Saints three and out for Oct. 8, 2012

What we learned

No matter how bad it looked through the first four games, the Saints can never be counted out when Drew Brees is on the field. The Saints were in dire need of a lift in the third quarter, and Brees gave it to them in leading his team to 17 straight points to pull out a much-needed win.

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For the second straight week, the Saints’ offense looked like its old self as Brees helped produce 404 total yards with four touchdowns. The running game wasn’t that productive again, but Brees and Marques Colston and Devery Henderson, who combined for 17 catches and 254 yards, made up for it.

Final thoughts

One win doesn’t seem like much after four losses to open the season, but the Saints needed a victory in the worst way with a bye week coming up. They’ll get some time off — and feel like they earned it — after getting the monkey off their back against a pretty good Chargers team.

Sheldon Mickles