The Saints fell behind 24-3 in the first three quarters before they started to show life in the 4th quarter but it was too little too late to keep their perfect season alive.  Drew Brees completed 29 of 45 passes for 298 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  But, he also lost two fumbles which really hurt the Saints last night.  Reggie Bush led the Saints in rushing despite only getting 1 carry (29 yards).  He also caught 2 passes for 17 yards (8.5 avg).  Pierre Thomas didn’t have his usual workload  either as he carried the ball 6 times for 20 yards (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 50 yards (10.0 avg).  Mike Bell pitched in with 8 yards rushing on 4 carries (2.0 ypc) with a TD run.  Marques Colston led the way in the passing game for the Saints last night with 5 grabs for 86 yards (17.2 avg).  TE David Thomas stepped up to grab 8 passes for 77 yards (9.6 avg) with Jeremy Shockey out due to injury.  The Saints finished up with 336 total  yards (65 rushing, 271 passing) on offense in this game as they only had possession of the ball for 23:34.

Jonathan Vilma led a poor effort by the Saints’ D with 14 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed, 1 sack and 2 QB hits.  Fellow linebacker Scott Fujita pitched in with 10 tackles and 1 QB hit and safety Darren Sharper pitched in with 10 tackles.  The Cowboys finished up with 439 total yards on offense (145 rushing, 294 passing) in this game.  The Saints are now 13-1 on the season.

The New Orleans Saints (12-0) almost had their undefeated season come to an end, as they narrowly escaped defeat against the Washington Redskins (3-9).  The Saints killed themselves with penalties, as seven of them amounted for 102 yards, but they did have a little bit of luck on their side.  At the end of the first half with the Redskins up 17-10, Drew Brees was intercepted by the Skins’ Kareem Moore, but on Moore’s return Robert Meachem made a great play by stripping Moore and returning it for a 44-yard touchdown to tie the game going into halftime.  Brees had a good game, throwing for 419 yards and 2 touchdowns on 35/49 passes.  He had to get a lot with the pass, as the Saints struggled to get their running game going finished with 55 rushing yards as a team.

The Saints defense did not do a very good job against a Washington Redskins team that has struggled all year.  They let Jason Campbell look more like Drew Brees, as he threw for 3 touchdowns and 367 yards on 30/42 attempts.  The one thing the Saints defense did do a good job of was forcing turnovers.  The defense recovered 2 fumbles and picked off Campbell once.  Without the turnovers they would have lost.  They also got some help from Skins’ kicker Shuan Suisham, who missed a 23-yard field goal attempt late in 4th quarter, which would have put the Skins up by 10.

The New Orleans Saints (11-0) made a big statement with their big win over the New England Patriots (7-4) Monday night.  The Saints pretty much proved they are the best team in football, as the undefeated Colts got an almost lucky one-point win over the Patriots a few weeks ago.  The Saints didn’t need luck and won by 20 more points than the Colts did against the Pats.  Drew Brees played the quarterback position about as good as you can play it against the Patriots, throwing for 371 yards and 5 touchdowns on 18/23 passes.  He completely outplayed Tom Brady, who finished with no touchdowns and 2 interceptions while only passing for 237 yards on 21/36 passes.  Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell ran the ball well for the running game, which was without the electric Reggie Bush.

The Saints offense were not the only ones to make a statement in this win, because the defense played great as well.  Not only did they keep Tom Brady out of the endzone and intercepted him twice, but they pretty much shut down Wes Welker.  Brady and Welker have been ripping apart secondaries, but the Saints held Welker to a season low 36 receiving yards on 6 catches.  They also held Randy Moss to only 3 catches.  The Pats did get 122 rushing yards as a team, but it was a good effort overall by the defense and the Saints have now proved they are playing at an elite level.

The Bucs scored first in this game and that appeared to piss the Saints off as they beat them up the rest of the game.  Drew Brees was very effective today completing 19 of 29 passes for 187 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Pierre Thomas was awesome today with 11 carries for 92 yards (8.4 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 11 yards (3.7 avg).  Mike Bell was also very effective for the Saints today with 13 carries for 75 yards (5.8 ypc) with 2 TD carries.  Marques Colston led the way in the passing game for the Saints with 5 grabs for 74 yards (14.8 avg).  Back up TE David Thomas also had a nice game with 4 catches for 66 yards (16.5 avg) with a TD grab.  WR Robert Meachem only caught 2 passes for 10 yards but they both went for TDs.  The Saints finished up with 370 total yards on offense (183 rushing, 187 passing) today.

The defense baffled rookie QB Josh Freeman and the Bucs’ offense today.  CB Malcolm Jenkins led the way for the Saints today with 7 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Jonathan Vilma pitched in with 6 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 1 QB hit and 1 interception.  The Buccaneers finished up with only 219 total yards on offense (119 rushing, 100 passing) today.  The Saints are now 10-0 on the year.