Brees lifts New Orleans Saints over Atlanta Falcons
ATLANTA, Georgia (AFP) — Drew Brees threw for three touchdowns to guide the New Orleans Saints to a 34-14 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Monday in a National Football League contest.
Brees completed 28-of-41 passes as the Saints improved to 6-7 and kept their narrow playoff hopes alive.
The victory, in which Aaron Stecker rushed for 100 yards in place of the injured Reggie Bush, kept the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from clinching the NFC South division crown.
Marques Colston caught nine passes, including two for touchdowns, while David Patten's nine receptions included one touchdown.
The defeat marked the end of a bitter day for Falcons fans.
Former superstar quarterback Michael Vick, now suspended from the NFL, was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison earlier Monday for his role in an illegal dogfighting ring.
While the grisly descriptions of the fighting dogs' fates in court documents had sparked outrage, some Falcons fans in the stands still sported the disgraced quarterback's No. 7 jersey.
Even without Bush, who could be out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, the Saints put on a show.
Brees put New Orleans on the scoreboard with a six-play, 99-yard drive capped by a 25-yard touchdown pass to Patten.
Chris Redman and the Falcons responded with an 80-yard scoring drive.
Redman, who was out of football for the past three seasons and was making his first start of 2007, finished 23-for-40 for 298 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Brees put together another long scoring drive to make it 17-7 at halftime, and the Saints added two more touchdowns in the third to break open the game.
