Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints

Under Sean Payton, the New Orleans Saints are among annually one of the most productive offensive units in the league. So let’s start with the division leader, the Detroit Lions. When Drew Brees throws three interceptions and doesn’t throw a touchdown in the Superdome for the first time in 60 games, a Saints loss is as sure as the sunrise and tourists making bad decisions on Bourbon St late at night. Win and the Lions will have at least a two-game lead over Minnesota (6-6) and Green Bay (5-6) with four to go. On the drive, Breaux incurred his second infraction of the game, a defensive holding call, to aid the Lions. Check out my quarterly notes from the game blow. The Falcons face Kansas City, San Francisco and New Orleans at home and Los Angeles and Carolina on the road. The Lions got the ball on their own 47 yard line. The Saints only score came off a John Kuhn 1-yard touchdown run.

That guy is Matthew Stafford – the Calvin Johnson-less Matthew Stafford. New Orleans picked up a first down and then followed it with a dropped pass. Detroit led 3-0.

The Saints got thoroughly dominated on the stat sheet, on the field, and on the sideline. The Lions stuffed Tim Hightower on another 3rd & 1. Everything Saints goes through him, in him and around him. Wilson is a smart start this week for a low price against a Carolina defense that will also be without Luke Kuechly, Kurt Coleman, Daryl Williams, and Mario Addison. With the team promoting receiver T.J. Jones from the practice squad, this could be an indication the starting receiver’s availability is truly in doubt. Denver intercepted Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles twice and held the Jaguars to 333 total yards in the win. The Saints managed only 50 yards rushing, and it would look ALOT worse if not for Mark Ingram’s 22 yard run. A strike to Anquan Boldin got Detroit to the goal line. Drew Brees completed 28 of 36 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Saints.

In practice, they were embracing “productive paranoia”, a concept Caldwell has read about in Jim Collins’ books and apparently passed along to his players. Andre Roberts caught a comeback for Detroit’s third consecutive first down and Detroit looked to be rolling with under 2:00 left in the half. He set a team record by connecting on 13 straight passes against the Saints. New Orleans settled for a field goal.

This lack of urgency clearly translated into whatever took the field on Sunday. Of course, maybe that’s just the optimistic side of things, as the Saints are realistically staring at their fourth losing season in the past five years. He forced two incompletions with strong jams, and should have had a third, but it was negated by a pass interference penalty.

Since Week 10 of the 2015 season, the Lions have a 14-6 record. Glover Quin knocked down a deep ball to Cooks. He’s tied with Tom Brady and Cody Kessler for the second-fewest interceptions. The biggest reason for the Lions success is because of quarterback Matt Stafford. That’s not a recipe for success, but somehow the Lions made it work.

Prater kicked field goals of 27, 29, 32, 27 and 52 yards. It cost New Orleans a valuable timeout and it was their last challenge. I just ran by the guy, and then it was off to the races. If that were the case, Antonio Brown would have won it the past two years.

The Saints’ high-powered offense was stuck in the mud for most of the game. Lions went up 28-13. The Detroit defense is good. In Week 1, Detroit spread the ball around. Atlanta and Detroit are only a half-game back, but their schedules are tougher.

Stafford was excellent on Sunday. But your former teammates and coaches, along with anyone who has half-a-brain, knows that’s a load of garbage. “Listen, anytime you can get a win in this place is awesome”.

Stafford connected with Golden Tate eight times for 145 yards, and the pair was particularly in synch on a third-and-10 play early in the fourth quarter.