There are 64 days standing between us and the start of the New Orleans Saints‘ 2025 season opener against the Arizona Cardinals, which means this 64-touchdown is our pick for the Saints Play of the Day. It’s one of the wackier scores you’ll find from this distance in team history, so let’s get right to it. You can see the highlight for yourself right here.

New Orleans had jumped out to a 17-7 lead over the New York Giants back in 2003, with Big Blue preparing for a 43-yard field goal try to cut into that deficit before halftime. But it wasn’t to be. Defensive lineman Kenny Smith was credited with blocking the kick, which was scooped up by defensive back Fred Thomas.

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“This is a new carpet in here, that’s a little bit grabby,” cautioned play-by-play announcer Mike Patrick, “It’s blocked, and the Saints are gonna get a touchdown!”

That score gave the Saints a 23-7 lead, and at that point the Giants more or less threw in the towel. They were a 4-win team tanking for a chance to draft hotshot quarterback Eli Manning, son of the New Orleans legend Archie, and this game turned into a 45-7 rout that helped their cause. AS for the kicker? That was none other than second-year pro Matt Bryant, who would spend the next few seasons trying to find his way in the NFL before he landed with the Atlanta Falcons, where he was selected for a Pro Bowl in 2016. This wouldn’t be his last botched field goal at the Superdome.

But as exciting as this play was, it was overshadowed by a controversial celebration from one of the Saints’ star players. This was the same game in which wide receiver Joe Horn snuck a cell phone into the stadium. After scoring a 13-yard touchdown catch midway through the second quarter, Horn retrieved the flip phone and, he later said, called his children to make sure they were watching the game from home with his family.

What about the man of the hour? Thomas had arrived in New Orleans a few years earlier after starting his career with the Seattle Seahawks, but he became a Saints lifer and spent 109 games in black and gold. And 2003 was a big year for him. In addition to this special teams touchdown, Thomas intercepted four passes and got his mitts on a career-high 22 pass deflections, forcing a pair of fumbles and recovering another one along the way. The cornerback was a key part of Jim Haslett’s defense, and this touchdown went down as one of the brightest moments of his career.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: This must-see 64-yard Fred Thomas TD is the Saints Play of the Day