NEW ORLEANS – New England had a chance to knock the Saints off of their perfect perch atop the NFL Monday night.
Only, the Patriots failed miserably.
Not only did the Saints remain undefeated, they did it with Drew Brees having a perfect game.
New Orleans pasted the team of the decade 38-17 in front of a raucous and rowdy Superdome and with a national TV audience tuned in.
There should be no more questions as to the Saints (11-0) legitimacy.
“It only counts for one win on the stat sheet but emotionally, these types of wins can mean a little bit more,” Brees said. “We played a very good football team tonight, the New England Patriots (7-4), a team that year in, year out is a championship contender.
“They know how to win. They do things the right way. Anytime you go up against a team like that and can win the way we did, it just helps build confidence for you.”
Brees put up MVP-like numbers, becoming the first player to throw for three touchdowns in one quarter against a Bill Belichick-coached team when he did it in the second. His five touchdowns also are the most against a Belichick team, besting Peyton Manning (in 2007 and 2009) and his brother Eli (2007).
He ended the game 18 of 23 passing for 371 yards, throwing touchdowns to five different receivers while maintaining a perfect passer rating of 158.3, the first of his career.
“I thought he was outstanding tonight,” Saints Head Coach Sean Payton said. “I thought he was special. Let’s just say he’s playing real well. I thought his location and confidence in what we were seeing was something else. Good effort. Great job. It was magnificent.”
As special as Brees was, New Orleans’ defense matched him, harassing and harrying Tom Brady into a poor night. The Patriots didn’t have a passing touchdown for the first time in nine games as Brady finished the game 21 of 36 for 237 yards, but he had no touchdowns and threw two interceptions in ending with a 55 passer rating.
“We obviously didn’t play up to their level,” Brady said. “They played a great game and we didn’t play so well. There’s a big gap between us. It wasn’t as competitive as everyone expected.”
New Orleans held a high-powered Patriots offense to 366 total yards and only 4-for-13 on third downs. Randy Moss had only 67 yards receiving on three catches and slot receiver Wes Welker finished with 32 yards on six catches.
Simply put, the Saints patted down the Patriots.
“We just played,” Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. “We played ball. We did what we felt we could do against them. We knew we had a pretty good game plan coming in. you’ve got to really execute when you go against a guy like Tom Brady. That was the biggest thing for us.”
After the Saints took a 3-0 lead on a 30-yard John Carney field goal, the Patriots took their only lead of the game when Brady and the Patriots ate 7 minutes, 40 seconds off the clock, converting two fourth-and-ones to take a 7-3 lead. Laurence Maroney’s 4-yard touchdown punctuated the impressive drive.
Minutes later, it appeared that the Patriots were poised to take control after Welker returned a punt 41 yards to New Orleans’ 46. But a play later newcomer Mike McKenzie picked off Tom Brady.
Seven plays after that, Pierre Thomas broke one tackle and spun around a few others to get into the end zone on an 18-yard screen pass. The key play on the drive was a fourth-and-one conversion by Thomas at the Patriots 21.
The Saints led 10-7 and never looked back.
“Mike’s interception was key because it led to points,” Payton said. “They just came off a big punt return. They came back, returned it across the 50 and I thought his interception was a pivotal part of the game.”
“It was good for the (offense) to get back out there after a slow start,” said McKenzie, who was signed by the Saints less than a week ago. “It was nice to get the offense rolling from there.”
And roll New Orleans did.
After forcing a Patriots punt, New Orleans pushed its lead to 17-7 on a 75-yard Brees-to-Devery Henderson touchdown pass.
Brady guided New England back to within 17-10 when he led the Pats to a Stephen Gostkowski 36-yard field goal.
Again New Orleans came back and put points on the board. This time Brees hit Robert Meachem for a 38-yard touchdown and a 24-10 lead.
The game was far from over at the break, however. Maroney’s 2-yard touchdown run pulled the Patriots to within 24-17.
That’s as close as New England would get the rest of the game as New Orleans reeled off 14 unanswered points to finish the game off.
First, Brees found tight end Darnell Dinkins for a 2-yard score and shortly thereafter, he hit Colston for a 20-yard touchdown, giving the Saints an insurmountable 38-17 lead.
Dinkins’ score was the 19th touchdown by a Saint this season.
“They were better than we were in every phase of the game,” Belichick said. “I don’t know how to put it any other way. They were better coached. They played better on offense and defense. They were bettering the kicking game. They covered better than we did.
“They were obviously the better team.”
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