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Brees sharp as Saints rout Packers

Nov 25, 2008 - 6:52 AM NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints' offense spent Monday night making history.

Brees passed for 323 yards and four touchdowns as the Saints tied a franchise record for points in a game with a 51-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Monday.

Brees completed 20-of-26 passes and ended the night with a passer rating of 157.5 for the Saints (6-5), who earned back-to-back wins for the first time this season and kept their playoff hopes alive in the process.

"It just felt like things were clicking," Brees said. "We're kind of in the middle of the pack like a lot of other teams, and this is the time when a few of those teams are trying to separate themselves - and we're trying to be one of those teams that separates themselves."

The big night for Brees gives him 3,574 passing yards this season, the most in NFL history through 11 games. He needs to average more than 302 yards per game to top former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino's single-season record of 5,084.

Clinging to a 24-21 lead after a back-and-forth first half, New Orleans exploded for 21 unanswered points in the third quarter, capped by a 70-yard strike from Brees to Marques Colston that pushed the lead to 45-21.

"Every good team, especially teams that go to the playoffs go on these runs," Brees said. "It seemed like it didn't matter where we got the ball, whether it was good field position or we were backed up. For as many points as we scored, we only had eight third downs. So that means that on first and second downs, we were getting chunks. A lot of these drives were just chunks and chunks and chunks."

"We didn't slow them down at all tonight," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "Give credit to the Saints and the play of the quarterback. He was on fire coming into the game and (we) didn't cool him off any."

Brees picked apart a defense that came into the contest ranked third in the NFL against the pass, allowing just 176.3 yards per game through the air.

"They're a heavy formation, shift, motion team," McCarthy said of the Saints. "They do a lot of things at the line of scrimmage. They're playing very well in the passing game. It's evident by what they're ranked. We expected more from our defense. We didn't get it done today."

Deuce McAllister broke the Saints franchise record with a 3-yard rushing TD in the third, his 48th TD run.

"It was sweet," McAllister said. "When you start playing, those are the type of goals that you set out to break. I told No. 25 (Reggie Bush) that he has to go out and break my record. It was great to achieve and it was something that my teammates now and in the past can cherish."

Pierre Thomas added a pair of rushing touchdowns and Lance Moore led the receiving corps with five catches for 115 yards and two scores.

"We kind of said this all along," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "With some of the injuries we have had, it provides opportunities for other players. This weekend we saw some guys step up and rise to the occasion, so we are happy for them. We are happy they played well."

New Orleans now joins a crowd of teams in the middle of the NFC pack, one game behind the Washington Redskins (7-4), Atlanta Falcons (7-4) and Dallas Cowboys (7-4) for the final wild card spot in the conference. The Saints remain in last place in the strong NFC South, however, one game behind Atlanta and two back of the Carolina Panthers (8-3) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-3).

"We just take it one game at a time," Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey said. "We now play Tampa Bay, which is a great team. We've already played them once this season. We are just trying to get better every week. Everyone was in tune today. It felt really good to be a part of something special."

Aaron Rodgers completed 23-of-41 passes for 248 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions for the Packers (5-6), who fell one game behind the Chicago Bears (6-5) and Minnesota Vikings (6-5) in the NFC North.

"Any loss hurts," Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk said. "It's good that we have a short week, so this loss will be quicker to put behind us. We still have a chance to do great things."

Green Bay got on the board first when fullback John Kuhn dove over the pile for a 1-yard score. The Saints responded on their next play when Brees hit Moore for a 70-yard score down the right sideline. New Orleans grabbed its first lead when Thomas rushed to the left for four yards.

Rodgers sandwiched a TD pass and a 10-yard rushing score around another TD for Moore in the second quarter before Garrett Hartley sent the Saints into the break on top with a 30-yard field goal.

"After the first half we knew we had to throw," Rodgers said. "We tried to answer but we didn't. We let this one get away from us."