NEW ORLEANS — Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints took New England into never-never land on Monday night in the Louisiana Superdome.

As in the Patriots never had a chance in this one.

The Saints remained one of the NFL’s two unbeaten teams against the Patriots, which wasn’t much of a surprise. It was the manner in which they buried Tom Brady and the Patriots that caught everyone’s eye.

Brees passed for 323 and five touchdowns as the Saints thrashed the Patriots 38-17.

All five touchdown passes went to different receivers, including Marques Colston, whose 20-yard TD catch put the Saints in front 38-17 with 7:49 left in the game.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick pulled three-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady with 5:20 left, letting the Saints (11-0) savor in the moment and leaving the Patriots (7-4) to ponder what went wrong.

The Patriots closed to within 24-17 on Laurence Maroney’s 2-yard touchdown run with 10:24 left in the third quarter, but the Saints needed just three plays to respond.

Brees fired the ball to Colston on the right sideline before he cut across the field for a reception that covered 68 yards. Two plays later, Brees hit backup tight end Darnell Dinkins for a 2-yard touchdown pass to put the Saints in front 31-17.

It was the Saints’ first victory over New England since 1995.

The Saints’ defense did its part, too, keeping a steady pass rush on Brady, and coming up with three takeaways, including Darren Sharper’s fourth-quarter interception that forced the Patriots to concede.

Brees was on fire in the first half, completing 11 of 13 passes for an eye-popping 229 yards and three touchdowns.

His 158.3 passer rating for the first half, and later the entire game, was perfect under the NFL’s complex system, but it was clearly evident that he was ready to play this game.

The Patriots grabbed a 7-3 lead when Brady took them 80 yards in 14 plays for the game’s first touchdown with 3:34 left in the first quarter. Maroney scored on a fourth-down play from the Saints’ 4-yard line, slamming through the line on an off-tackle play to the right side.

Recent addition Mike McKenzie intercepted a poorly thrown Brady pass, putting the Saints at their 41 with about a minute left in the first quarter, and Brees went to work.

Brees slipped a screen pass to Pierre Thomas to the right sideline and Thomas used some nifty footwork to find the end zone from 18 yards out, putting the Saints in front 10-7. The next time the Saints got their hands on the ball, the Patriots extended a helping hand that the home team probably didn’t need.

The Patriots blitzed a cornerback from the left side and safety Brandon Meriwether failed to get to the middle of the field, allowing a wide-open Devery Henderson to make an easy catch before sprinting to the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown pass.

Brees was just getting started.

The Patriots’ Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 36-yard field goal to trim the Saints’ margin to seven points, but the Saints came out throwing again. Brees completed four consecutive passes before finding Robert Meachem on a post pattern for a 38-yard touchdown pass just after the two-minute warning.

Copy the Story Link