Stymied for much of the second half after a 35-point first half, Drew Brees connected with Michael Thomas for a 72-yard touchdown with 3:52 left, his fourth touchdown pass of the game, to lift the host New Orleans Saints to a 45-35 victory Sunday over the previously unbeaten Los Angeles Rams.

Thomas caught 12 passes for 211 yards -- a Saints' single-game record for receiving yards -- and Brees completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards. He also threw scoring passes of 16 yards to Alvin Kamara, 4 yards to Tre'Quan Smith and 13 yards to Benjamin Watson.

After the Rams (8-1) scored 21 straight points -- including the first 18 of the second half -- to tie the game at 35-35 with 9:57 to play, Wil Lutz kicked a 54-yard field goal to give New Orleans a 38-35 lead with 6:28 left.

The Saints (7-1) forced a three-and-out, then Brees found Thomas alone on the left sidelines on third-and-7 after Thomas got well behind cornerback Marcus Peters. That gave the Saints a 45-35 lead.

The Rams defense came in allowing just 331 yards per game, but the Saints overwhelmed them in the first half, piling up 310 yards, 35 points and a team-record 24 first downs to take a 35-17 lead to the locker room.

Brees and Kamara were virtually unstoppable in the first half. Brees completed 17 of 22 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns, and Kamara found the end zone on three of the Saints' five first-half touchdowns.

The only drive in which the Saints failed to score a touchdown in the first half was when running back Mark Ingram fumbled the ball away at the New Orleans 22 on the first play of the Saints' third drive.

When Ingram fumbled, the game was tied 14-14. But Sean McVay's fourth-and-4 gamble to pass up a go-ahead 34-yard field-goal attempt backfired when holder Johnny Hekker took off with the snap around right end and was tackled short of the first down by linebacker Craig Robertson.

Brees took full advantage, driving the Saints 87 yards in 10 plays for the go-ahead touchdown on a 4-yard pass to Smith.

After Watson's touchdown made it 28-14, Jared Goff was intercepted by linebacker Alex Anzalone at the Rams' 34 on the first play of the ensuing drive. Kamara ran in a touchdown from 1 yard out six plays later for the 35-14 lead.

But the Rams started their 21-point comeback on the final play of the first half when Greg Zuerlein connected on a 56-yard field goal, making it 35-17.

Malcolm Brown narrowed the deficit to 35-24 on the first series of the second half with an 18-yard scoring pass from Goff. Los Angeles continued to chip away, making it 35-27 on a 34-yard field goal by Zuerlein with 1:30 left in the third quarter.

The Rams then tied the score 35-35 on a 41-yard catch and run by Cooper Kupp and a two-point conversion on a pass from Goff to tight end Gerald Everett with 9:48 left. But the Saints scored the final 10 points of the game in the last 6:23.

--Field Level Media