A New Orleans Saints player has landed another weekly honor, and it all comes down to one play.
That, of couse, is second-year defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, who has been named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after he leapt over the Giants' line and blocked Graham Gano's game-tying attempt in the final seconds to secure a Saints win over the Giants.
"I just threw a hand up, I got a piece of it, just enough, I guess," Bresee said after the game. "It worked out. There were a lot more guys doing their job than just me."
The play was a complex one, with both Nathan Shepherd and Payton Turner teaming up to push down -- legally -- Giants players blocking to clear the airspace for Bresee's leap. He landed awkwardly but got just enough of the kick to send it spinning off course and short of the goalposts.
Bresee was the Saints' first round pick in the 2023 draft and has built upon a strong rookie season with 19 tackles and a team-leading 7.5 sacks over his 13 games. Bresee had a sack and a pair of pass breakups in the win over the Giants.
"I think [Bresee's] been productive all year long but I think we’ve seen some of these flash plays and we’ve seen some of these things that we liked when we drafted him," Saints GM Mickey Loomis told WWL this week, "but I would say that he’s not a finished product yet and I think he would say that he’s not a finished product.
The weekly award is the second for the Saints, with Taysom Hill also landing the NFC Offensive Player of Week honors after his performance in the Week 11 win over the Browns. It's also the second consecutive year the Saints have landed a special teams weekly award, with Blake Grupe netting those honors in the 2023 season after a Week 5 win over the Patriots.
The Saints (5-8) are next in action when they host the Washington Commanders (8-5) for a noon kickoff in Week 15 at the Caesars Superdome. Catch all the action on WWL and Audacy.
