NEW ORLEANS _ Forget just making the playoffs. At this rate, the Detroit Lions might get a first-round bye.
Matthew Stafford threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns and the Lions got a stingy effort from their defense against the NFL's top-ranked offense to win for the seventh time in eight games, 28-13, over the New Orleans Saints.
Stafford completed a franchise-record 13 straight passes at one point in the first half and found Golden Tate for a decisive 66-yard touchdown against broken coverage on third-and-10 early in the fourth quarter.
The Lions improved to 8-4 with the win, and haven't lost since an Oct. 30 game against the Houston Texans.
They lead the NFC North by two games over the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers heading into next week's home date with the lowly Chicago Bears.
The Dallas Cowboys (11-1) and Seattle Seahawks, who at 7-3-1 host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night, are the only division leaders with better records. The top two teams in each conference get a first-round bye.
While the Lions haven't hosted a playoff game in 23 years, they appear well on their way to that this winter after playing a perfect third quarter of the season.
On Sunday, Stafford delivered one of his best games of the year.
He completed 16 of his first 17 passes, the only incompletion coming on a bubble screen that he sailed high to TJ Jones and was nearly intercepted, and finished 30 of 42 for the game with a 111.3 passer rating.
The Lions settled for field goals on four of the five possessions they reached the red zone, and Matt Prater made a career-high five kicks overall.
The Saints, who entered Sunday averaging a league-high 434.1 yards and 30.4 points per game, scored their only touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard dive by John Kuhn.
The Lions held the Saints on four straight third downs early in the game and forced three Brees turnovers. Glover Quin intercepted a Brees pass intended for Brandin Cooks on the Saints' first possession of the second half, Tavon Wilson tipped an interception to himself with just over five minute to play to clinch the Lions' victory, and Miles Killebrew had his first career interception on Brees' heave to the end zone on the final play of the game.
Tate, who burned the Saints for two touchdowns last year, led the Lions with eight catches for 145 yards Sunday. His 66-yard touchdown gave the Lions a 25-13 lead with 11:38 to play.
Theo Riddick also scored on a 1-yard catch for the Lions, who were serenaded with "Let's Go Lions" chants by visiting fans as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Sunday's game marked the first game that the Lions have not trailed in the fourth quarter this year.
