The Saints, playing on the Thanksgiving holiday for the first time, won their fourth straight to improve to 8-3. The Cowboys (3-8) lost for the first time in three games since Jason Garrett became interim coach.

Dallas trailed 17-0 after New Orleans’ first three possessions, and the Saints were up 20-3 just before halftime.

Then, kicker David Buehler made a career-best 53-yarder as the second quarter ended — and the Cowboys’ fightback was on. Dallas scored on four straight possessions to get close, then went ahead 27-23 on Tashard Choice’s 1-yard touchdown run with 5:51 left.

The Cowboys were on their way to stretching the lead when Roy Williams broke free with a catch and raced toward the end zone, but Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins raced over and stripped the ball at the 11.

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees took it from there. On the winning drive, he hit Robert Meachem for 55 yards and Lance Moore on a 12-yard touchdown to go ahead 30-27 with 1:55 left.

Buehler had a chance to tie it for Dallas, but narrowly missed a 59-yard field goal attempt.

New Orleans coach Sean Payton appeared to try calling timeout as the ball was snapped, which would’ve given Dallas another chance. But the officials didn’t give it to him, so the play stood.

Patriots 45 Lions 24:  In Detroit, Tom Brady threw a season-high four touchdown passes, all in the second half, and had a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3 to help New England beat Detroit.

Brady was 21 of 27 for 341 yards — just short of season high — with no interceptions to become the first to have a perfect passer rating this season with a minimum of five attempts, according to STATS LLC. Brady also had a perfect rating in 2007 when he threw a career-high six TD passes in a victory over Miami.

The Patriots trailed by 11 points in the first half, but Brady threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Deion Branch early in the fourth quarter after connecting with him on a 79-yarder to tie it at 24-24. Wes Welker’s second touchdown reception sealed the victory with 6:42 left, putting the Patriots ahead 38-24.

New England (9-2) remained equal with the AFC East rival New York Jets for the NFL’s best record, setting up a showdown between the teams at home on Dec. 6.

Detroit dropped to 2-9.

Jets 26 Bengals 10:  In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Brad Smith scored on an 89-yard kickoff return during which he lost his left shoe and also had a 53-yard touchdown run as New York topped Cincinnati.

The Jets (9-2) are off to the second-best start in team history — eclipsed only by the 1986 squad that won 10 of its first 11 games. And New York did it by overcoming a sluggish first half and sending the struggling Bengals (2-9) to their eighth straight loss.

Santonio Holmes scored his fourth touchdown in three games on a 13-yard reception from Mark Sanchez after Cincinnati’s Andre Caldwell had a punt deflect off him while he was blocking. Sanchez was 16 for 28 for 166 yards with the touchdown and an interception.

Smith had three carries for 55 yards, a catch for 23 yards and the long kickoff return.