Drew Brees passed for an NFC Wild Card record 466 yards as the New Orleans Saints topped the Detroit Lions 45-28 in the evening cap of Saturday’s playoff double-header. It was the second-highest passing total in playoff history.
Calvin Johnson’s 211 receiving yards and two touchdowns would almost certainly go down as one of the great playoff performances in history had he been on the other side of the outcome.
Matthew Stafford showed no signs of nerves in his first playoff appearance. The Lions quarterback passed for 380 yards and three touchdowns, but his two interceptions to Jabari Greer proved costly.
Detroit held a 14-10 lead at halftime, but were outscored 35-14 in the second half to leave the Big Easy disheartened.
In all, Brees finished the day 33-of-43 with three touchdowns — one each to Devery Henderson, Jimmy Graham and Robert Meachem.
Meachem did his best to match Megatron’s numbers, but his four catches for 111 yards pale in comparison. As did Marques Colston’s seven grabs for 120 yards.
Detroit, which appeared in the playoffs for the first time since 1999, is a team on the rise. Their table has been set for seasons into the future and will be favorites to march deeper into the postseason next year.
The Saints will travel to face the San Francisco 49ers next Saturday with a 4:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
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