The New Orleans Saints poured it on the defending Super Bowl champions, scoring at will until building a 41-point lead, housing the Philadelphia Eagles 48-7.
Early in the fourth quarter, facing fourth-and-6, the Saints connected on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees to Alvin Kamara to go up 45-7.
The touchdown forced the Eagles to wave the white flag. Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, who was beaten on the play, also waved something at coach Sean Payton and the Saints sideline: his middle finger.
"I'm a competitor. I love Sean to death. I know what type of guy and coach he is. That was more so personal between me and him," Jenkins told NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark.
"We talked after the game. It's all good. I know Sean. They're going to go for it. I was more so upset that it was on me," Jenkins said. "I got a lot of respect for what they're doing, especially Sean."
Of the touchdown strike that got Jenkins hot and bothered, Payton said after the game that he wasn't comfortable adding a field goal already up 31 points, and didn't want to take his foot off the gas pedal with almost an entire quarter remaining in the game.
The Saints coach then heaped praise upon Jenkins, who played for New Orleans from 2009-2013.
"I think the world of him. He's a tremendous player," Payton said. "I hate that he got out of here. That was probably as big a mistake as we've made here in 13 years. He's made up of all the right things, and he's a tremendous competitor."
The admiration is of little solace to Jenkins, who saw his team blown out and their chances of defending a Super Bowl title shrink considerably.
"[Being] winners of the Super Bowl last year doesn't win you a goddamn game this year," Jenkins said, via ESPN. "So when you look at what we've done all year, our record is reflective of how we've played. It's as simple as that. There's nothing confusing about it. Just turn on the tape, and watch. You get what you put in."
With four division tilts in six games remaining, the Eagles need to turn their season around quickly, or the only birds that will be flying in Philly in January will be middle fingers.
