The Saints' offense was at its best Sunday. Drew Brees had a great game, even though he left himself with more than 400 yards to catch Dan Marino's single-season passing record next week. And most impressive was the running game, which was dominant in the first half and produced four touchdowns from four players. The lengths of the drives also were exactly what the Saints needed to make Sunday's game a blowout, and the Saints were virtually flawless on third downs. Detroit, with one of the worst defenses in the NFL, was not supposed to be able to match up well with New Orleans' top-ranked offense. And the Saints did not disappoint, even with their displeasure over the playoff situation.

DEFENSE -- 3 1/2 fleurs-de-lis

The one glaring mistake from the Saints' defense came in the second quarter, when a pass-interference call on a Lions fourth down led to Detroit's only score. And Lions running back Kevin Smith had 111 yards. But New Orleans handled quarterback Dan Orlovsky, who had the potential to be dangerous. Orlovsky completed 10 of 23 passes for 125 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions -- a 24.7 passer rating. The Saints' defense also rendered receiver Calvin Johnson -- Detroit's biggest threat -- relatively harmless, with just four catches for 64 yards and no touchdowns.

SPECIAL TEAMS -- 3 1/2 fleurs-de-lis

There was not a whole lot for the Saints to do on special teams. They had no punts and no field-goal attempts. Skyler Green made the most of his opportunity, returning the one kickoff he took out of the end zone for 60 yards on the first play of the game. Lance Moore muffed a punt while attempting to fair catch it in the third quarter. But Marvin Mitchell recovered the fumble, and the Saints' special teams seemed otherwise to be mistake-free.

COACHING -- 3 1/2 fleurs-de-lis

Sean Payton has shown this season that he sometimes has a problem with impulsive challenges, and it was on display again in the first quarter. But he was able to avoid the Lions getting their first win of the season in their final home game, even with the Saints out of the playoff race. Payton also showed, even with Brees chasing a passing record, that the Saints' running game has gotten better. Yes, the Lions had the worst run defense in the league, but four rushing touchdowns from four players on the Saints' four drives of the first half was impressive. The Saints flowed well in just about every facet of the game.