New Orleans, LA – Drew Brees threw for 239 yards and a pair of scores on Monday night, as the New Orleans Saints held off the sputtering Philadelphia Eagles, 28-13, at Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Brees completed 21-of-27 passes and extended his NFL-record streak of 51- straight games with at least one touchdown pass.
Jimmy Graham hauled in eight passes for 72 yards and a score, while Chris Ivory led the ground attack with 48 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries for the Saints (3-5), who have won 12 straight games in the month of November.
The win was also the first under interim head coach Joe Vitt, who was suspended for the season's first six games for his involvement in the team's bounty case before returning for last Sunday's 34-14 loss to Denver.
"I was proud of our football team to be able to improve on some things we really worked on and emphasized this week," Vitt said. "Make no mistake we have a long way to go."
Michael Vick completed 22-of-41 passes for 272 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but was sacked seven times behind a much-maligned offensive line, which lost starting right tackle Todd Herremans to an ankle injury in the first quarter.
"We saw that they've given up a lot of sacks," Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan said. "I'm glad that the defensive line got together and capitalized on it."
LeSean McCoy carried the ball 19 times for 119 yards and DeSean Jackson added three catches for 100 yards and a score for the Eagles (3-5), who have lost four straight.
McCoy moved the Eagles across midfield with an 8-yard run on the second play of Philadelphia's second drive before rookie running back Bryce Brown took a sweep 40 yards down to the New Orleans 5.
Two plays later, Vick's pass tipped off the hand of Brent Celek and landed in the arms of Patrick Robinson, who scampered 99 yards down the right sideline for an interception return touchdown and a 7-0 Saints lead late in the first.
"We had so many opportunities in the red zone and we just didn't capitalize on them," Vick admitted. "When you get down there, you have to score points."
Facing a 4th-and-1 from the New Orleans 38 on the Eagles' next touch, McCoy took a handoff off the right edge and broke free for 34 yards to the 4-yard line, but the Eagles couldn't pick up another yard, as they settled for a 22- yard field goal from Alex Henery to pull within 7-3 early in the second.
New Orleans needed just seven plays to answer, as Marc Ingram kept the drive alive with a 5-yard surge on 3rd-and-1 before ripping off 23 yards into Philadelphia territory.
Back-to-back passes to Graham moved the Saints to the Philadelphia 22 and on the next play, Ivory finished off the 76-yard march with a 22-yard TD run to give the Saints a 14-3 edge with 8:33 left until halftime.
After a Philadelphia punt, New Orleans again made its way across midfield before Brees hit Graham for 17 yards to the Philadelphia 29.
Pierre Thomas then carried the ball twice for a total of 28 yards to the Philadelphia 1 and Brees capped the 7-play, 74-yard trek, as he faked a handoff, rolled right and found Marques Colston all alone in the back of the end zone for a 21-3 lead heading into the locker room.
Brees moved the Saints deep into Philadelphia territory on the opening series of the second half, as he hit Colston for 21 yards to the Philadelphia 9, but Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham stripped Brees on the next play before jumping on the loose ball to end the Saints' drive.
On the second play of the Eagles' ensuing possession, Vick faked a handoff, rolled left and aired it out for Jackson, who juked past a defender and raced into the end zone for a 77-yard touchdown to bring the visitors within 21-10 with 8:42 remaining in the third.
The Eagles looked poised to pull within four after New Orleans return man Travaris Cadet fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but a sack on second down handcuffed Philadelphia's ensuing touch and the Eagles were forced to settle for a 37-yard field goal from Henery to make it a 21-13 margin.
New Orleans countered with a back-breaking scoring drive, as Brees and Moore hooked up for 23 yards to the Philadelphia 30.
Ingram then picked up seven yards on consecutive plays down to the Eagles 16, and three plays later, Brees rolled right and found Graham, who shrugged off Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks and waltzed into the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown grab to give the Saints a 28-13 edge with just over a minute left in the third.
The Eagles appeared to score a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff when Riley Cooper took a cross-field lateral from Brandon Boykin 94 yards down the right sideline for a score.
However, Boykin's toss was clearly a forward lateral, forcing the Eagles' possession to start from their own 3-yard line.
After the teams exchanged punts early in the fourth, Vick led the Eagles deep into New Orleans territory as he scrambled for 15 yards before hitting McCoy for 14 more to the New Orleans 29.
A pair of penalties and a sack forced the Eagles into a 3rd-and-goal from the 22 later in the drive and Vick hit Celek for 14 yards, but Celek fumbled the football and New Orleans defensive back Isa Abdul-Quddus jumped on the loose ball with just over three minutes remaining.
The Eagles forced a three-and-out to re-gain possession, but Vick's fourth down pass on the ensuing drive fell incomplete to turn the ball over on downs.
Game Notes
Celek (256) is now tied with former Eagles tight end John Spagnola for second all-time in receptions by a Philadelphia tight end ... It was Herremans' 100th career start ... Robinson's interception return touchdown tied former New Orleans safety Darren Sharper for the longest interception return for a touchdown in Saints' history ... Former Saints safety Steve Gleason, who is confined to a wheelchair because of ALS, was taken by ambulance from the Superdome to the hospital. He is responsive and alert ... The Saints have won their last eight games on Monday Night Football.
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