Top Moments vs. the Packers No. 4 takes us back to 1977 and Henry Childs' 59-yard touchdown!
🗓: Sunday, Sept. 12
🏈: Saints vs Packers
📺: FOX (3:25 pm CT)#GBvsNO pic.twitter.com/itH0jxRikC— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 8, 2021
There are 59 days to go until the New Orleans Saints kick off their 2024 regular season against the Carolina Panthers, so we’re turning the clock back to 1977 to highlight the Saints Play of the Day. Archie Manning found Henry Childs on a great route into the Green Bay Packers secondary for a 59-yard touchdown in that year’s season-opener.
The play went down as Manning’s touchdown pass, but truthfully Childs did most of the work. The receiver made a slight adjustment to jump and catch Manning’s pass while keeping his legs moving in stride, then he maneuvered one Packers defender to crash into another and spring him free into the open field. He shrugged off one would-be tackler, then changed his angle to the goal line to put the other Packers in pursuit at a disadvantage. Textbook run-after-catch skills.
It was all part of a furious — but futile — comeback effort. The Packers had gone up 24-0 at halftime, but running back Chuck Muncie rumbled in for two touchdown runs to cut into that deficit before Childs fought his way into the end zone. The Green Bay defense buckled down after that, though, and the Saints lost in front of their home crowd 24-20. They only won three games that season as the 10-year-old franchise continued working to find its way. But moments like this long touchdown from Manning to Childs did a lot to keep fans engaged and excited about what success might look like for their team.
