Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints Roll Past Detroit Lions; Advance to 2nd Round

Coming off of a record-breaking regular season, six-time Pro Bowl QB Drew Brees came into the playoffs ready to pick apart any defense that stood in his way.

And pick apart a defense he did.

Brees was nearly perfect on the night, passing for 466 yards and three touchdowns without turning the ball over, and the New Orleans Saints advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a convincing 45-26 blowout victory over the Detroit Lions Saturday night.

Brees hit Marques Colston seven times for 120 yards and completed passes to TE Jimmy Graham,  WR Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson for touchdowns.

Detroit Lions nearly-unanimous Pro Bowl WR Calvin Johnson blew the previous record for receiving yards in a postseason debut out of the water, hauling in 12 catches for a massive 211 yards and two touchdowns.

Matthew Stafford also played well, completing 28-of-43 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns, but he threw two interceptions on desperation passes down the stretch, helping the Saints come away with a wild-card playoff victory.

Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory combined for 164 yards and three touchdowns.

The Saints controlled time of possession, limiting the Lions' offense to 22:24 on the field.

The Lions went into the half with a 14-10 lead over the Saints, but "The Surgeon" Brees came out firing and torched the Detroit secondary.

New Orleans will face off against the 13-3 San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round of the playoffs next week.

For the Detroit Lions, it will be yet another disappointing end for a season with high expectations.