Drew Brees leads New Orleans Saints to victory against Detroit Lions, 45-28 – NFL Playoff Update
Drew Brees cast the spell of his magic yet again as the progressing New Orleans Saints silenced the roaring Detroit Lions, 45-28, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Saturday, January 7, 2012, in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Brees completed 33 passes on 43 attempts for 466 yards. He threw three touchdowns and avoided interceptions to get a quarterback rating of 134.4.
Lions’ quarterback, Matthew Stafford, also played remarkably well but was behind Brees, who is one of the best quarterbacks in the league and is a strong contender to receive the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the season award.
Stafford completed 28 of 43 passes for 380 yards. He also sent three touchdown passes, while throwing two interceptions and received a quarterback rating of 97.0.
The Lions registered for the playoffs after more than a decade and were brilliant throughout the season, but could not get past the Saints.
“It's a learning experience for the whole team. We'll get better. We'll be back", Lions’ coach, Jim Schwartz, said. "Obviously it hurts right now".
"We did make the playoffs this year and that's a great accomplishment. We have some things to work on and we will. We know what we have to do to make the next step", added receiver, Calvin Johnson, who had 12 receptions for 211 yards during the game.
The Lions also had a good start to the game. After taking an early lead in the first quarter, they competed well to stay ahead until the third. However, the Saints’ aggressive outburst in the final quarter proved to be too much for the Lions.
In the first quarter, Stafford sent a 10-yard touchdown pass to Will Heller to make the first scoring move of the game. The Saints failed to score in the quarter.
They started the second quarter after scoring a touchdown within a minute. Darren Sproles collected John Kasay’s kick and rushed for two yards to reach the end zone and level the score.
The Lions gave a firm reply when Stafford found Johnson from 13 yards at 9:11. They maintained the lead, but Saints reduced the deficit through a 24-yard field goal from Kasay. The halftime scored settled at 14-10 with the Lions in the lead.
In the third quarter, Brees gave the Saints the lead for the first time with his pass at the 13:09 mark to Devery Henderson for a touchdown. Later on, he sent a three-yard pass to Jimmy Graham to increase the lead.
Towards the end of the quarter, Stafford scored a rushing touchdown by managing a one-yard run, but the Lions were still three points behind when the quarter ended.
The Saints stretched their lead early in the final quarter, thanks to a 17-yard rushing touchdown by Sproles.
Brees once again came into the action and found Robert Meachem for another touchdown to take the lead with, 38-21.
During the last five minutes, Lions tried to retaliate. Stafford and Johnson once again combined for a touchdown, but they did it for the final time.
Pierre Thomas managed a one-yard run for the Saints and took the score to 42-28, which became decisive.
"We play aggressive. We're not going to apologize for that. That gives guys in the huddle a lot of confidence. We're not going to pull the reins back. It's pedal to the medal”, Brees said.
The Saints are now going to face the San Francisco 49ers next week. The winner will qualify for the National Football Conference (NFC) championship final next weekend.
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