Saints keep marching to 4-0 record
Drew Brees reminded a national audience why he’s becoming Mr. Monday Night, and gave the Miami Dolphins another reason to regret not making a harder push to sign him when they had the chance seven years ago.
Brees passed for 413 yards and four touchdowns, and the Saints turned a clash of unbeaten teams into a lopsided affair, beating the Miami Dolphins 38-17 on Monday night in New Orleans.
Two of Brees’ touchdowns went to Jimmy Graham, for 27 and 43 yards, as the tight end had at least 100 yards receiving for the third straight game.
Brees’ other scoring strikes went to Benjamin Watson and Darren Sproles, who also rushed for a touchdown.
Sproles’ 5-yard scoring run on the game’s opening series gave the Saints a lead they would not relinquish en route to their first 4-0 start since their Super Bowl championship season of 2009.
Ryan Tannehill passed for 249 yards and a touchdown to Charles Clay, but his four turnovers on a fumble and three interceptions hurt Miami (3-1).
The Saints have won their last nine Monday night games, all with Brees at quarterback and often putting on some of his most memorable performances in the process.
His 10th 400-yard outing since he joined the Saints in 2006 delivered a sobering blow to a Miami team that came in riding a surprising start.
When Brees was a free agent in 2006, he drew the most interest from New Orleans and Miami, but the Dolphins, fearful of the effects of reconstructive surgery on Brees throwing shoulder, did not pursue the quarterback as enthusiastically as then-Saints rookie coach Sean Payton. Since then, Brees has become one of the most prolific quarterbacks in NFL history.
Brees was 30 of 39 against Miami without an interception. Sproles caught seven passes for 114 yards. Marques Colston had seven catches for 96 yards.
As the Saints pulled away, they also turned up their pass rush, sacking Tannehill three times in the third quarter.
During the game, Brees became only the seventh quarterback to pass for more than 47,000 yards. He ended the drive with 47,030, surpassing Fran Tarkenton’s 47,003 for sixth most yards passing all-time.
Also, on Brees’ eighth completion gave him 4,124 in his career, one more than John Elway for fourth all-time in that category.
Bucs’ Freeman claims ADHD
Benched Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman says he has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and voluntarily entered the NFL substance abuse program more than a year ago after mistakenly taking a medication to treat the condition.
Freeman said in a statement released by his agent that he has passed all 46 drug tests he’s taken for the league since once using Ritalin instead of Adderall to treat ADHD.
S.D.-Oakland rescheduled
This weekend’s game between the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders has been moved to 8:35 p.m. PDT instead of the originally scheduled 1:25 p.m. game time, due to the baseball playoffs.
The Oakland Athletics will play Game 2 of their division series on Saturday night and it takes too long to convert the Coliseum from baseball to football for an afternoon game. The Raiders are the only team that plays in a stadium shared by a MLB team.
The game moves to the NFL Network from CBS.
Goldson could be fined
Buccaneers safety Dashon Goldson won’t be suspended for his hit on Cardinals receiver Jaron Brown, but could be issued a fine.
Merton Hanks, the NFL’s vice president of football operations, said the play that occurred in Sunday’s game is being re-examined for a helmet-to-helmet hit, but it won’t warrant a suspension.
Goldson was docked $100,000 for a hit on Saints running back Darren Sproles earlier this season.
Around the league
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick says he doesn’t have a lot of information on whether five-time Pro Bowler Vince Wilfork tore his Achilles tendon in Sunday night’s 30-23 win over Atlanta. The Boston Globe reported that Wilfork tore the right Achilles tendon and is almost certainly out for the season. More test were to be performed. … San Diego Chargers outside linebacker Dwight Freeney has a torn quadriceps muscle that could sideline him for several weeks or even the rest of the season.