NEW ORLEANS (AP)Drew Brees had been intercepted D.K. Metcalf Jersey , knocked around and held without a touchdown pass for most of what nearly went down as one of his more forgettable performances in a Saints uniform. Then came a stint of virtual perfection that helped produced a memorable comeback. Brees completed all 11 passes during New Orleans’ final two drives of regulation for 164 yards and two touchdowns. If not for that, the Saints (8-2) could hardly expect to be celebrating their eighth straight victory . ”We’re very much in the moment with this team, and season, and just finding different ways to win,” Brees said. ”We can say we made the plays we needed to make at the right time.” Hard to argue with that, particularly as it pertained to the Saints’ 38-year-old, record-setting QB. His late-game completions included downfield strikes of 29, 25 and 24 yards to tight end Coby Fleener, 17 yards to Michael Thomas, 18 yards to Ted Ginn Jr. ”You understand you need chunks, so you can’t just dink and dunk,” Brees said. ”We had to score fast.” Brees’ late brilliance left Washington to wonder how it let a victory slip away after being in control for most of the first 55 minutes. ”It stings everybody involved with the Washington Redskins, that’s for sure,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. ”We just have to bounce back.” And quickly. At 4-6, the Redskins will miss the playoffs unless they put together a winning streak of their own during their last six games, starting when they host the New York Giants on Thanksgiving night. Here are some other central story lines emerging from the Saints’ comeback against the Redskins: DENTED DEFENSE With three key starters injured, the New Orleans defense was gouged, allowing 456 yards after not allowing more than 347 yards in of its previous seven games. New Orleans entered the game without veteran safety Kenny Vaccaro and middle linebacker A.J. Klein http://www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-cody-barton-jersey , its leading tackler. The Saints lost top cornerback Marshon Lattimore on Washington’s first possession when he twisted his left. The difference showed for a unit that had held five of its previous seven opponents to less than 300 yards – and three of them to 200 or fewer. This coming Sunday, the Saints visit the Rams, whose offense has been among the league’s best this season. COUSINS’ PRODUCTION Kirk Cousins entered elite company in Redskins history. Cousins passed for 322 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He now has nine career games with at least three touchdown passes and no interceptions, tying Pro Football Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen and Joe Theismann for the most such games in franchise history. Attacking New Orleans’ hobbled secondary, Cousins completed several long passes, including a 40-yard TD to Ryan Grant, passes of 36 and 26 yards to tight end Vernon Davis, and a 32-yard completion to Josh Doctson. SOME STREAK The Saints’ eight-game winning streak is not only their first since 2011 – when they went 13-3 – but also the first by any team that started 0-2 since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. This victory was not like the others , however. New Orleans had an average victory margin of 18.4 points in its previous seven games, which all ended with Brees or backup Chase Daniel kneeling with the ball to run out the final minutes. No game during the streak was closer than eight points until the thriller against Washington. ”It is unusual for any team to go as long as we have gone with a scoring differential that did not put us defending or in a two-minute mode,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. ”We were talking about it Friday and sure enough it came up. Enough guys did enough good things. I am proud of how they hung in there.” LOSING THOMPSON Chris Thompson has been one of Washington’s most productive and versatile players this season, with 39 catches for 510 yards and four TD receptions to go with his 294 yards and two TDs rushing. He scored the Redskins’ first TD against the Saints on a 16-yard catch, but broke his right fibula when he caught awkwardly under Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins during Cousins’ third-quarter scramble. ”He was doing so great and possibly having a Pro Bowl type season,” fellow running back Samaje Perine said. ”To have him go down like that, it’s never good.” BACKFIELD BONANZA Although the Saints had to rely on Brees more than in previous victories this season, they still got significant contributions from their running back tandem Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara. Ingram had 134 yards rushing, including a 36-yard touchdown, and runs of 31 and 20 yards in overtime to set up Wil Lutz’s winning 28-yard field goal. Kamara had 116 yards from scrimmage Gary Jennings Jr. Jersey , highlighting his 74 yards receiving with an 18-yard touchdown catch in the final minutes, followed by his game-tying 2-point conversion on a run around the left end. — ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The young Dallas defense stuffed the NFL’s No. 1 rushing offense in a wild-card win over the Seattle Seahawks.Now it’s time for the Cowboys to take on either the league’s all-time leader in yards passing in Drew Brees of New Orleans, or this year’s fifth-best passing offense in Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams. The divisional round game will be next weekend.A group now led by playmaking linebackers Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith, rather than 2016 All-Pro Sean Lee, has been up to the challenge all season. And that included a 13-10 win over Brees that ended the Saints’ 10-game winning streak.