Cardinals’ offense lacked consistency,

Recap: Playing in his first game since missing the last five weeks following surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb, Drew Brees threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday to help lead the Saints past the Cardinals 31-9 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Brees was 34-of-43 passing with one intercepted pass and he was not sacked.

His 5-yard scoring pass to Taysom Hill early in the fourth quarter pretty much sealed things for the Saints, who improved to 7-1. The Cardinals (3-4-1) had the their three-game winning streak snapped. The Saints scored on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter, getting a 26-yard field goal from Wil Lutz and an 8-yard rushing touchdown by Latavius Murray to take a 10-6 lead at halftime. New Orleans fans thought their team had scored as time expired in the half, but a holding penalty on tackle Terron Armstead nullified Brees’ apparent TD pass to tight end Dan Arnold.

The Cardinals drove inside the Saints’ 20-yard line twice in the first half but had to settle for a pair of field goals from Zane Gonzalez from 31 yards out.

Turning point: Trailing by just four points, 10-6, the Saints were driving in the third quarter when Brees threw deep down the left sideline on first down near midfield. Patrick Peterson soared up to intercept the pass, putting the Cardinals in an ideal spot to make things interesting.

Instead, Murray was sacked by Cameron Jordan for a 7-yard loss, a play-fake didn’t work on third and 1 after a nice 12-yard catch and run by Christian Kirk.

Key injuries: Chase Edmonds suffered a hamstring injury during the third quarter and wasn’t able to return, that left newly-acquired Zach Zenner as the only healthy back available.

Up Next: The Cardinals have a quick turnaround, hosting the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night at State Farm Stadium. Kickoff is at 5:20 p.m.