Saints' Michael Thomas Uses Cell Phone, Does 'Joe Horn' Touchdown Celebration in Win Over Rams

Michael Thomas provided the New Orleans Saints with a 72-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter of a 45-35 win against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

But it was his actions after the score that made headlines.

Thomas channeled former Saints receiver Joe Horn by revealing a hidden cell phone out from around the bottom of the goalpost and mimed talking on the phone following the last catch of a record-setting game.

The former second-round draft pick finished with 12 receptions for 211 yards, setting a new franchise record for single-game receiving yards. His personal best of 16 set in Week 2 is also the most among Saints players.

However, it was Horn whose four touchdown receptions set a Saints franchise record for in a single game. That, of course, took place during his infamous cell phone celebration game in 2003, which saw the receiver pull his phone out of the bottom of the goalpost and mimed talking as well.

Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, who was the color commentator for Sunday's game, was critical of Thomas' celebration. Aikman initially critiqued the wide receiver for getting his team flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and added more gripes as the game continued.

"The Saints are going to be penalized for this celebration at the end of the play, using a prop," Aikman said. "That's very uncharacteristic of Michael Thomas. The cellphone that he hid prior to the game. This is too big of a game to be risking those kinds of yards."

FOX Sports' Michael Strahan, who was on the field as a member of the New York Giants when Horn's cell phone celebration took place, was also critical of the incident.

"I didn't like it then. I didn't like it now," Strahan said.

Thomas' uncle, legendary former wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, was much more supportive, tweeting a photo of himself wearing his nephew's jersey while holding a cell phone to his ear following the celebration.

The Saints provided the Rams with their first loss of the 2018 season during Sunday's game.

Quarterback Drew Brees threw for 346 yards and four touchdowns while running back Alvin Kamara scored three touchdowns.

Brees completed his 19th touchdown pass of more than 70 yards on the connection to Thomas, which broke a tie with Eli Manning for the most by an NFL player during the Super Bowl era.

New Orleans is currently first in the NFC South with a 7-1 record, leading the Carolina Panthers by one game. The Saints will face the Cinncinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium next Sunday.