Stafford throws 3 TDs, Lions top Saints

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Drew Brees thought he had led the Saints to a momentum-shifting touchdown three times late in the first half, only to wind up with nothing.

Matthew Stafford passed for 254 yards and three touchdowns as the Detroit Lions overcame the New Orleans Saints 35-27 on Monday night.

Brees completed 34 of 52 pass attempts for 341 yards and three touchdowns.

Stafford’s 148.6 passer rating was a career high.

But the replay showed that one of his feet landed out of bounds and Lions head coach Jim Caldwell challenged the play. “It’s very hard to do that versus air”. He did a nice job. “… It’s a team effort when you have an efficient night like that”.

It’s been a rough year for ESPN and Monday Night Football, with the second half of the season plagued by meaningless matchups and no flex scheduling available. The Saints have recorded just six interceptions all season. Stafford credited his line and receivers. “My question was, ‘Well, if he never reported, why didn’t we throw a penalty (flag) on that first play?’ Senio is one of the smartest guys on our team”.

The Saints responded with 17 points over the next 9:57 on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Brees to Brandin Cooks, a 22-yard field goal by Kai Forbath, and an 11-yard Brees strike to Marques Colston, cutting the deficit to 28-20 with 10:06 left. The Lions amassed 150 rushing yards.

“I had to pick one game to do something a little special”, Moore said. “It also helped us keep the ball out of their hands”. “We certainly didn’t want to give (quarterback Drew) Brees any more opportunities”. Ebron got the ball down to the 1-yard line and Joique Bell punched it one play later to make the score 35-20. So when I got with my designer, DeJesus, we came up together and created, for me and Lance, a custom pair of shoes. “We wanted to do it aggressively”. “You get behind like that and your margin for error in the second half becomes pretty small”. Slay was credited with two pass breakups and seven tackles. Brees needs just under 1,200 yards to surpass Marino and take the third spot.

The Saints had a scare when Brees limped off the field after taking a sack.

Tight end Mike Hoomanawanui, making the first carry of his career, was stuffed for no gain on the first play.

Brees answered by marching the Saints 80 yards in 15 plays and New Orleans pulled within 35-27 on his one-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Watson with 1:55 remaining.

Receiver Willie Snead had a career-high eight receptions for the Saints. “Calvin is doing great”, QB Matthew Stafford said. The cleats arrived this week and they wanted to wear them for a nationally-televised game. “Every time I was getting ready to snap, No. 31 (safety Jairus Byrd) was sprinting to where he was”.