Brees earns thumbsup in return
NEW ORLEANS — Drew Brees had the Cardinals under his surgically repaired and splintaided thumb.
Brees passed for 373 yards and three touchdowns in his first game since thumb surgery more than five weeks ago, and the Saints won their sixth straight with a 319 decision Sunday.
“I definitely had some butterflies, maybe a little more than usual,” Brees said. “A lot of it was just excitement. And then as game time approached, that just turned into gratitude — just grateful for the opportunity to get back out there again. I’m grateful for this team. I’m grateful for just this moment.”
With few exceptions, Brees was accurate and looked composed, even when his pass blocking collapsed. He completed 34 of 43 passes and was not sacked.
He was intercepted once, by Patrick Peterson, but was not pressured before throwing that aggressive, risky pass down the left sideline, where fullback Zach Line was doublecovered.
“Bad decision,” Brees said. “Got a little greedy.”
The Cardinals were unable to capitalize on that turnover early in the second half, however, and Brees made them pay by leading three touchdown drives after that, ending with passes to running back Latavius Murray, dynamic reserve QB and utility player Taysom Hill, and leading receiver Michael Thomas.
Rookie Kyler Murray completed 19 of 33 passes for 220 yards, but Arizona did not reach the end zone. Eight of Murray’s completions went to Christian Kirk for 79 yards in the receiver’s return from an ankle sprain.
“We just didn’t win enough of our individual matchups today,” said receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who had two catches for 8 yards. “You have to win those against a great defense like this one.”
Arizona (341), which had won three in a row, was held to 40 yards rushing and the Saints’ defense held a fifth straight opponent to fewer than 260 total net yards.
“You see the tenacity of the defense on each and every play,” said defensive end Cam Jordan, a Cal alum who sacked Murray once. “That’s something that I’m in love with right now.”
With Teddy Bridgewater subbing for Brees, the Saints (71) had won all five games since Brees’ ulnar collateral ligament surgery Sept. 18. But head coach Sean Payton said during the past week that Brees, 40, had been medically cleared and that there were no misgivings about playing the NFL’s alltime leading passer as soon as he felt ready.
“As soon as I could grip it and rip it, then I wanted to play,” Brees said. “I love the game. I love my teammates. I want to get out there with them.”