The unbeaten Saints proved they are a Super Bowl contender by overwhelming the New England Patriots, 38-17, on Monday night in the Superdome before 70,768 swaggering "Who Dats." who loudly chanted “Who Dat?" all evening.

Quarterback Drew Brees passed for five touchdowns and 371 yards while completing 18 of 23 attempts. He compiled a 158.3 quarterback rating, the highest number the system allows. He grimaced when he missed a pass completion.

The Saints defense, playing with a patchwork secondary because of injuries, held Tom Brady without a touchdown pass and frustrated Randy Moss, who made one explosive play and finished with three catches At the end, he was standing alone of the Patriots' sidelines, helmet in his hand.

The Saints earned their 11th straight victory (franchise first) as Brees threw touchdown passes to five different players. He became the first quarterback to ever pass for five touchdowns against a Bill Belichick-coached team.

Brees' touchdown passes of 18 yards to Pierre Thomas, 75 yards to Devery Henderson, 38 yards to to Robert Meachem, 2 yards to Darnell Dawkins and 20 yards to Marques Colston resulted in a convincing victory for the Saints.

"It's only one win on the stat sheet, but emotionally, these kind of wins can mean a little more," said Brees. "Any time you can win like this, it builds confidence in you.

"Our goal is to get better each week. I threw some passes tonight I'd like to have back."

The victory left little doubt that the Saints have a chance to match the Patriots' 16-0 regular season record in 2007. The Pats are the only team to ever go 16-0 in a regular season.

Many of the national media members covering the game thought the Saints' game with the Cowboys on Dec.19 was their biggest obstacle in winning them all in the regular season.

"They were obviously the better team tonight," said Belichick. "It wasn't a competitive game like we thought it would be or like we needed it to be. They out-coached us. We have to play better to compete with a team of this caliber."

"There's a reason why they are 11-0," said Brady.  They played really well and we didn't play up to their level."

Castoff Mike McKenzie, 33, played the nickel like a man imbued with a second chance. He was cut by the Saints after last season and re-signed just days before this game. He had an interception of a pass intended for Moss in the first half that that stalled a promising drive and led to a Saints score. Darren Sharper intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter, and Brady's evening was over.

Saints coach Sean Payton said Brees "played really well. He was magnificent and did a great job. Let's just say it was a special night for him."

The Saints shredded the Pats' defense with 480 total yards, the third-most the Pats have yielded under Belichick and the highest total since 2001. Saints receivers ran through their secondary and their running backs sliced through their line as the Pats missed tackle after tackle.

Ex-Patriot tight end David Thomas caught a 25-yard pass.
 
The Saints reminded the Patriots (7-4) of what they once were.

The Saints are on the road on Sunday to play the Redskins.

SAINTS NOTEBOOK: ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Trico during Monday Night Football's broadcast after Mike McKenzie made his interception: "Welcome back, Mike McKenzie!"...The Saints retained their No. 1 spot in Pro Football Talk com's power rankings: 1. Saints (11-0) (Last week: 10. Denny Green says, "Yeah, you probably should just go ahead and crown them." 2, Minnesota Vikings (10-1) (Last week: 2). The Vikings look every bit as good as they did in 1998 and 1975, In unrelated news, there has been a run on Peto Bismol in the Twin Cities."...Mike Florio, PFT.com: "We're not writing off New England, but the Saints look as good as any team we've seen since the 1985 Bears, the 1999 Rams, the1998 Vikings and the 49ers of the Walsh-Montana-Young heyday...

The Saints are on pace to narrowly eclipse the Patriots' single-season scoring record of 589 points st in 2007...It was the second time the Patriots lost to an unbeaten team on the road in three weeks. Unlike in Indianapolis, there was no drama at the end this time, only thunderous chants of “Who dat say they gonna beat them Saints?"...Tom Brady fell short of tying the record for consecutive games with 300 yards or better. He had done it in his past five games, one short if the mark...Brady, returning to the Superdome for the first time since leading the Patriots to their first Super Bowl title in 2002, won't have many fond memories of this game.  He was intercepted twice, sacked once (Bobby McGray), hit as he threw several times and pulled from the game in the fourth quarter...

What the national media thought about the game

Anthony Stalter, Yardbarker: "Unless you're a Colts or Vikings fan, when you watch the Saints play, it makes you realize how bad your team actually is.

"The Saints carved up the Patriots on Monday night like a Ginsu knife slicing through warm butter. They racked up 480 yards of total offense, 367 passing and scored on five touchdowns en route to a 38-17 blow out victory. The soon-to-be MVP award winner Drew Brees completed 18 of 23 passes for371 yards and five touchdowns..

'The Saints wrap up the season with road trips to Washington, Atlanta and Carolina, as well as home games against Dallas and Tampa Bay. With Chris Red man now under center for the Falcons, the only real threat to the Saints' march to perfection is the Cowboys and New Orleans will play them in the Superdome, where they are practically unbeatable.

"Considering Minnesota is breathing down their necks for the top spot in the NFC, the Saints still have plenty to play for, which means we could be seeing the second 16-0 team in only three years."