By: Jay Yeomans

Published: November 29, 2019

Taysom Hill had the biggest performance of his pro career on Thursday as the New Orleans Saints held on to beat the Atlanta Falcons, 26-18.

The former BYU signal-caller made his presence felt early and often in the division win, registering two carries for 33 yards and a touchdown to go along with two receptions for 12 yards and another score.

But before getting the ball on offense, Hill started things out on special teams when he blew past a blocker and got his hand on a punt – the announcers said it wasn’t technically a block because the ball went forward – to set up the Saints with a very short field.

The Checkdown Twitter page shared highlights of that play along with both of Hill’s receptions, including the touchdown that gave the Saints the early lead.

It was a dominating stretch for Hill but he was far from done. He found the endzone for the second time later in the half on a third-and-1 when he lined up under center and burst through the line before darting 30 yards down the field for the score.

The New Orleans Saints’ Twitter page shared a video of Hill’s first rushing touchdown of the season.

The Saints’ Twitter page also shared some great highlights of the postgame press conference.

The first video the page shared is head coach, Sean Payton, talking about what Hill and his strong performance plus what he means to the team.

Then we get to hear from Hill on how he and the Saints played as they clinched the NFC South title for the third year in a row.

Hill then broke down what happened on his 30-yard touchdown run.

Through 12 games, Hill has carried the ball 16 times for 127 yards and a score. He also has 13 catches for 114 yards and four touchdowns. His five touchdowns are third on the Saints.

On the hardwood

Jimmer Fredette also had a big game on Thanksgiving as Panathinaikos came away with a 100-68 win over Baskonia in EuroLeague. In the win, he registered 21 points on the strength of a 4-for-5 shooting night from beyond the arc. He added five assists, four rebounds and a steal in 28:29 on the floor.

Through 10 EuroLeague games, Fredette is averaging 14.1 points, 2.5 assists, and 1.8 rebounds in 21:26.

To read the full story on Jimmer’s big game, click here.

Elijah Bryant missed his Thanksgiving Day game in EuroLeague after suffering an ankle injury in practice. A timetable for his return has yet to be reported. In his absence, Maccabi Tel Aviv easily dispatched LDLC Asvel Villeurbanne, 93-62.

The third member of the Cougar trio in EuroLeague, Brandon Davies, will be on the floor on Friday as his top-ranked FC Barcelona will take on CSKA Moscow.