Charmed Saints get ‘destiny’ feeling, catch breaks to go to 12-0 in 33-30 OT win over Redskins

Charmed Saints are 12-0, top Redskins 33-30 in OT

Drew Brees isn’t sure about voodoo. Destiny and karma? His long NFL career has made him subscribe to both concepts, and the New Orleans Saints’ wild undefeated season has only made him more of a believer.

Especially after their improbable 33-30 overtime win Sunday over a Washington Redskins team as snakebit as the Saints are charmed.

New Orleans trailed by 10 in the fourth quarter and played more than four quarters without holding a lead — until Garrett Hartley kicked an 18-yard field goal 6:29 into the extra period for the victory.

Brees led a no-timeout, 80-yard drive in just 33 seconds to tie the game late in regulation. The Saints are now 12-0, with the NFC South title in hand.

How to explain a badly shanked punt that turns into a 29-yard gain? An interception by Brees that somehow becomes a touchdown for teammate Robert Meachem?

“Crazy plays,” linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. “When you’re hot, you’re hot. And sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.”

New Orleans also showed it can brave the cold, winning a sub-40 degree game for the first time since 1995. Well, maybe. The defense, led by former Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, offered minimal resistance, allowing Washington to pile up 455 yards and score 30 points for the first time in Jim Zorn’s 28 games as coach.

The biggest number for Washington (3-9) was three — as in the number of consecutive losses in which they’ve blown a fourth-quarter lead.

“I don’t think the best team won today,” Redskins center Casey Rabach said. “We had some bad breaks, some bizarre things happened.”

Leading 30-23, the Redskins marched downfield and set up the gimme field goal that would have put the game out of reach. But Shaun Suisham pushed the attempt wide right from 23 yards with 1:52 to play.

Brees went right to work, moving quickly before hitting Meachem wide open over the middle for a 53-yard touchdown with 1:19 to go.

The Redskins had the ball to start the extra period, but Mike Sellers fumbled when he was upended by Chris McAlister after making a catch — a turnover that was only verified after a meticulous replay reversal — giving the Saints the ball at the Washington 37. Brees needed only seven plays to march New Orleans to the 1 before Hartley made the winning kick.

Meachem’s first-half touchdown was just as big, but much more unorthodox.

The sequence started when the Saints punted from their 30. Thomas Morstead shanked the kick so badly that it hit Washington’s totally helpless Kevin Barnes flush on the back near the sideline. New Orleans recovered at the Redskins 41.

Four plays later, facing third-and-26 at the Redskins 44, Brees backpedaled under pressure and threw a desperation pass deep over the middle toward Jeremy Shockey in triple coverage. Kareem Moore dived over Shockey’s back to make an interception, rolled over, got up and ran 14 yards before Meachem simply took the ball away from an upright Moore and started running down the sideline — high-stepping 44 yards for the team’s ninth return touchdown of the season, tying the game at 17 and changing the momentum with 22 seconds left in the first half.

“I don’t know about the voodoo, but I definitely believe in destiny,” Brees said. “I believe in karma, and what goes around comes around. We’ve been on the other side of this deal probably too many times, and maybe it’s our time, that we start catching some of the breaks.”

At Indianapolis, the Colts tied the NFL record for longest winning streak, beating Tennessee for its 21st consecutive regular-season victory.

The only other team to win that many in a row: New England from 2006-08. The Colts (12-0) can break the record next week at home against Denver.

Peyton Manning threw one TD pass, Joseph Addai ran for two scores and the Colts spent the second half protecting the lead against the Titans (5-7). It was the first time in six games Indy didn’t need a fourth-quarter comeback.

Tennessee’s Chris Johnson ran 27 times for 113 yards, his seventh straight 100-yard game.

At Glendale, Ariz., Kurt Warner, back after missing a game with a concussion, threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns and the Arizona Cardinals’ defense stifled Brett Favre and Minnesota.

Favre set an NFL record for consecutive appearances, but game No. 283 in a row was no night to remember for him or the rest of the Vikings (10-2). The 40-year-old quarterback, with just three interceptions in the first the first 11 games, was picked off twice and sacked three times.

Even more startling, Arizona (8-4) held Adrian Peterson to a season-low 19 yards in 13 carries and outrushed Minnesota 113-62.

At Pittsburgh, Louis Murphy caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Bruce Gradkowski with nine seconds remaining, his second score in the final 5½ minutes, and Oakland scored three late touchdowns to deal Pittsburgh its fourth consecutive loss.

The Steelers (6-6), in danger of missing the playoffs after winning the Super Bowl for a second time in four seasons, went ahead 24-20 on Ben Roethlisberger’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward with 1:56 remaining, only to have the Raiders (4-8) rally and win it.

Pittsburgh, seemingly in good position to secure a high seed in the AFC playoffs after starting 6-2, has lost to two of the NFL’s worst teams in the last three weeks, the Chiefs (3-9) and the Raiders.

At Miami, when Tom Brady missed repeated chances to put the game away in the fourth quarter, Chad Henne and the Miami Dolphins took advantage.

Henne threw for a career-high 335 yards and directed a 51-yard drive for the winning field goal with 1:02 left, and Miami rallied past New England.

The Dolphins (6-6) overcame an early 14-point deficit to keep their slim playoff prospects alive, while AFC East leader New England (7-5) remained winless in five games in opponents’ stadiums this season.

