Saints, Brees keep rolling along

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS

Drew Brees passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns, and the New Orleans Saints won their fourth straight, 31-17 over the Detroit Lions on Sunday night.

Brees’ performance gave him 4,031 yards on the season, making him the first quarterback in NFL history to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark in the first 12 games of a season.

His touchdown passes went for 67 yards to Robert Meachem, 20 yards to Lance Moore and 6 yards to Darren Sproles. He also connected eight times with tight end Jimmy Graham for 89 yards as the Saints (9-3) improved to 6-0 at home.

Matthew Stafford passed for 408 yards and one touchdown for the Lions (7-5), who have lost five of their last seven, but remain in playoff contention.

The Saints took a 24-7 lead at the break but Detroit chipped away throughout the third quarter.

Jason Hanson’s 31-yard field goal made it 24-10. The Lions pulled within one score on Maurice Morris’ 9-yard touchdown reception from Stafford, capping a nine-play, 88-yard drive.

Mark Ingram rushed for a 14-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, which gave the Saints a 10-0 lead.

After Meachem’s TD made it 17-0, the Lions responded with an 80-yard scoring drive on which Stafford completed all six of his passes.