten all 31 NFL teams. He told them that stat was inaccurate

"It's 32 teams. Tampa Bay, 2007. It's late we're winning and run the double-reverse & fumble. I beat the Saints, too."

— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) December 1, 2020

1998: Broncos are the first team since 1998 Chargers with more INTs than Completions in a Single Game

© Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

For UDFA QB/WR Kendall Hinton, the task at hand was next to impossible on Sunday. The emergency quarterback was called up from the Broncos practice squad after all three active quarterbacks for the Broncos were ruled ineligible after coming into high-risk close contact with a teammate who tested positive for COVID-19.

In his first NFL start, Hinton and the Broncos became the first team since Ryan Leaf's Chargers finished a game with more interceptions (2) than completed passes (1). Hinton concluded the action by completing 1 of 9 passes for 13 yards,0 TDs, and 2 INTs.

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