Drew Brees might be done for the season

METAIRIE, La. -- On the day after their post-season hopes were officially extinguished, the New Orleans Saints' miserable season continued.

In addition to being listless on offense and defense in the first half of Monday night's matchup with the Detroit Lions, the Saints took another huge hit when quarterback Drew Brees injured his right foot early in the second quarter.

While Brees managed to finish the game, ESPN's Ed Werder reported Tuesday an MRI on Brees' foot showed a torn plantar fascia -- which could end his season two games early following Monday night's 35-27 loss.

Werder reported Brees wants to play the final two games, but is waiting on an opinion from Dr. Robert Anderson, a renowned foot specialist who also treated Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning this season.

Manning has missed the past five games with his injury and may eventually need surgery.

It's the second time this season Brees has dealt with an injury. He missed the first regular-season game because of injury in his 10 years with the Saints in Week 3 with a bruised rotator cuff.

Brees, who was hurt when he tried to elude a pass rush of Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, managed to get back into the game without missing a snap, but was hobbled for much of the rest of the evening.

The Saints (5-9) were excited about the prospect of perhaps finishing the season on a four-game winning streak after defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers one week earlier, but they struggled on both sides of the line of scrimmage from the start Monday night.

The Lions (5-9) scored on their final three possessions of the first half to take a 21-3 advantage, then added another touchdown to start the second half for a 28-3 cushion that Brees valiantly tried to overcome before coming up short.

Brees did reached three milestones in the game. He became only the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw for 60,000 career yards -- going over the mark on a 27-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks in the third quarter. Brees now has 60,168 yards for his 15-year career.

In throwing for 341 yards, Brees chalked up his 94th career 300-yard passing game that broke a tie with Peyton Manning for the all-time NFL record.

Finally, Brees finished the game with 4,135 yards for the season. It was the 10th consecutive year he has reached that number -- extending his own league mark. No other quarterback has more than six 4,000-yard seasons in a row.

--The Saints had a chance to cut the deficit to 21-10 at halftime, but they got nothing after a weird set of circumstances that included another mistake by the on-field officials.

Cooks made a spectacular one-handed catch that looked like it would be a touchdown, but the play was overturned when replays showed his knee was down at the Lions' 1 before he crossed the plane of the goal line.

Running back Tim Hightower scored on a 1-yard plunge, but it was erased by an illegal formation penalty. Then, a fourth-down play was stopped when the Lions asked for a timeout even though they had none remaining.

"A timeout was granted inadvertently on that play," referee Pete Morelli told a pool reporter after the game. "There's no penalty on that type of play. The only penalty is when they freeze a kicker. By rule, there is no foul for using an extra timeout. ... The play should have kept going."

Brees hit Marques Colston for a touchdown on the next play, but a penalty for an ineligible receiver downfield left the Saints on the short end of a 21-3 score.

REPORT CARD VS. LIONS

--PASSING OFFENSE: B. At times, the Saints weren't as efficient as they're used to being through the air but part of that can be attributed to the foot injury Drew Brees suffered early in the second quarter. Despite hobbling around for the rest of the contest, Brees still finished 34-of-52 for 341 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Brees was harassed on almost every pass play because the Lions knew his ability to move in the pocket was diminished. Yet, he was sacked just once en route to a 103.1 passer rating. Brandin Cooks caught 10 passes for 124 yards with a 27-yard TD, while Willie Snead had 10 grabs for 76 yards. Benjamin Watson had six receptions for 49 yards with a 1-yard TD reception and Marques Colston had an 11-yard touchdown catch among his two receptions for 39 yards.

--RUSHING OFFENSE: D. While the Saints were forced to all but abandon the running game after falling behind 21-3 at halftime and 28-3 early in the third quarter, they tried to keep the Lions' defense honest in order to protect Brees. The Saints finished the contest with 69 yards and a 3.8 average on only 18 attempts with a long of 17 yards. Tim Hightower had 13 carries for 54 yards and a 4.2 average, while Brees had an 11-yard scramble to account for 65 of their team's 69 yards. Hightower did have a 1-yard scoring run in the second quarter, but it was wiped out because extra tight end Senio Kelemete failed to report in as an eligible receiver.

--PASS DEFENSE: F. This has become the norm this season for the Saints, who again were shredded by an opposing quarterback. Matthew Stafford was able to hit on 22 of 25 pass attempts for 254 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions while compiling a passer rating of 148.6. The best thing the Saints did was get to Stafford for three sacks, but he was on target when he got enough time to pick out his receivers and had at least one completion to nine different receivers. Stafford had a long gain of 45 yards to Eric Ebron, who finished with four receptions for 79 yards. Golden Tate had 45 yards and TDs of 1 and 5 yards on six receptions.

--RUN DEFENSE: D. Like their pass defense, the Saints' run defense had no answer for the NFL's worst rushing team. The Lions had a field day against the Saints as they rushed for 150 yards and a 6.5 average on 23 attempts. They also had two touchdowns -- one each by Ameer Abdullah and Joique Bell. Abdullah netted 77 yards on nine carries with a long of 27 and was untouched on a 15-yard TD run around left end. Bell, a former Saints practice squad player, had 71 yards on eight carries with long gains of 36 and 27 yards. He also had a 1-yard TD. The Saints did force Abdullah and Bell to each fumble, with linebacker Hau'oli Kikaha forcing and recovering Abdullah's miscue.

--SPECIAL TEAMS: D. Thomas Morstead punted four times for a 43.0 gross average with a net of 37.8, but he struggled with a quadriceps injury that sent him to the sideline early in the season. Kai Forbath was 2-for-2 on field-goal attempts from 45 and 22 yards out. The Saints averaged just 6.0 yards on two punt returns and 20.0 yards on two kickoff returns, but were poor on kick coverage in allowing the Lions to return five kickoffs for a 26.8 average and two punts for a 10.5 average.

--COACHING: C. With his team coming off a road win at Tampa Bay and with renewed hope of winning its last three games, Sean Payton didn't get what he needed on either side of the ball. The Saints trailed 21-3 at halftime and 28-3 early in the third quarter and were listless for the most part on offense, partly because of a foot injury that hampered Drew Brees, until early in the fourth quarter. Blowing a chance to score a touchdown from the Lions' 1-yard line seconds before halftime that would have left them with an 11-point deficit going to the locker room didn't help things.