McAllister keeps Saints in step

Sunday’s 31-17 victory over San Francisco kept New Orleans from slipping into an early season hole.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Helmet in hand, Deuce McAllister jogged triumphantly into the tunnel of the Louisiana Superdome past celebrating Saints fans howling his name. Then came another thrill.

McAllister’s childhood idol, former San Francisco running back Roger Craig, called to congratulate him on his first validating performance since his second knee reconstruction.

“I talked to my hero,” McAllister said. “He told me he was proud of me.”

San Francisco’s shaky run defense had trouble stopping McAllister’s power running and New Orleans avoided an early-season hole with a 31-17 victory Sunday.

The Saints’ all-time leading rusher hardly looked like he was playing on two reconstructed knees when he bowled over tacklers for first downs, moved the pile or dived over it for his first touchdown of the season.

“I’m sure a lot of people weren’t giving him a chance to come back,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. “He proved a lot of people wrong.”

McAllister carried 20 times for 73 yards and had a 10-yard reception to convert a third down.

“I can still play another quarter,” McAllister quipped when asked about his left knee, which was surgically repaired last fall. “The important question is, how is it feeling in the morning? ... I didn’t take any true shots on it. Right now it feels pretty good.”

McAllister, who also had right knee reconstruction in 2005, gave the Saints the credible power running threat they needed to open up deep throws for Brees, who was 23-of-35 for 363 yards and three scores, including touchdowns of 47 yards to Robert Meachem and 33 yards to Lance Moore.

Brees also set up scores with a 52-yard pass to Meachem on a flea flicker involving McAllister, and an 81-yard connection with Devery Henderson. Brees did all of this with two top receivers, Marques Colston (thumb) and tight end Jeremy Shockey (abdomen), unable to play.

“We anticipated [McAllister] playing,” San Francisco coach Mike Nolan said. “He did a good job, but the things that hurt us the most were the explosive plays we gave up.”

In close losses at Washington and Denver, the Saints (2-2) were stuffed on a half-dozen short-yardage situations. Saints fans flooded call-in shows with complaints about coach Sean Payton’s reluctance to play McAllister, who’d had only two carries — but gained 5 yards on each — during the opening three weeks.

Payton said he was trying to be cautious and would play the 29-yard-old McAllister when the time was right. With San Francisco allowing an average of 131 yards rushing coming in, this was the right time.

“It was great to see Deuce back in there,” Payton said. “We just felt by the nature of the game plan that this week we had a chance to run the ball a little bit more.”