Patient Saints Finally Get Offense Up and Running

Booed by Saint fans before the game, Aaron Brooks threw for two touchdowns as the New Orleans offense finally showed signs of life in a 31-10 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday.

“We were patient,” Brooks said. “Things did not go well in the first half, but we didn’t let it get us out of our game plan.”

The strategy for Houston (1-1) was apparent: Take Saint running back Deuce McAllister out of the game. It worked last week when the Texans limited Ricky Williams to 69 yards rushing in an upset of Miami.

On his first four carries, McAllister gained three yards. On his fifth, he found the hole he needed and ran 24 yards for a touchdown to put the Saints ahead, 7-0. At halftime, McAllister had 28 yards in eight carries and New Orleans (1-1) was trailing, 10-7. But McAllister wore down the Texans in the second half, finishing with 96 yards in 20 carries.

Brooks completed 18 of 27 passes for 189 yards. Houston quarterback David Carr, who had his first NFL game without a sack last week, completed 17 of 36 passes for 213 yards and had two passes intercepted. He was sacked five times by the Saints.

“That was the most physical game I’ve played since I’ve been here,” Carr said.