NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Saints defensive lineman Cam Jordan saw the goal post right in front him and couldn’t resist the urge to rise up for a basketball-style dunk of the football over the cross bar.
Jordan had just tipped quarterback Matthew Stafford’s pass to himself in the Detroit end zone – a climactic moment in a game defined by bizarre bounces, unusual plays, extraordinary momentum swings and a historical first for New Orleans’ defense. Only a forbidden, fineable touchdown celebration would do.
“I realized my regular sack dance wasn’t going to cut it,” said Jordan, who expects to be fined and said it will have been worth it. “Fourth quarter, game was sort of tight. We had to seal that. I had been preaching: ‘This is our chance to respond.’ I’m glad I was the one to do it.”
Running backs Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara combined for 237 yards from scrimmage, the Saints’ resurgent defense forced five turnovers and scored a franchise-record three times, and New Orleans took a 52-38 victory over the Lions on Sunday in a contest that wound up being nowhere near over after the Saints took a five-TD lead.
New Orleans (3-2), which has a winning record for the first time since its last playoff season in 2013, had to gut out a remarkable bid by Detroit (3-3) to pull off the greatest comeback in NFL history.