10 most memorable moments of 2011 Saints season
3/ Sean Payton breaks his leg
When the Saints went to Tampa Bay for their Oct. 16 game, there was little reason to believe it would be any more memorable than any other game.
The Saints had won in Tampa by large margins the previous two seasons and the Buccaneers had lost to San Francisco by 45 points a week earlier.
But boy was it memorable.
If nothing else had happened after the 10:17 mark, this moment will stand out for its sheer zaniness.
Saints tight end Jimmy Graham caught a pass from quarterback Drew Brees and was ridden out of bounds on the New Orleans sideline and into the legs of coach Sean Payton.
The coach tried to get up, but couldn’t put any pressure on his leg and went back to the ground. He remained on the bench for the rest of the first half and was taken to the locker room for X-rays at halftime.
Payton ended up tearing the meniscus in his left knee and fracturing his left tibial plateau. A day later, he was recovering from surgery.
