Saints 42 Cowboys 17

IRVING, Texas (AP) Drew Brees tied his career high with five touchdown passes in the first three quarters of the New Orleans Saints' 42-17 rout of Dallas. <br/><br/>The Saints ran up 536 total yards

Monday, December 11th 2006, 5:08 am

By: News On 6

IRVING, Texas (AP) Drew Brees tied his career high with five touchdown passes in the first three quarters of the New Orleans Saints' 42-17 rout of Dallas.

The Saints ran up 536 total yards against the Cowboys yesterday.

Brees finished 26-38 for 384 yards. He didn't need to throw a pass in the 4th quarter.

The 9-4 Saints grabbed sole possession of the second-best record in the NFC with an eye on a first-round playoff bye. The Saints erupted with 21 points in the second quarter to take a 21-7 halftime lead.

His favorite receiver was rookie Reggie Bush, who caught six passes for 125 yards, including one swing pass that went 61 yards for a touchdown.

The 8-5 Cowboys had their four-game win streak end. Tony Romo fell to 5-2 as a starter since replacing Drew Bledsoe as the Dallas quarterback. The Cowobys still have a one-game lead atop the NFC East.