NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Aaron Brooks threw two touchdown passes to Joe Horn in a 2:21 span of the fourth and also scored on a one-yard run with 1:56 left Sunday to lift the New Orleans Saints to a come-from-behind, 35-27 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
Deuce McCallister, the NFC's leading rusher, gained a career-high 139 yards on 21 carries and caught a four-yard touchdown for the Saints (6-1), who are off to their best start since 1991 when they were 7-0 en route to an 11-5 finish.
Five of New Orleans' wins have come against 2001 playoff teams and the Saints share the best record in the conference with Green Bay.
"We've weathered the storm. We've played the toughest part (of the schedule)," Brooks said. "But we've got to stay focused. We can't lay down because other teams will be coming for us."
Terrell Owens, San Francisco's star receiver, created a stir last Monday when he autographed a football with a pen he had stored in his sock and presented it to his financial adviser in the stands after he caught a touchdown pass. In this game, however, Horn was the best receiver on the field.
After the Saints had fallen behind, 24-13, Horn caught touchdown passes of 10 and 20 yards, the second coming after Saints defensive end Darren Howard stripped the ball from running back Kevan Barlow and safety Sammy Knight recovered for New Orleans.
However, Saints coach Jim Haslett opted to go for the two-point conversion after Horn's touchdowns and the Saints failed each time, leaving them with a 25-24 advantage.
San Francisco (4-2) regained the lead when Jose Cortez kicked a 41-yard field goal with 8:39 left in the fourth quarter.
Brooks promptly led the Saints on a 10-play, 63-yard drive which featured a 17-yard pass to Horn on third and 12. Brooks also escaped the pocket for a 12-yard run to set up John Carney's go-ahead, 22-yard field goal with 3:12 remaining.
On San Francisco's next possession, cornerback Ken Irvin cut in front of Tai Streets and intercepted a pass at the San Francisco 37.
"Kenny Irvin's (interception) was outstanding. He's playing great for us," Haslett said.
McAllister ran 25 yards up the middle on the next play and Brooks capped the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run with 1:56 left, increasing the lead to 35-27.
On Brooks' touchdown, the Saints drew a penalty for having 12 men on the field. But with just one timeout left, San Francisco Coach Steve Mariucci declined the penalty in order to give his offense enough time to drive down the field.
The 49ers reached the New Orleans 39 after Barlow caught a short pass, but he was unable to get out of bounds before time expired.
The teams combined for 840 yards -- 422 for New Orleans and 418 for San Francisco. The 49ers converted nine of their 12 third-down attempts and the Saints made 10 of 14. But San Francisco committed two fourth-quarter turnovers that resulted in two touchdowns for the Saints.
"Coach (Haslett) showed us a stat sheet this week that 80 or 90 percent of the games in the league are won by the teams that commit the fewest turnovers," Brooks said.
Brooks completed 23 of 35 for 254 yards with no interceptions and increased his season total to 16 touchdown passes. Horn caught eight passes for 109 yards.
"Aaron Brooks made some plays. He's a good passer," Mariucci said. "He made plays with his arm, his head and his legs."
The Saints traded running back Ricky Williams to the Miami Dolphins in the offseason because they believed McAllister, a first-round pick in 2001, would be able to handle the role of feature back. He has justified that confidence with a conference-leading 721 rushing yards, including five 100-yard games.
Garrison Hearst rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries for the 49ers, who had their three-game winning streak snapped and are tied for first in the NFC West with Arizona.
Jeff Garcia threw for eight touchdowns with no interceptions in San Francisco's two wins over the Saints last year. On Sunday, Garcia was 23-for-39 for 275 yards and a touchdown with an interception.
"I give them a lot of credit because they kept battling and took it away at the end," Garcia said. "We did not take care of the ball well in the fourth quarter."
Owens caught the four-yard scoring pass 5:31 into the game and showed some humor by lifting his feet up to let his teammates inspect for a pen. He then tossed the ball to a 49ers fan in the stands. Owens was held to four catches for 61 yards.
The 49ers scored on three of their four first-half possessions. Hearst scored on a two-yard run 1:28 into the second quarter to cap an eight-play, 83-yard drive and Cortez kicked a 24-yard field goal with 7:10 left in the half to give the 49ers a 17-7 lead.
McAllister caught a four-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter and Carney kicked a 46-yard field goal with 4:24 left in the second quarter for New Orleans, which also had four first-half possessions. It was the 300th career field goal for Carney.
The Saints opened the second half with a 15-play drive that lasted nearly eight minutes, but they had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Carney.
The 49ers responded with an 11-play, 66-yard drive which resulted in an eight-yard touchdown by Hearst, giving them a 24-13 lead with 1:10 left in the third.
But the Saints erupted in the fourth quarter and won for just the second time in 16 games under Haslett when trailing after three quarters.
"We knew this game was going to boil down to the fourth quarter," Haslett said. "We said all week that no one was going to win this game in the first three quarters."
"Last year, we got to a point where maybe if we were down 10 (points), guys were tanking it," McAllister said. "Now we have enough skill guys that when you're down 10 points, we make a play. We always feel we can come back and score."
Horn started the comeback with a 10-yard touchdown catch 2:25 into the fourth, although McAllister was stopped by linebacker Jeff Ulbrich on a two-point conversion run.
After scoring on four of their first five possessions, the Niners committed the first of their two turnovers when Barlow had the ball stripped and Knight recovered at the San Francisco 22.
Two plays later, Horn caught a 20-yard touchdown with 11:14 left, giving New Orleans its first lead, although Brooks was tackled short of the end zone on the two-point conversion attempt.
"We just got a couple of turnovers and made some plays at the end that really turned around the game," Knight said.
