Reggie Bush's 83-yard punt return TD is the Saints Play of the Day
Reggie Bush's 83-yard punt return TD is the Saints Play of the Day Bush put a dagger in the Cardinals to seal a critical win before Super Bowl XLIV
There are 83 days remaining in our countdown to the New Orleans Saints' 2025 season opener with the Arizona Cardinals, which makes this 83-yard punt return touchdown from Reggie Bush (against the Cardinals) our pick for the Saints Play of the Day. Bush put a dagger in the Saints' 2009 playoff game with Arizona midway through the third quarter, which you can see here.
New Orleans had already built a big 38-14 lead, helped by a 46-yard touchdown run from Bush earlier in the game. But the threat of a Cardinals comeback was all too real. Kurt Warner had just outdueled a young Aaron Rodgers one week earlier in a 51-45 overtime win, and he had led Arizona to the Super Bowl the year before. This game wasn't over until Bush took that punt back 83 yards to extend the Saints' lead to 45-14, leading to a quiet fourth quarter on the way to Super Bowl XLIV.
This was an important win for New Orleans. The Saints were facing some criticism for losing their last three regular season games before the playoffs, despite having locked up the NFC's first seed after winning their first 13 games. Arizona was a hot pick to unseat them. Those doubts evaporated quickly after the Saints brought the hammer down on the Cardinals. Well, if not a hammer, then a baseball bat like the one Bush famously carried out of the tunnel before the game.
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