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USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Jake Delhomme's 51-yard touchdown pass is the Saints Play of the Day
We've reached Day 51 in our countdown to the New Orleans Saints' 2025 season opener, so we're looking back to 1999 for our Saints Play of the Day. A rookie quarterback stunned the Dallas Cowboys in front of a big crowd when Jake Delhomme scored a 51-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Eddie Kennison. You can see it for yourself right here. While the Saints jumped out to a surprising 10-0 lead early on, the Cowboys fought back to get ahead 17-10 midway through the third quarter. So imagine their surprise when Delhomme struck back to tie it all up? It was a great throw off of play action, traveling from the New Orleans 41-yard line to the Dallas 19, where Kennison corralled the catch and jogged into the end zone. The Cowboys had Hall of Famers like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Deion Sanders on their side, and it didn't matter. This is a game we've highlighted before; Saints cornerback Fred Weary picked off Aikman and scored the game-winning touchdown on a Smith fumble recovery. Good on him and Delhomme for making such a difference. This was a big win for a Saints team that really needed it. New Orleans went into the game with a 2-12 record, and this ended up being a great gift for fans on Christmas Eve. They couldn't sustain that success, but with wins so rare in those days, this became an easy rallying point for fans to enjoy late in a lost season.
USA Today
11-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Fred Weary's 58-yard Emmitt Smith fumble recovery TD is the Saints Play of the Day
How many players can say they had takeaways from a Hall of Fame quarterback and running back in the same game? Not many players can say they had takeaways from a Hall of Fame quarterback and running back in the same game, but former New Orleans Saints cornerback Fred Weary can. Weary's 58-yard touchdown on a fumble recovery off of Dallas Cowboys superstar Emmitt Smith is our pick for the Saints Play of the Day as we reach Day 58 in our countdown to this year's season opener. You can watch it for yourself right here. We'll get to the fumble return in a second, but it's worth mentioning that Weary intercepted Troy Aikman earlier in this game, too. The Saints took the field on Christmas Eve, 1999 with a 2-12 record and Jake Delhomme making his first career start at quarterback. Mike Ditka's team needed a win, but they had their work cut out for them against a 7-win Cowboys squad that was fighting for a shot at the playoffs. Delhomme led the offense to an early scoring drive that ended with a field goal, and on the next play from scrimmage Weary intercepted Aikman -- returning the ball 22 yards to set up a Delhomme touchdown pass on the following drive. But it was all Cowboys from there. Dallas scored 17 unanswered points until Delhomme rocketed a 51-yard touchdown pass to wideout Eddie Kennison late in the third quarter, which Aikman answered with a score of his own. Delhomme ran for a touchdown from 4 yards out to tie it up in the fourth quarter, and then it seemed like the Cowboys were ready for a clock-killing drive to win on their terms. Weary had other plans. Smith fumbled on a big hit from Saints defensive tackle Robert Newkirk, and Weary raced to pick up the loose ball. And he wasn't finished. He went streaking down the sideline for 58 yards and a go-ahead touchdown. The teams traded punts after that until Saints linebacker Mark Fields picked off Aikman from his own end zone in a last-minute goal line stand, and the game ended with a punt returned by (who else?) Deion Sanders. And New Orleans pulled off the upset. Wins were few and far between in those days, and getting the better of a neighboring rival like the Dallas Cowboys was something a lot of fans took pride in. This was Weary's best eyear in black and gold; he ended the 1999 season with a career-high 14 passes defensed (2 interceptions) and 4 fumble recoveries, plus 68 tackles and that score. He earned his lone award for NFC Defensive Player of the Week after thsi performance.
