In a thrilling back and forth affair, the Patriots managed a sensational comeback against the undefeated Saints. Following the opening kickoff, Brady put together a 14-play 60-yard drive. The Patriots drove to the Saints 12, but on 3rd-and-7 Tom Brady was sacked for a 5-yard loss forcing them to settle for Stephen Gostkowski's 35-yard field goal to take the opening lead 3-0. The Saints went 3-and-out on their opening drive and the Patriots followed that with a 3-and-out of their own. The Saints responded by marching 73 yards taking over five minutes off the clock  with Drew Brees tossing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Travaris Cadet. The Patriots immediately responded by slowly moving 80 yards to take a 10-7 lead on Stevan Ridley's 1-yard touchdown run. The Saints went 3-and-out yet again on their next drive and the Patriots took advantage with a long drive taking up 4:52 seconds in 12 plays as they marched 69 yards to increase their lead to 17-7 on another Stevan Ridley touchdown run, this one from 4 yards out. Punts filled the&#160;!of the half and the Patriots led 17-7 at halftime. The Saints took the opening kickoff of the second half 70 yards to the Patriots 10, but the Patriots kept them out of the end zone and Garrett Hartley kicked a 28-yard field goal to trim the lead 17-10. After a Patriots 3-and-out, the Saints stormed 67 yards with Khiry Robinson rushing for a 3-yard touchdown to suddenly tie the game at 17. The Patriots managed to respond on the follow-up drive marching 54 yards in 12 plays, but settled for Gostkowski's 54-yard field goal to retake the lead 20-17. Early in the fourth quarter on 3rd-and-12, the Drew Brees called a timeout to avoid delay of game, but the referees didn't see it so Brees was forced to snap the ball. Brees forced a pass intended for Jimmy Graham, but was by Kyle Arrington at the Saints 25 and returned for 5 yards to the Saints 20. The Patriots managed to reach the Saints 5-yard line, but were kept out of the end zone and Gostkowski kicked a 23-yard field goal to increase th Patriots lead to 23-17. The Saints immediately responded by storming 81 yards in 5:05 with Brees connecting with Kenny Stills on a 34-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-20, giving the Saints their second lead of the night 24-23. Four straight incompletions from Brady on the next drive seemingly ended the game, but the Patriots held the Saints to only three yards and Hartley kicked a 39-yard field goal to increase the lead to 27-23. Brady threw a seemingly game deciding interception with just 2:16 remaining but once again, the Patriots defense managed to hold the Saints to a 3-and-out (mostly due to the Saints erratic play calling). Brady got the ball back at his own 30 with 1:13 remaining and no timeouts, and mounted his 39th career game-winning drive. Tom Brady hit Edelman for 23 yards on the first play to move the ball to the Saints 47. He then completed passes to Austin Collie for 15 yards and Aaron Dobson for 6 yards moving the ball to the Saints 26-yard line with 0:35 seconds left. Back-to-back incompletions set up a 4th-and-4. Brady completed a pass to Collie again for 9 yards. Brady spiked the ball at the 17 with&#160;:10 seconds remaining. On the very next play, Brady connected with Thompkins for a 7-yard touchdown pass with five seconds remaining on the clock giving the Patriots the 30-27 lead. The Saints attempted a hook-and-lateral on the kickoff, but Darren Sproles fumbled and Jamie Collins recovered to end the game. The win (his 28th comeback win and 40th game-winning 4th quarter drive) was also his first in four tries against a Drew Brees-quarterbacked team. With the exception of the final drive, the Patriots pass protection was horrid allowing 5 sacks. The Patriots pass defense played very well, with vaunted tight end Jimmy Graham not catching a single pass all night.
How many total points were scored by halftime?
24