NEW ORLEANS — David Bowens looks even older than he is, with specks of gray in his hair and beard.
So after the 33-year-old Cleveland linebacker intercepted Drew Brees twice Sunday and returned both for touchdowns, teammates celebrating their stunning 30-17 victory over the defending champion New Orleans Saints joked at Bowens’ expense.
“They say I’m the oldest guy to score two touchdowns since Larry Csonka,” Bowens said, alluding to the Miami Dolphins’ Hall of Fame fullback.
Age didn’t seem to be a factor on Bowens’ returns of 30 and 64 yards, the second of which he punctuated by clumsily somersaulting into the end zone.
“I can’t dance,” Bowens said, explaining that his celebration was a reprise of Reggie Bush’s end-zone somersault in the NFC title game in January 2007. “I can’t do it as sweet as he does it. I’m a little heavier than he is and a little older.”
Bowens was not accustomed to scoring TDs. In his previous 11 NFL seasons, he had only one on a blocked punt.
“You don’t dream of games like that,” Bowens said. “You don’t ever think anything is going to happen like that. It’s unbelievable.”
Perhaps Bowens had a little karma working for him in New Orleans. Several years ago, he helped raise $20,000 for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Incidentally, his career-best performance came not only at Brees’ expense, but just days after the quarterback had welcomed a son named Bowen.
Brees threw four interceptions for only the second time in his career. After being intercepted 11 times last season, he has thrown 10 already this season.
“Whenever you throw a pick, you’re going to be upset. Four interceptions are hard to swallow,” Brees said. “I think we are all doing a little soul-searching. We know how good we can be. Obviously, we aren’t playing that way right now.”
Scott Fujita and Sheldon Brown also had interceptions for Cleveland.
