NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Justin Forsett ripped off one long run after another, and the Baltimore Ravens battered Drew Brees into a very costly mistake.
Forsett rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns, and Baltimore beat New Orleans 34-27 on Monday night to hand the Saints their third consecutive loss.
Will Hill had a 44-yard interception return for a go-ahead score for Baltimore in the third quarter. Steve Smith caught four passes for 89 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown catch for the Ravens (7-4), who improved to 4-0 against the NFC South and remained within a half-game of AFC North leader Cincinnati (7-3-1).
Brees passed for 420 yards and three touchdowns for New Orleans (4-7), which remained tied for first in its anemic division with Atlanta, which lost to Cleveland a day earlier. Now New Orleans and Atlanta have the dubious distinction of being the first teams in NFL history to occupy first place in a division while three games under .500.
Jimmy Graham had two TD catches for the Saints, who had won 14 straight home night games.
Brees was sacked four times, and his pivotal interception came as he threw under pressure from Terrell Suggs. The pass was behind Graham, allowing Hill to snag it with nothing but open field in front of him. The play broke a 17-all tie and New Orleans never recovered.
By the end of the game, the chants of “Who-Dat,” for which Saints fans are known were replaced by the opening rift to the White Stripes song, “Seven Nation Army,” which Ravens fans also sang in the Superdome after their 2013 Super Bowl triumph over San Francisco.
The Saints carried a 17-14 lead into halftime on Brees’ 26-yard scoring pass to Marques Colston, who brought it in while leaping between two defensive backs.
BILLS 38, JETS 3
DETROIT (AP) — Kyle Orton threw two touchdown passes, Robert Woods pulled off a slick one-handed catch and Scott Chandler added a snow-themed celebration as the Buffalo Bills shook off a rough week and drubbed the New York Jets 38-3 on Monday night.
Heavy snow in the Buffalo area moved the game to Detroit, but there were plenty of Bills fans in attendance at Ford Field. Buffalo (6-5) couldn’t even practice before arriving in Michigan on Friday, but it was the Jets (2-9) who looked out of sorts all night.
Orton threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Woods in the first quarter, and the second-year receiver’s one-handed catch set up another touchdown in the second. Chandler caught a 19-yard scoring pass from Orton to make it 14-3 late in the half, and then mimicked a shoveling motion in the end zone.
