The Detroit Lions used three Matthew Stafford touchdown passes to take a 21-3 halftime lead over the New Orleans Saints on Monday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Stafford connected twice with receiver Golden Tate (1 yard, 5 yards) and a 4-yard pass to Michael Burton. Stafford was 12 of 13 for 142 yards. Running back Ameer Abdullah had four carries for 23 yards.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees hit receiver Brandin Cooks for what appeared to be a 29-yard scoring pass with 1:06 to play but on review the officials said he was down at the 1. The Saints then had a Tim Hightower touchdown run wiped out by a penalty and a Marques Colston TD wiped out by another penalty, ending the half.
Kai Forbath scored New Orleans' only points, a 45-yard field goal in the first quarter.
Brees was 13 of 21 for 111 yards. Willie Snead had five receptions for 36 yards. Hightower was the top rusher with eight carries for 33 yards.
