Sunday, September 22, 2013 01:00 PM (ET)

Recap: Saints 31, Cardinals 7

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 22, 2013


Saints 31, Cardinals 7: Drew Brees threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another as host New Orleans routed Arizona to move to 3-0 for the first time since 2009.

The Saints put their red-zone woes to rest - they were 1-for-7 in their first two games - by coming away with three touchdowns and a field goal in five trips inside the 20. Brees hit Robert Meachem for a 27-yard touchdown in the first quarter and hooked up with Jimmy Graham for scoring tosses of 16 and 7 yards.

Arizona (1-2) marched 80 yards on 11 plays on its opening possession, scoring on Alfonso Smith's 3-yard run for a 7-0 lead, but the offense didn't have the same success the rest of the day. The Cardinals saw eight straight possessions end with punts before their final two series were thwarted by interceptions.

Brees was 29-of-46 for 342 yards and one interception - a diving pick in the end zone by New Orleans native Tyrann Mathieu. Arizona's Carson Palmer finished 18-of-35 for 187 yards with two interceptions.

Arizona, which has lost nine straight road games dating back to a Week 2 victory over New England last season, managed just 247 total yards, including 86 on the ground.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cardinals DT Dan Williams was inactive because his father was killed in a car accident while driving from Memphis to New Orleans to see his son play. … Brees has passed for 300 or more yards in eight consecutive games, one shy of his own NFL record set from 2011-12. … Graham had nine catches for 134 yards.

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