National Football League

Saints' rally comes up short in 42-34 loss

Published Sep. 9, 2011 6:22 a.m. ET

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New Orleans Saints rookie Mark Ingram drove hard to the goal line with no time remaining. He never made it to the end zone.

Needing one yard for a potential chance to tie, Ingram was stopped by Clay Matthews, Morgan Burnett and a host of other swarming Green Bay defenders in the Packers' 42-34 victory Thursday night.

''I've got to get a yard,'' Ingram said. ''It's goal line to win the game.''

Or at least tie it.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees nearly rallied New Orleans from a 15-point deficit late in the fourth quarter, first hitting Jimmy Graham with a 5-yard TD pass with 2:15 left that made it 42-34.

The Saints failed to recover the onside kick, but the defense forced Green Bay into a three-and-out and New Orleans had to go 80 yards for a potential tying score with 1:08 left.

Brees, who finished with 419 yards passing and three TDs, completed his first five throws to four different receivers to reach the Packers 9 before spiking the ball to stop the clock.

After a pass interference penalty on A.J. Hawk on a throw to Darren Sproles at the goal line, New Orleans had one untimed down left to tie it.

''A big sea of bodies,'' left tackle Jermon Bushrod said. ''We just came up short.''

It left Devery Henderson wondering what the Saints might have been able to accomplish with one more yard.

''I would love to see if we could've converted and see what happens from there, but we came up short,'' Henderson said. ''It's the first game, we've got a lot of football left. Can't hang our heads on this one.''

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers came out on top of the memorable opening-night duel with Brees, and Packers rookie Randall Cobb ran a kickoff back 108 yards for a score in the third quarter - tying an NFL record.

Rodgers threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns. Brees bettered him statistically, but it wasn't the one he was interested in afterward.

''The biggest stat for us that's disappointing is our red zone efficiency. We were one of five,'' Brees said. ''That's not going to win you a lot of games, especially on the road in this type of environment against this team.''

Cobb's big return gave the Packers a 35-20 lead, but the game wasn't over. Sproles answered with a long kickoff return of his own, and Brees completed a 29-yard touchdown throw to Henderson.

''We're a resilient team,'' Saints coach Sean Payton said.

The Saints forced a punt and marched to the Packers' 7-yard line, but failed on a fourth-down conversion attempt and gave the ball back to the Packers.

Green Bay drove again, and Rodgers handed the ball to John Kuhn on third-and-goal for a 1-yard touchdown and a 42-27 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Packers' defensive struggles made for some nervous late moments, but they came through when they had to.

If Thursday's game was a referendum on the importance of player-led team workouts during the lockout, the results are in: The workouts Brees organized over the summer weren't enough to help the Saints take down the champions, and the Packers' decision not to get together as a team certainly didn't seem to hurt them.

Rodgers led the Packers to touchdowns on their first three possessions, taking a 21-7 lead in the first quarter. The Saints rallied for a field goal, then cut the lead to 21-17 on Sproles' 72-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter, but the Packers marched right back down the field for a 17-yard touchdown run by James Starks and went into halftime leading 28-17.

''It's pretty clear the guy is a gamebreaker,'' Saints cornerback Leigh Torrence said of Sproles. ''If we can create some space for him, he can make a play. We're excited about him moving forward and working on some of the things that we worked on well.''

The Saints marched to the Green Bay 7-yard line on the first possession of the second half. But Erik Walden sacked Brees on third-and-2, forcing a 38-yard field goal by John Kasay that cut the Packers' lead to 28-20.

The ensuing kickoff went to Cobb, who fielded the ball deep in the Packers' end zone but took it out anyway. Cobb spun off a tackling attempt by the Saints' Leigh Torrence, put his right hand down to keep his balance, then rambled to the end zone.

''Definitely felt like we had him bottled in and didn't wrap up and kind of finish the play,'' Torrence said. ''That's one you want to have back, but you can't.''

NOTES: Cobb's 108-yard return tied an NFL record set by New England's Ellis Hobbs in September 2007. ... Packers S Nick Collins appeared to hurt his left arm but stayed in the game. ... Packers CB Tramon Williams went down after taking a hard hit on the right shoulder in the fourth quarter. ... DE Mike Neal was inactive for the Packers because of a lingering knee injury. Jarius Wynn started in his place. ... Saints WR Lance Moore sat out because of a groin injury.

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