Bryan Bresee came up clutch with an incredible play to seal his NFL team’s win on Sunday.
The former Clemson star and current New Orleans Saints defensive tackle stepped up on special teams, blocking a potential game-tying field goal as the Saints held on to beat the New York Giants, 14-11, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Bresee preserved the win with 11 seconds left, when the 6-foot-5, 305-pounder showed off his athleticism by impressively jumping over the offensive linemen and getting a hand on the ball to thwart Graham Gano’s 35-yard field goal try.
“I really didn’t think I got enough of it at first,” Bresee said of the game-winning field goal block. “I felt it, but I didn’t think I got enough of it, and looked back and saw it missed left a little bit. So, just super excited once I saw that it missed.”
Bresee credited his teammates for helping set up the blocked field goal.
“Shep (Nathan Shepherd) and Payton (Turner) did a great job kind of pushing down the long-snapper and guard, and then my job’s to get up and get down,” Bresee said. “So, I jumped up, and it didn’t really work how I wanted it to. I kind of buckled on my landing a little bit and just threw a hand up. But I got a piece of it just enough, I guess, and it worked out. So, it was a lot more guys doing their job than just me.”
Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi said Bresee’s athleticism on the blocked kick was “phenomenal.”
“That’s a play that we started practicing. We’ve had it in a few times. We kind of put it in this week on Friday,” Rizzi said. “We repped it a couple times on Friday, and it was kind of like we were out there on the field and we were running it, and we were like, ‘Hey, you never know, the game could come down to this,’ and look what happens.
“It just goes to show you, though, a guy at his size, the athletic ability he just displayed, and I’ve seen him do it all the time in practice, so I knew he could do it. … But really just an unbelievable, phenomenal job by Bryan, individual effort. … Outstanding. That was great to see him make a big play like that.”
Along with his special teams heroics, Bresee had a big day on the defensive side of the ball as well while posting a sack, one tackle for loss, two passes defended and a couple of quarterback hits.
A three-time All-ACC selection at Clemson, Bresee continues to make a major impact for the Saints after they selected him in the first round (29th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft. After impressing as a rookie last year, Bresee has had a big Year 2 in the league, tallying 19 total tackles (seven for loss), 7.5 sacks, 13 quarterback hits, three passes defended and a forced fumble over 13 games (seven starts) this season.
Bresee and the Saints (5-8) will play host to the Washington Commanders this Sunday.
–Photo courtesy Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
