NEW ORLEANS SAINTS VS. WASHINGTON REDSKINS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012 ● MERCEDES-BENZ SUPERDOME
SAINTS POSTGAME NOTES
*Sunday marked the start of the 46th season in Saints franchise history. The team is now 16-30 on opening day. It's the 32nd time, and the fourth time in the last five seasons, New Orleans has opened at home.
*The loss snapped an eight-game regular season winning streak for the Saints, dating back to 2011. It was the fourth-longest streak in franchise history.
*QB Drew Breescompleted 24 of 52 passes for 339 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
*Brees' first-quarter, 20-yard touchdown pass to TE Jimmy Graham extended his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 44, second-longest in NFL history. Johnny Unitas holds the NFL record of 47 consecutive games.
*Brees extended his NFL-record streak of consecutive 300-yard passing games to eight. Brees has 51 games of 300 yards or more in seven seasons as a Saint.
*Brees also extended his NFL-record streak of games with 20 or more completions to 36.
*Brees went over the 41,000-yard mark for his career in the fourth quarter and moved into 10th place on the NFL's all-time passing list in Sunday's game. Brees now has passed for 41,081 yards, moving past former Saint Kerry Collins into the all-time top 10.
*Graham, who set a franchise record in 2011 with 99 receptions and tied another record with 11 receiving touchdowns, picked up where he left off a year ago, catching six passes for 85 yards and a touchdown.
*WR Lance Moore had six catches, all in the fourth quarter, for 120 yards and a touchdown. It is Moore's fifth career 100-yard receiving game.
*On Sunday, Moore moved from 11th to ninth on the Saints' all-time list for receiving yards with 2,903. He passed Donte' Stallworth and Wes Chandler to crack the top 10.
*RB Darren Sproles, who set an NFL record for all-purpose yards in 2011 with 2,696, started his 2012 season with 152 all-purpose yards, plus a touchdown and a two-point conversion. Sproles had 103 yards on kickoff returns, 14 on punt returns and 35 yards receiving.
*For the second consecutive season, the Saints scored a touchdown on the opponent's first punt of the season. This year, Martez Wilson blocked Sav Rocca's punt in the final minute of the second quarter and Courtney Roby returned it 4 yards for a TD. Last season, on Green Bay's first punt of the season opener, Sproles returned it 72 yards for a score.
*Roby's touchdown was his first since Nov. 15, 2009, when he returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown at St. Louis.
*The last time the Saints blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown was Nov. 17, 1991, against San Diego, when Frank Warren returned a blocked punt 37 yards for a TD. The most famous blocked punt/TD in franchise history occurred on Sept. 25, 2006 against Atlanta, when Steve Gleason blocked the punt and Curtis DeLoatch recovered the loose football in the end zone. (A recovery in the end zone is not a return.)
*DE Cameron Jordan led the Saints' defense with a career-high 11 tackles, including five solo stops. His previous career best was eight, accomplished most recently at Atlanta on Nov. 13, 2011.
*In his first game as a Saint, LB Curtis Lofton had nine tackles (four solo).
*CB Patrick Robinson had his first career sack in the fourth quarter.
