Brees reaches 60000 yards milestone in Saints loss

Brees was taped up on the sideline and returned to play some of his best football – throwing three second-half touchdown passes during a futile comeback attempt.

Payton was also asked if he assumes quarterback Drew Brees will be back with the Saints next year, and he said, “Yes, absolutely”.

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

Detroit (5-9) raced to a 28-3 lead, but Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes – one shortly after a Lions fumble – to help New Orleans (5-9) pull to 28-20 with about 10 minutes left.

At the age of 36, Brees’ future in New Orleans depends on his health staying at peak levels.

The Lions (5-9) scored on their final three possessions of the first half to take a 21-3 advantage, then added another touchdown to start the second half for a 28-3 cushion that Brees valiantly tried to overcome before coming up short.

They’ve been competitive even in their two losses during that stretch, falling once on a last-second touchdown heave by Green Bay and losing by a touchdown against St. Louis.

“It’s been a little tough”, Walker said of overcoming the injuries, “but it’s good to see the guys out here and stuff”. I’m close enough to my son back in Dallas where I’m pretty much back there once a week or he’s over here; my daughter is off in college now.

On the year, Stafford is completing 64.4 percent of his passes for 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with a passer rating of 93.7. “He spread it around quite a bit”. “You have to respect that”, Saints tight end Ben Watson said.

-RB C.J. Spiller (head) was evaluated for a possible concussion, but passed the tests and returned to the game with the Lions. He looked hobbled later in the game, and appeared in a walking boot for his postgame press conference.

And today, the question is whether Brees, who became just the fourth quarterback in league history to surpass 60,000 passing yards during the Detroit game, and who is fourth all-time with 424 touchdown passes, will be able to play.

With 179 yards, Brees joins Peyton Manning, Brett Farve and Dan Marino. If Brees were unable to play, the Saints would have to choose between the newly-signed Matt Flynn or rookie Garrett Grayson, as former backup Luke McCown is out for the season after undergoing back surgery. “That would be my assumption, but obviously that would be a coach’s decision once we got to the actual game”.

The receivers are fronted by wide receiver Calvin Johnson (1,000 yards and seven TDs). Meanwhile, Lance Moore also had one catch, which gained 10 yards.