New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham (80) pulls in a touchdown reception over Miami Dolphins cornerback Jamar Taylor (22) in the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)
NEW ORLEANS — Drew Brees reminded a national audience why he’s becoming Mr. Monday Night, and gave the Miami Dolphins another reason to regret not making a harder push to sign him when they had the chance seven years ago.
Brees passed for 413 yards and four touchdowns, and the Saints turned a clash of unbeaten teams into a lopsided affair, beating the Miami Dolphins 38-17 on Monday night.
“I felt like we found our rhythm,” Brees said. “Every time we touched the ball it felt like we were going to go down and score points.”
Two of Brees’ touchdowns went to Jimmy Graham for 27 and 43 yards as the tight end had at least 100 yards receiving for the third straight game.
Brees’ other scoring strikes went to Benjamin Watson and Darren Sproles, who also rushed for a touchdown.
“We mix up where we put him alot to try to find him favorable matchups,” Brees said of Sproles. “It goes that way for all our guys.”
Sproles’ 5-yard scoring run on the game’s opening series gave the Saints a lead they would not relinquish en route to their first 4-0 start since their Super Bowl championship season of 2009. The Saints started last season with four losses.
“We like this a lot better,” Breesa said of the 4-0 start. “Everything that could have gone wrong for us went wrong. Fortunately we’re having the ball bounce our way this year. We’re playing good football.”
Ryan Tannehill passed for 249 yards and a touchdown to Charles Clay, but his four turnovers on a fumble and three interceptions hurt Miami (3-1).
The Saints have won their last nine Monday night games, all with Brees at quarterback and often putting on some of his most memorable performances in the process.
There was his 307-yard, four-TD performance against Atlanta late in the 2011 season, the same game in which he broke Dan Marino’s 27-year-old record for yards passing in a season.
Earlier that same season, Brees threw for 363 yards and four scores in a 49-24 Monday night win over the New York Giants.
The Saints’ Super Bowl campaign of 2009 was highlighted by Brees’ 371 yards and five touchdowns in New Orleans’ stunning 38-17 rout of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Now his 10th 400-yard outing since he joined the Saints in 2006 delivered a sobering blow to a Miami team that came in riding a surprising surprising start.
When Brees was a free agent, he drew the most interest from New Orleans and Miami, but the Dolphins, fearful of the effects of reconstructive surgery on Brees throwing shoulder, did not pursue the quarterback as enthusiastically as then-Saints rookie coach Sean Payton. Since then, Brees has become one of the most prolific quarterbacks in NFL history.
Brees was 30 of 39 against Miami without an interception. Sproles caught seven passes for 114 yards. Marques Colston had seven catches for 96 yards.
Miami’s Lamar Miller had 62 yards rushing on 11 carries, including a 5-yard scoring run late in the second quarter that made it 14-10, but the Saints began to run away with the game after that.
As the Saints pulled away, they also turned up their pass rush, sacking Tannehill three times in the third quarter.
Brees completed his first three passes for 70 yards. He followed up his long pass to Sproles with an 18-yard completion to rookie Kenny Stills. Soon after, Sproles ran it in, untouched, on a draw play.
During the drive, Brees became only the seventh quarterback to pass for more than 47,000 yards. He ended the drive with 47,030, surpassing Fran Tarkenton’s 47,003 for sixth most yards passing all-time.
Later, Brees’ eighth completion gave him 4,124 in his career, one more than John Elway for fourth all-time in that category.
Miami responded quickly to New Orleans opening score, surprisingly by running the ball. The Dolphins came in averaging 70.3 yards rushing per game, but gained 57 on the ground on their opening series. Miller had 33 yards on one run and Tannehill had a 26-yard gain.
However, New Orleans’ defense tightened up at its 10-yard line, and rookie nose tackle John Jenkins’ tackle behind the line forced Miami to settle for Caleb Sturgis’ 34-yard field goal.
Miami was driving for a potential go-ahead score when Tannehill tried to scramble up the middle and was stripped by linebacker Curtis Lofton. Safety Rafael Bush recovered on the New Orleans 38. That set up a drive that ended with Graham’s leaping, juggling catch as three defenders converged on him.
Later in the half, Jabari Greer intercepted a pass intended for Brian Hartline, and returned it 22 yards to the Miami 23. Several plays later, Sproles made a catch along the left sideline, spun away from a converging defender and scored his second touchdown with 55 seconds left in the half to make it 21-10.
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