Matthew Stafford stars as Detroit Lions hold on for New Orleans win

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.

Stafford shredded the Saints’ porous secondary in the first half, completing 12 of 13 passes for 142 yards and three touchdowns as Detroit raced to a 21-3 halftime lead. The Lions quarterback went 22 of 25 for 254 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.

Despite Monday night’s defeat to the Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees delivered a record breaking display.

Quiet for much of the first half, Saints receiver BRANDIN COOKS (10 catches for 124 yards and 1 score) near the 1:15 mark of the second quarter, took in a Brees pass and advanced the reception to the DET 1 yard line for a 28 yard gain. “It is very hard to do that versus air”.

The game might not have meant anything in the standings but the Detroit Lions didn’t play like it. When your defense yields a first down every two plays, you’re not going to beat many teams.

Saints coach Sean Peyton and Brees led the Saints to a Super Bowl title in the 2009 season but those glory days are far behind them.

The Lions scored on their first drive of the third quarter, making things look way too easy against the Saints’ defense.

And when Detroit’s Ameer Abdullah ran untouched 15 yards around the left end for a touchdown with 3:10 elapsed in the third quarter, the Lions enjoyed a 28-3 advantage.

The Saints asserted that Kelemete reported on the play before he was penalized and should not have had to report again. It was a rebuilding year and we knew it, with the tremendous roster turnover.

“I don’t know what exactly we’ve got going on here”, Brees said of his injury. Even though kicker Matt Prater missed a 38-yard field goal – his first miss of the season after converting on all 17 previous attempts – the Saints had just nine seconds left.

The Saints thought they had found the end zone three times on their final drive of the first half but came away with no points. The gamble appeared to pay off when Brees hit receiver Marques Colston in the end zone, but guard Jahri Evans was flagged for being downfield illegally. The Saints have now allowed 39 passing touchdowns on the season, one shy of the National Football League record set by the 1963 Broncos in a 14-game season.

Brees, who was sporting a substantial limp from the first quarter on, said he was unsure of what happened. “He kind of hurt his foot a little bit, went and had it taped, and then, in the second half, we were able to block better for him”.

“I think that the second half is the proof that effort and energy maybe aren’t the issue. And Tate extended the Lions”™ lead to 18 points when he caught his second score of the game from 5 yards out with 4:27 left in the first half. Saints P Thomas Morstead’s onside kick scooted 10 yards, and Johnson scooped up the ball to protect the Lions’ lead.

The Lions ground game “also helped keep the ball out of (the Saints’) hands” Caldwell said.