ATLANTA, Dec. 11 Drew Brees dissected Atlanta for 328 yards and three touchdowns Monday, sending the Falcons to their fourth straight setback, a 34-14 decision to New Orleans.
Brees completed 28 of 41 passes, including nine completions to Marques Colston for 92 yards and two scores, and nine to David Patten for 122 yards and one TD.
The Falcons were again without suspended quarterback Michael Vick, who just hours before was sentenced to 23 months in prison for his involvement in illegal dogfighting. The Saints, meanwhile, played without running back Reggie Bush, who could miss the remainder of the season with a tear in the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Aaron Stecker rushed 20 times for 100 yards, while the Saints' defense helped out with Roman Harper running back an interception for a score in the third quarter.
The Saints (6-7), who had lost three of their previous four contests, remain two games behind Tampa Bay for first place in the NFC South.
Chris Redman, making his first NFL start since 2002, completed 23 of 40 passes for 298 yards with two TDs and an interception for the Falcons (3-10), who totaled just 37 rushing yards.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
