METAIRIE, La. -- Pierre Thomas was in no shape to celebrate.
He'd been sick for about a week with a stomach virus that had him vomiting the night before last Sunday's game at Buffalo. On the joyous plane ride home following the Saints' 27-7 victory over the Bills, he only wanted to close his eyes and rest, but his teammates had a hard time leaving him alone.
"I didn't really get a chance to go to sleep because the guys just kept messing with me, talking about, 'You ain't sick, you ain't sick, playing like that," Thomas recalled. "I really couldn't enjoy it like those guys did, but I still had a smile on my face that we won."
The way the Saints won gave Thomas particular satisfaction. They ran the ball better than they had in either of the last two seasons, racking up 222 yards and scoring all three of their touchdowns on the ground. Only once have the Saints rushed for more yards in a game since Sean Payton took over as head coach, and that was in a blowout of the New York Giants in 2006, when Deuce McAllister was in the midst of a 1,000-yard season.
Thomas, who also has been trying to get past a sprained right knee that occurred during the preseason, played only on special teams in the first half against the Bills because coaches were concerned with his stamina.
He didn't get his first carry until the second half, but ended up with career-high 126 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. Reggie Bush added 64 yards on 13 carries, with some of his best inside rushes this season, and Lynell Hamilton powered in for a short touchdown in the first half.
The performance could not have been more timely. The Bills were crowding the defensive backfield with a zone coverage scheme that left Drew Brees uncharacteristically struggling to find open receivers. Brees threw for fewer than 200 yards for the first time in 22 games and did not have a TD pass after throwing nine during the first two weeks.
To win, the Saints had to make the Bills pay by running well, and they did, even though Mike Bell, New Orleans' leading rusher through Week 2, was sidelined by a knee sprain.
"It feels great because we wanted to show a lot of people and the coaches that the running scheme can work, that we can be a run team also ... and be balanced," Thomas said.
The offensive line "did a great job allowing us to get big runs," Thomas added. "I really got to give it all to them because the holes were so huge you could run like five guys though there."
Suddenly, the Saints rank second in the NFL in rushing, averaging 170.7 yards. During the past two seasons, New Orleans averaged fewer than 100 yards a game and ranked 28th out of 32 teams each year. During the first two games of the season, Bell led the ground game, rushing for 143 yards against Detroit and 86 against Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, the Saints renowned passing attack ranks sixth. That may change, given that Brees threw for more than 5,000 yards last season. But the way things stack up now, it appears the Saints have a good enough running game to bail them out when defensive teams overplay the pass.
"As balanced as we've been running and passing, I think we've shown that if you come in against us you need to be ready for both and you better have an answer for both," Brees said. "In the end, we're going to execute our offense. We're going to take our shots. We're going to try to throw our completions. We're going to try to run the ball effectively. ... We go into every game with the attitude that we're going to dictate the tempo of this game and you're going to have to worry about us and not the other way around."
NOTES: CB Malcolm Jenkins (left ankle), RB Mike Bell (right knee), left tackle Jermon Bushrod (right knee, right ankle) and long-snapper Jason Kyle (right knee and right ankle) were among several key players who sat out the New Orleans Saints' practice on Wednesday. Their status for Sunday's game against the Jets was unclear. Payton said he hopes Kyle can pay. If not, linebacker Troy Evans or reserve safety Chris Reis could handle long snaps. Bushrod said he did not expect to play, meaning Zach Strief will likely start.