San Diego Chargers vs New Orleans Saints Match Player Stats On Oct 07, 2012

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 7, 2012

Saints 31, Chargers 24: Drew Brees threw a touchdown pass in his 48th straight game to break Johnny Unitas' record and finished with four on the night - three to Marques Colston - to lead host New Orleans to its first victory of the season.

Brees, who was 29-of-45 for 370 yards, set the standard when he connected with Devery Henderson for a 40-yard score in the first quarter. Colston made nine catches for 131 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown with 8:50 left to give the Saints (1-4) a 28-24 lead, while Henderson had eight receptions for 123 yards.

Philip Rivers was 27-of-42 for 354 yards and two touchdown passes to Robert Meachem for the Chargers (3-2), who blew a 10-point lead in the third quarter. Meachem, who caught 23 touchdown passes in four seasons with the Saints from 2008-11, recorded his first two in a Chargers' uniform.

The Chargers appeared to take a 31-14 lead when linebacker Demorrio Williams returned an interception for a touchdown, but Melvin Ingram was flagged for roughing the passer. Five plays later, Brees found Colston for a 16-yard touchdown to make it 24-21 with 16 seconds left in the third quarter.

Trailing 31-24, San Diego kept its final drive alive when it received a first down on an illegal hands to the face penalty after an incomplete pass on second-and-37. New Orleans sealed the game when Martez Wilson sacked Rivers, forced a fumble and recovered it with 19 seconds left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Unitas compiled his standard from 1956-60. New England's Tom Brady extended the third-longest streak to 37 games Sunday. ... Colston became the Saints' career leader in touchdown catches with 52. ... Only one team - the 1992 Chargers - recovered from an 0-4 start to make the playoffs since the NFL went to the 12-team postseason format in 1990.