CHICAGO: Drew Brees threw for 375 yards as the New Orleans Saints seized sole possession of first place with a 31-15 victory over the struggling Chicago Bears on Monday night.
Brees also tossed three touchdowns in his 200th career NFL contest for the Saints who vaulted over Carolina Panthers for first place in the woeful NFC South Division.
Brees completed 29-of-36 passes in front of a crowd of 61,000 at Soldier Field and set an NFL record with his ninth straight season with at least 4,000 yards passing.
New Orleans now controls their own postseason destiny with two games remaining against division opponents Atlanta and Tampa Bay.
Josh Hill caught two scores, Marques Colston finished with five catches for 65 yards and a touchdown and Mark Ingram ran in a late touchdown.
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler struggled once again. He threw for 194 yards on 17-of-31 passing with two touchdown passes and three interceptions for Chicago, who have lost their last three games. Alshon Jeffrey and Marquess Wilson each caught a touchdown pass in the loss.
The Saints extended their lead late in the second quarter after going 95 yards in 10 plays on a drive that included three catches from Colston.
Brees hit Colston for a 13-yard gain. Colston moved the Saints to the Bears’ nine yard line with a 13-yard catch before scoring on the very next play for a 14-0 lead with less than a minute to go in the first half.
The Saints started the second half with the ball and engineered a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive to take a commanding 21-0 lead.
Chicago avoided a shutout as Wilson scored from a yard out just over two minutes into the fourth quarter. AFP
