Saints blank Bengals

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On the other side of the ball, the Saints started strong with a 42-yard field goal by Martin Gramatica and a 1-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees to reserve tight end Ronnie Ghent for a 10-0 lead in the first period.

They struggled after that, however, getting just a 45-yard field goal from rookie Taylor Mehlhaff in the third quarter. But because of the improved defensive play, it didn’t hurt them.

Brees was 14 of 22 for 199 yards and a long completion of 54 yards to Robert Meachem, but was a little upset the Saints failed to score more points in the second quarter.

The Saints had 237 total yards in the first half and 458 for the game. They rushed for 145 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry, and three quarterbacks combined to go 27-of-42 for 331 yards. Lance Moore had four catches for 79 yards — with a 35-yarder — and Meachem had four receptions for 71.

“I felt like we moved the ball very well today, but we left some opportunities out there for sure — especially in the second quarter,” Brees said. “And that’s frustrating.”

The Saints turned the ball over on downs twice — once in the first half — and running back Pierre Thomas, who carried five times for 46 yards, lost a fumble in the red zone in the third quarter.

“I thought we got sloppy at times in the red zone. I was disappointed we didn’t score more because we had a lot of opportunities inside the 30,” said Payton. “We had penalties, a fumble. Those things, we have to clean up. But it was certainly a better performance for us coming off last week’s game.”