Lions locked in to beat Brees, Saints

With three attempts for 22 yards, he now has 178 yards on 30 attempts this season.

Glover Quin’s interception of a Brees toss 2 1/2 minutes later once again set the Lions in motion, culminating in another field goal by Prater for a 19-6 lead with 1:42 remaining in the third frame.

Win the 28-13 win over the New Orleans Saints, the Lions improved to 8-4 on the season and claimed the team’s seventh victory in the past eight games.

When you’re a quarterback who’s the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, there are certain expectations. The Saints give up the flat – the area to either side of the line outside the farthest interior lineman to the sideline, and no more than 5 yards downfield. Yup, that’s another first. Cooks looks open as Brees lets the ball go, but Quin immediately takes off to cut off the out-and-up route and then adjust to catch an underthrown pass.

The Dallas Cowboys (11-1) and Seattle Seahawks, who at 7-3-1 host the Carolina Panthers tonight, are the only division leaders with better records. What they’re saying: “The streak is over”.

Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, along with quarterbacks Matthew Stafford, Dan Orlovsky and Jake Rudock, spend countless hours during the week pouring over film, trying to come up with the ideal plays against certain looks that might make the difference on Sunday. New Orleans settled for another field goal. “That’s the era we’re talking about here”. I try not to worry about the numbers and I think that’s what got me in some trouble a little bit earlier in the season. While the Saints’ defense hung on as long as it could, it could not get off the field.

Lions 19-6: Boldin made a big play on 3rd down to snag a high bullet from Stafford and move the chains to the Saints’ 37.

With his latest game without a turnover, Stafford has thrown just one interception in his past eight games.

And on the ensuing offensive possession by Detroit, the Saints had worked themselves into a favorable defensive position. It just did the same to Drew Brees.

His only regret was that Detroit failed to score touchdowns on four trips inside the New Orleans 20. Yet No. 9 out-possessed a dynamic Saints offense by almost 14 minutes.

The Lions and Chiefs have been two of the most surreal. Who knows where all this winning will lead.

Sunday in the Dome was about a team with legitimate playoff aspirations taking care of business and dominating from start to finish. The Chiefs are used to this now after reeling off 11 straight wins last season before losing to the Patriots in the playoffs.

They lead the NFC North by two games over the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers heading into next week’s home date with the lowly Chicago Bears. The Saints are two games behind first-place Atlanta in the NFC South and among a slew of contenders for the second wild-card after recording a 49-21 drubbing of the Rams. What they’re saying: “Finally, they didn’t need a comeback”.

Dec 4, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate (15) carries the ball between New Orleans Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux (40) and outside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe (59) during the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Superdome.