Posted by The Times-Picayune October 26, 2008 3:15PM

The Associated Press

Drew Brees’ big game led the Saints to a win against San Diego.

Finally, things started clicking for the New Orleans Saints.

After watching their season seemingly slip away as the team continued to make mistakes, give up big plays on defense and just simply not getting the job done, New Orleans turned it around and beat the San Diego Chargers 37-30 in Wembley, England.

The Saints’ victory keeps hope alive for a team that has had injuries and could be faced with some players being suspended for a test for a banned substance.
Quarterback Drew Brees was brilliant, going 30-of-41 for 339 yards and three touchdowns to show up the team that gave up on him after a shoulder injury and replaced him with Philip Rivers.

Brees hit eight different receivers. Lance Moore had six catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Billy Miller had seven catches for 82 yards and a touchdown.

Deuce McAllister, the featured tailback in place of injured Reggie Bush, had 55 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown. McAllister was solid, running through defenders and showing the kind of hard-nosed running he is known for.

San Diego’s LaDanian Thomlinson did have 105 yards rushing, but the Saints were able to keep him out of the end zone. Rivers was 25-of-40 for 341 yards and three touchdowns.

The game got close when Chargers came roaring back from a 17-pint deficit with 10 points in a 2:20-second span early in the fourth quarter to close the Saints’ lead to 37-30 with 7 minutes to play. The big play was an onside kick by the Chargers which they recovered after kicking a field goal. Five plays later, Philip Rivers hit Vincent Jackson for a beautiful diving 14-yard touchdown pass to trim the margin to a touchdown.

Seemingly only minutes before, the Saints had taken what appeared to be an insurmountable 37-20 lead on the second play of the fourth quarter on a 1-yard plunge by fullback Mike Karney.

While the Chargers committed 14 penalties for 134 yards, the Saints, have made few mistakes. They didn’t have a turnover or allowed a sack all game.

The Saints took a 23-17 at halftime and with Brees leading the way, were moving the ball at will. Brees completed 22 of 29 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

Like the Chargers in the fourth quarter, the Saints scored quickly, taking a 16-3 lead in the second quarter with a pair of touchdowns within a 2:10 span.

On one of the few miscues for the Saints, Taylor Mehlhaff missed the extra point on the Saints first touchdown.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 26th, 2008 at 5:23 pm and is filed under Saints News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.