NEW YORK: Matthew Stafford threw three touchdown passes and the Detroit Lions ripped the New Orleans Saints 35-27 Monday night in a matchup of teams already eliminated from the NFL playoff race.

The Lions improved to 5-9 while the Saints fell to the same mark.

Stafford, who had a club one-game accuracy record of 22-for-25 for 254 yards, threw first-half touchdown passes of one and five yards to Golden Tate and four yards to Michael Burton for a 21-3 half-time edge.

And when Detroit’s Ameer Abdullah ran untouched 15 yards around the left end for a touchdown with 3:10 elapsed in the third quarter, the Lions enjoyed a 28-3 advantage.

But Drew Brees rallied the Saints before their hometown supporters in the Superdome.

Brees connected on a 27-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks and an 11-yard touchdown throw to Marques Colston with a 22-yard Kai Forbath field goal sandwiched in between to lift New Orleans within 28-20 with 10:06 remaining.

The Lions responded with a nine-play, 76-yard touchdown drive capped by Joique Bell’s one-yard run to seize a 35-20 edge with 5:24 to play.

Brees answered by marching the Saints 80 yards in 15 plays and New Orleans pulled within 35-27 on his one-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Watson with 1:55 remaining.

Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson recovered an onside kick attempt by the Saints and the Lions ran the clock down, but Matt Prater missed a field goal to give the Saints the ball with nine seconds remaining and needing 72 yards for a touchdown.

The Saints managed to gain a few yards on two desperation plays but time ran out on them.

With his touchdown toss to Cooks, Brees became only the fourth quarterback in NFL history to reach 60,000 career yards, joining Dan Marino, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre.

Brees also became the first NFL quarterback with 10 consecutive seasons throwing for 4,000 yards and stretched his NFL record streak of games with a touchdown pass to 52 in a row.

Raiders’ Woodson to retire at end of season

Raiders safety Charles Woodson will bring the curtain down on his spectacular 18-year career in the NFL at the end of the season, the 39-year-old said on Monday.

Woodson, one of the best defenders ever to play the game, won the Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers in the 2010/11 season and was named to the Pro Bowl eight times.

The 2009 NFL Defensive Player of the Year spent the first eight years of his career with the Raiders before moving to Green Bay. He returned to the Raiders in 2013.

“Was it a tough decision? Kind of, but a couple of weeks ago it hit me that this would be it,” Woodson told reporters. “It was important for me to let Raider Nation know now.”

Woodson entered the NFL as a cornerback before converting to safety in the later stages of his career.

He was awarded the Heisman Trophy as the top college player while at Michigan in 1997.

Woodson is tied for the most career defensive touchdowns with 13 and is sixth on the all-time interceptions list with 65.

Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie paid tribute to Woodson by calling him the “Greatest of All Time.”

“Charles Woodson is one of those players that comes along and reminds you why you love the game,” said McKenzie.

“It has been an honor to have worked alongside Charles for so many years and have the confidence to call him what he truly is: the G.O.A.T”

NFL argues Goodell had authority to suspend Brady

The National Football League has told a federal appeals court that Commissioner Roger Goodell was well within his authority to suspend Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the "Deflategate" controversy.

The NFL made its arguments in a brief filed Monday with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. The court has been hearing an appeal of a judge's ruling that nullified Brady's suspension. It will hear oral arguments in March before issuing a decision.

In papers filed earlier this month, the NFL Players Association argued Goodell ignored the collectively bargained agreement between the league and the union when he upheld the suspension in July.

The NFL countered in its papers that the contract gives Goodell authority to discipline players for conduct "detrimental to the integrity of the game."