Brees overcomes awful first half

MIAMI -- Drew Brees emerged from the locker room with a fresh cut under his chin and another between his eyebrows.

He made the Miami Dolphins look worse.

Brees and the unbeaten New Orleans Saints fell behind for the first time all season, then overcame a 21-point deficit Sunday to beat Miami 46-34.

The NFL's highest-scoring team topped 40 points for the fourth time and outscored the Dolphins 22-0 in the fourth quarter.

"There was no doubt on our sideline we would come back and win," said Brees, who threw for 298 yards. "They had given us their best shot, and we had played about as bad as we could play. All we had to do was string together a few drives and gain the momentum back. We knew it was going to happen, and it did."

Brees, the NFL passing leader, had his worst day of the season, with three interceptions, a lost fumble and five sacks. But he led touchdown drives of 82, 79 and 60 yards on successive possessions in the second half to put New Orleans ahead.

Tracy Porter's 54-yard interception return then sealed the win for the Saints (6-0), who are off to their best start since 1991 and are the only unbeaten team in the NFC.

"It can be a season-defining win," linebacker Scott Shanle said. "This was a test we hadn't faced yet, and we couldn't be happier with the way we responded."

Brees threw for one touchdown and scored twice. After his 2-yard keeper with 8:35 left gave the Saints their first lead, he celebrated by dunking the ball over the crossbar.

"There are times in the game when a team just needs an emotional lift," he said. "I felt like I had to do something to get everybody hyped. The first thing that came to mind was to dunk it."

The Dolphins (2-4) fell 21/2 games behind AFC East leader New England.

"This was our game to win," Miami's Ricky Williams said. "We fought and we fought. They just fought harder at the end."

Williams carried only nine times but tied a career high with three touchdowns rushing, including a 68-yard run, the longest of his career. At that point, the Dolphins appeared en route to a stunning blowout.

By the time the Saints picked up their second first down 22 minutes into the game, Miami led 24-3.