Mike Triplett, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Saints roundup: Jimmy Graham's emotional night

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jimmy Graham was so fired up on Thursday night that he had to take out some pent-up frustration by head-butting the bench during the New Orleans Saints' 28-10 victory against the Carolina Panthers.

Graham said the emotion had built up after the Saints’ slow start and the way the team had been written off, according to ESPN’s Michele Steele. Graham also said according to NFL.com that it "sparked a fire underneath me" when Carolina players were hitting him early and often in the game -- including a vicious hit from linebacker Thomas Davis before an interception on the opening drive.

Graham winced in pain a couple times when he took a hit on his sore shoulder, but he stayed in the game the whole time and finished with seven catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. He played 52 snaps -- an increase from last week, and had a spectacular hurdle over former teammate Roman Harper. And he shared an emphatic "bro hug" with coach Sean Payton after the touchdown, that was captured by the team website.

Spreading the wealth: The Saints’ 4-4 start to the first half of this season was a group effort, to say the least. Through eight games, I’ve never handed out a game ball to the same player twice, with a total of 10 players earning the honor.

Week 1 at Atlanta -- Brandin Cooks

Week 2 at Cleveland -- Jimmy Graham

Week 3 vs Minnesota -- Curtis Lofton

Week 4 at Dallas -- Drew Brees

Week 5 vs Tampa Bay -- Khiry Robinson, Pierre Thomas

Week 7 at Detroit -- Marques Colston, Kenny Stills

Week 8 vs Green Bay -- Mark Ingram

Week 9 at Carolina -- Keenan Lewis

Also worth noting:

  • The Saints had just two wins through the first 49 days of the 2014 season. They have added two more over the past five days.

  • The Saints have now scored touchdowns in 37 straight regular-season games, the third longest streak in NFL history. The streak dates to the last game of the 2005 season, meaning they have scored a touchdown in every game of the Sean Payton era.

  • Ingram's 30 carries on Thursday were the most by any one back in the Payton era.

  • Payton stood outside the Saints' locker room, greeting and congratulating each player as they came off the field Thursday night, per WWL TV’s Juan Kincaid.

  • According to ESPN Stats and Info, all four of the Saints’ sacks came via a four-man pass rush. They sacked the Panthers on 20 percent of their dropbacks with four pass-rushers or fewer -- after having a rate of just 4.2 percent through the first seven games.

  • Click here for some more postgame takeaways from ESPN Stats and Info.

  • The NFL Network is featuring former Saints running back Ricky Williams tonight on its latest edition of "A Football Life."

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