Saints vs. Lions Final Score: Saints Dominate Game, Still Lose 24-23 After 4th Quarter Collapse

1st Quarter

• Saints kickoff first.
• Saints defense force three and out on first drive. Curtis Lofton makes a great play to sniff out the Reggie Bush run on third down.
• Saints offense go three and out. Brees and Colston look out of synch on the third down pass over the middle.
• 3rd and 7 - Stafford completes to Jeremy Ross for 26 yards and the conversion. Brian Dixon actually had good coverage, it was just a great catch.
• 3rd and 6 - Galette gets good pressure and forces a bad pass by Stafford. Lions punt.
• Brees passes incomplete to Colston on 3rd and 5 but get lucky with a Lions holding penalty for the first down.
• 3rd and 10 - Brees completes to a wide open Colston for first down.
• Saints offense now moving pretty well now but a holding penalty kills the drive and puts them out of field goal range. Saints punt.
• Curtis Lofton is playing like a man on fire so far.
• Keenan Lewis with the impressive diving interception! Does a good job holding onto the ball as he goes to the ground.

2nd Quarter

• Pierre Thomas gets called for facemask penalty. Then loses 4 yards on subsequent rush.
• Saints get a fresh set of downs on 2nd and 24 after a Detroit pass interference penalty.
• Austin Johnson catches a short pass in the flat then dives for the pylon. Touchdown! Saints take the lead 7-0.
• Corey White gets helped off the field by trainers after getting injured on a missed tackle.
• Saints run defense has looked stout so far today. Doing a good job swarming to the ball. Possibly their best game so far this season. Force another punt.
• Brees completes to Travaris Cadet deep for 25 yards.
• Khiry Robinson fumbles on the next play. Lions recover.
• 3rd and 2 - Stafford goes deep to Golden Tate. Brian Dixon tight on the coverage gets called for a questionable pass interference call on an uncatchable ball. Lions get first down at the 8-yard line.
• Defense forces the field goal attempt. Prater dinks the upright but the ball goes through. Saints 7-3.
• Saints offense goes three and out. Brees overthrows Meachem deep on third down.
• The Saints were the least penalized team going into this game. I doubt that holds up. Lots of penalties today.
• Junior Galette gets a sack on Stafford and puts the Lions out of field goal range. Galette finally starting to come on this season.
• Lions eventually forced to punt after a beautiful ankle tackle by Lofton on 3rd down.
• Jonathan Goodwin down with an injury again. Throws helmet and yells in anger. Appears to be left ankle. Carted off the field. He will not return. Tim Lelito takes over at center.
• Offense moves quickly down field to get a score before half. Forced to settle for a field goal because time runs low. Just like Prater's kick earlier, Shayne Graham hits the upright but the ball goes through. Saints take 10-3 lead into the locker room.

3rd Quarter

• Saints start the half with possession and a no-huddle offense. They appear determined to get a quick score.
• Brees throws a perfect deep ball right on Kenny Stills' fingertips and hits him in stride. Touchdown! That pass should quiet all of the fans who think Brees is declining. Saints take healthy 17-3 lead.
• Brian Bunkley down with an injury. Walks into the locker room on his own. He fails a concussion test and is not allowed to return.
• Kenny Still also seen running into the locker room. Probably just a bathroom break.
• Lions drive down the field and cap it off with a short Joique Bell touchdown run. Saints now lead 17-10.
• Pierre Thomas makes a wide open first down catch along the sidelines then gets injured on the tackle. And it was a pass interference penalty so the play doesn't even stand. Thomas heads to the locker room.
• Zach Strief also reported injured. Bryce Harris was taking snaps at tackle but Strief eventually returns.
• Kenny Stills makes 14-yard catch over the middle and takes a shot. He's slow to get up.
• Brees hits Colston over the middle for a 23 yard gain. That pass has worked for the Saints all day.

4th Quarter

• Saints run a reverse but Lelito gets called for a questionable blind side block. Looked like a clean hit to me.
• Saints settle for a field goal. Graham makes a wobbly 48-yarder. Graham's field goal trajectory looks like my 5-iron. Saints extend lead 20-10.
• Corey White gets a sack but the Lions convert 3rd and 16 on the next play.
• Jennifer Hale reports that Glen Foster is out with a leg injury. Not sure when that happened.
• Cam Jordan called for roughing the passer on 3rd and 10 for a 15-yard penalty to keep the drive alive.
• Stafford's pass to Jordan Thompson goes off his hands and into the waiting arms of Kenny Vaccaro, who gets the HUGE drive-killing interception and runs it back 45 yards.
• Offense only able to get a field goal off the turnover. Graham makes a 36-yard kick. Saints up 23-10.
• 3rd and 14 - Stafford hits Golden Tate with a ten yard pass, but poor defense and bad angles allow Tate to run for another 60 yards and a touchdown. Saints lead cut to 23-17.
• Brees forces a pass over the middle to Colston but the route is jumped and the pass is picked off. Lions gain possession in the red zone.
• Saints defense makes stop on 3rd down but Lions decide to go for it on 4th.
• Rafael Bush called for bogus pass interference on Reggie Bush. Lions get 1st and goal from the 6-yard line. Total crap.
• 3rd and 5 - Stafford hits Corey Fuller in the back of the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. Lions take first lead of the game 24-23. Un-friggin-believable.
• 4th and 10 - Brees scrambles and runs for the first down.
• Saints can't pick up another first down. Turn the ball over. Lions win.