Saints at Jaguars
THE STORY: Finding the end zone has been difficult for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but it's rarely a problem for the New Orleans Saints. The Jaguars hope their stagnant offense will awaken to take some pressure off their solid defense, which will have its hands full against an explosive Saints offense that expects to add a dangerous weapon back to the mix when the teams square off Sunday in Jacksonville. The Saints have won two straight since a season-opening loss to Green Bay, while Jacksonville has dropped its last two after opening with a win over Tennessee.
TV: FOX, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: New Orleans -7, O/U 45
ABOUT THE SAINTS (2-1): The Saints continue to pile up the points (34.7 per game) behind QB Drew Brees, who leads the NFC with 1,059 passing yards and is tied for the NFC lead with nine touchdown passes. He has thrown three touchdown passes in each of the first three games. Brees picked apart the Jaguars in the most recent meeting, a 41-24 Saints win in 2007, passing for 445 yards and three touchdowns. In three starts against Jacksonville, Brees has thrown eight touchdown passes and no interceptions. Brees could get one of his favorite targets back Sunday, as WR Marques Colston was cleared to practice this week and is expected to play after missing two games with a broken collarbone.
ABOUT THE JAGUARS (1-2): Points have been harder to come by for Jacksonville. RB Maurice Jones-Drew is off to a great start, ranking third in the league with 307 rushing yards, though he has only one touchdown to show for it. Getting in the end zone has been a problem for the Jaguars, whose 29 points are the second-fewest in the league behind Kansas City's 27. Rookie QB Blaine Gabbert will make his second start. Gabbert was 12 for 21 for 139 yards with a touchdown and an interception in last week's 16-10 loss at Carolina. The Jaguars have leaned on the league's fourth-ranked defense, which has allowed 280 yards per game, but couldn't stop Cam Newton and Carolina from a fourth-quarter rally last week.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Brees has thrown a touchdown pass in 30 consecutive games, matching Dan Marino for the third-longest streak in NFL history.
2. Jones-Drew has averaged 123.3 rushing yards while topping 100 yards in each of his past three games against NFC opponents.
3. The Saints have scored 30 or more points in 26 of 51 regular-season games since the start of the 2008 season.