“We’ve got to take the same mindset next week … and not get too far ahead of ourselves,” Vander Esch said. “We can be confident, but there’s a difference between being confident and being overly, maybe I should say cocky, if you want to use that word. We do a pretty good job of bringing ourselves back down.”In a 24-22 win that ended what the Elias Sports Bureau said was the Seahawks’ record streak of nine straight victories in playoff openers, the Cowboys held Seattle nearly 100 yards below its league-leading average of 160 yards Saturday night.Chris Carson, who had his first career 100-yard game in a Week 3 win over Dallas that turned Seattle’s season, was limited to a season-low 20 yards on 13 carries. The Seahawks finished with 73 yards rushing, and quarterback Russell Wilson’s legs weren’t the factor they often are.“We take great pride in stopping the run, too,” coach Jason Garrett said. “It’s about discipline. It’s about winning your gap. It’s about setting the edge. It’s about tackling. But it’s also about physical and mental toughness. That’s a really important part of our football team.”The Cowboys believe that applies to defending the pass as well. Although they sacked Brees just twice, there were five quarterback hits in one of his worst games of the season. Dallas has been a top-10 defense most of the season.“The confidence is there, but it’s all about being patient and executing http://www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-phil-haynes-jersey ,” said defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, who led the team in sacks for the second straight year with 10½ and made his second consecutive Pro Bowl. “It doesn’t matter about your confidence.”AHEAD OF SCHEDULEThe Seahawks won six of their last seven in the regular season to reach the playoffs a year after missing for the only time in Wilson’s seven seasons. They overhauled the defense and lost one of the mainstays they decided to keep in disgruntled safety Earl Thomas, who broke his leg in Week 4. And they found Wilson a running game without a big name such as Marshawn Lynch.“Nobody thought we were going to be here, so we’re miles ahead of where expectations were,” said coach Pete Carroll, who got a three-year extension through 2021 late in the regular season. “This doesn’t mean anything to me because that’s not my expectations.”COURTING A COACHDallas passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach Kris Richard, who took over play-calling duties from defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli this season, is expected to have a busy Sunday.Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Miami owner Stephen Ross was one of his guests during the game, and that Ross would interview Richard for the team’s vacant head coaching position before the former Seattle defensive coordinator starts preparations for the divisional round. The Jets are also expected to interview Richard, who was fired by the Seahawks after last season and hired by Dallas.“There are no secrets in the NFL when it comes to people that can help you win football games,” Jones said. “And he’s a winner.”LAST KICK?Sebastian Janikowski didn’t play after injuring his hamstring while missing a 57-yard field goal try on the final play of the first half. The 40-year-old isn’t under contract for next season, and Carroll figured he simply hurt himself trying to kick the ball as hard as he could.The question is whether Seattle, or any other team, will want to take the risk after the Seahawks were left with no good options for an onside kick down two points with 1:18 left. Michael Dickson’s drop-kick went too far and was an easy game-sealing catch for Dallas receiver Cole Beasley. Plus, it was the second time in the last three weeks of the season that Seattle had an injury issue with Janikowski.LEANING ON ELLIOTTNFL rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott was the only skill position player to sit out Dallas’ 36-35 win over the New York Giants in the regular-season finale with the Cowboys already locked in as the NFC’s fourth seed. He was busy again in his return, with 26 carries for 137 yards and four catches for 32 yards. It was his fourth game of at least 30 touches this season. Expect a heavy load again in a week. “I’m glad I took the week off,” he said. “We have bigger things.”