New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees will have limited practice Thursday

Early in the first half, Brees was flushed out of the pocket and as he threw the ball, he was tackled awkwardly by Lions defender Ziggy Ansah.

Officially, he has a torn plantar fascia, but to simplify, the arch in Brees’ right foot is torn.

Walker also joked that rehabbing in New Orleans leaves the training room in Detroit free for the Lions players who need it. Although there was an intriguing matchup of two top National Football League quarterbacks, the lack of playoff implications took away from the typical excitement of a nationally televised game. The first time was Game 3 this year, against Carolina on September 27.

With a healthy Drew Brees, the Saints could engage in an entertaining shootout between five-win teams.

With Brees entering the final year of his current deal it may be wise for the Saints to sit him down in order to preserve his health.

The Saints trailed 28-3 at one point but almost completed a comeback, eventually losing 35-27 after Brees completed 34-of-52 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns.

One yard to go.

With the ascendance of the Carolina Panthers and the improving Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the choice seems easy – burn it down and start again.

Soon after Cooks’ catch, Tim Hightower reached the end zone with a second-effort run, but New Orleans was penalized for illegal formation, with officials saying lineman Senio Kelemete failed to report as an eligible tight end. Whether or not he’s part of the team moving forward, Brees deserved better. By rule, there is no foul for using an extra timeout….

Now back to the action. But Colston’s positioning becomes a moot point, because New Orleans had an ineligible receiver downfield, which ended the half in an extremely weird way. It keeps you in that ballpark, it gives your play-action pass a little bit more credence because they have to bite on it because they can’t just disrespect the run. So close, yet so far. Half of those interceptions came in Week 8, Cooter’s first game as coordinator.

It’s absolutely right-none of it mattered in the end.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, right, greets Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford after an NFL football game in New Orleans, Monday, Dec. 21, 2015.

Brees’ late touchdown pass to Ben Watson closed the gap with 1 minute, 55 seconds left, but New Orleans’ onside kick was recovered by Detroit star Calvin Johnson, and the Lions marched deep into Saints territory before Matt Prater missed a field goal with 9 seconds left.

If it’s a partial tear Brees could play but would experience a lot of pain.