For the third time on the road, the Patriots lost after leading in the fourth quarter. The defeat was sealed when Channing Crowder made his first career interception, picking off Brady at the Patriots 40 with 35 seconds left.

Making quite a return to the Georgia Dome, Michael Vick accounted for a pair of touchdowns — one running, the other passing — and basked in the cheers of his former home.

The Eagles (8-4) pulled two games ahead of the reeling Falcons (6-6) in the NFC wild-card standings, bringing a little more clarity to the playoff race. But most of the attention was on Vick’s first game in Atlanta since he went off to prison for dogfighting.

At East Rutherford, N.J., Brandon Jacobs had the Giants’ longest play of the season for just a few minutes, then Domenik Hixon topped it, lifting New York past Dallas.

The Giants (7-5) tightened the NFC East with their win, dropping Dallas (8-4) into a tie with Philadelphia for the lead. New York has swept Dallas this season and plays Philadelphia here next Sunday night.

Jacobs covered 74 yards after taking a short pass from Eli Manning, his touchdown putting the Giants ahead 21-17 in the third quarter. Not to be outdone, Hixon went 79 yards with a punt return for a 31-17 lead in the final period.

New York won despite career-best stats for Dallas tight end Jason Witten and quarterback Tony Romo, who is 5-9 in December.

At Cleveland, LaDainian Tomlinson scored his 150th career TD and passed Hall of Famer Jim Brown for eighth place on the career rushing list and San Diego won its seventh straight and 15th in a row in December.

Antonio Gates set a career high with 167 yards receiving for the Chargers (9-3), who dragged their cleats early and only led 13-7 at halftime. But Philip Rivers led San Diego on touchdown drives of 85 and 83 yards in just over nine minutes in the third quarter to open a 27-7 lead.

Tomlinson’s 4-yard TD run with 5:58 left in the third put the Chargers up by 20, and placed the running back in elite company among NFL greats.

Tomlinson reached 150 TDs in 137 games, fastest in league history.

The Browns (1-11) have lost seven straight.

At Cincinnati, running back Cedric Benson returned from a two-game layoff because of an injured hip and tied the team record with his fifth 100-yard game of the season, setting up Cincinnati’s victory over Detroit that had even greater significance for the franchise.

The Bengals (9-3) assured themselves of a winning record for only the second time in 19 years. The other one came in 2005, when Cincinnati won the AFC North and lost its opening playoff game to Pittsburgh.

After a solid first quarter, the Lions (2-10) went nowhere and had the game end badly. Rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford aggravated his non-throwing shoulder with 3:37 to go and didn’t return, watching the final minutes from the bench.

At Jacksonville, Fla., David Garrard threw two touchdown passes, Josh Scobee kicked three field goals and Jacksonville stayed in the AFC wild-card hunt.

It was Jacksonville’s fifth straight victory at home and came in front of an announced crowd of 42,079 — the lowest in franchise history.

Garrard threw for 238 yards, completing passes to nine different receivers, and enjoyed his first turnover-free game in a month. He had four fumbles and an interception the past three weeks. Two of his four turnover-free games this season have come against the Texans (5-7), who have lost four in a row and appear out of the playoffs for the eighth time in as many years.

The Jaguars (7-5) rebounded from last week’s 20-3 loss at San Francisco and remained in position for a wild-card berth.

At Charlotte, N.C., Jonathan Stewart rushed for 120 yards and the game’s only touchdown, and the Panthers intercepted rookie Josh Freeman five times — three times near the goal line.

With struggling QB Jake Delhomme (broke finger) sidelined, Matt Moore made his fourth professional start and his first since the end of the 2007 season for Carolina (5-7).

Moore threw for 161 yards, including a 66-yard pass to Steve Smith that set up John Kasay’s third field goal with 7:12 left that put it away.

But the defense won the game for the Panthers. Jon Beason had two interceptions near the end zone, and Tampa Bay (1-11) had a stretch of four trips inside the 20 with no points.

At Chicago, Jay Cutler fizzled after a strong start, throwing for 143 yards and a touchdown without an interception.

Cutler threw for 131 yards in the first quarter as the Bears built a 10-0 lead. After that? Chicago went to the run, St. Louis rallied and Bears receiver Devin Hester left the game with a calf injury.

The Bears (5-7) gave up 112 yards rushing to Steven Jackson but kept the Rams (1-11) out of the end zone for the fourth time this season.

At Kansas City, Mo., Kyle Orton threw two touchdown passes and Denver used a punishing running game to manhandle Kansas City.

Denver had 245 yards rushing to turn the 99th meeting between AFL originals into a laugher. Correll Buckhalter ran for 113 yards and Knowshon Moreno had two touchdown runs to help the Broncos (8-4) stay within reach of San Diego in the AFC West.

The Chiefs (3-9) didn’t put up much of a fight on the day they retired Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas’ number.

At Seattle, Olindo Mare kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired to send Seattle over San Francisco, which wasted a career passing day from Alex Smith and many other opportunities.

After San Francisco called time out to try to ice the veteran on a cold day, Mare made his second field goal of the final quarter and extended his team record of 18 consecutive makes for the Seahawks (5-7).

The Seahawks also severely damaged the postseason hopes of the 49ers (5-7).