Saints' offense too much as Lions lose wild card, 45-28

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints blew it open in the second half, turning the Detroit Lions' postseason return into a one-and-done affair with a 45-28 NFC playoff victory.

Brees threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Robert Meachem with 7 1/2 minutes remaining that gave New Orleans (14-3) a commanding 38-21 lead.

He also turned in his best performance yet by shredding the Lions for 466 yards through the air, the most ever in a playoff game that didn’t go to overtime. In all, the teams combined for 1,038 yards, tying a postseason record.

Matthew Stafford threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns, plus scoring himself on a 1-yard bootleg and dive. Calvin Johnson had a huge game with 211 yards receiving, hauling in a pair of touchdown passes.

Up next for the #3 Saints is a trip out west to San Francisco to face their old division rival #2 49ers next Saturday at 4:30 p.m.