Continuing his torrid play, Drew Brees threw for 363 yards and four touchdowns as the New Orleans Saints rolled up 546 yards in total offense and 28 first downs to rout the visiting Philadelphia Eagles 48-7 Sunday.

The Saints (9-1) took a three-game lead in the NFC South over the second-place Carolina Panthers, while handing the Eagles the largest margin of defeat ever suffered by a defending Super Bowl champion.

The Saints have scored 144 points in their past three games -- the most in franchise history for three consecutive games, a 48-point average -- and least 30 points in seven of their last eight games. The injury-ravaged Eagles (4-6) have lost five of their past seven.

New Orleans picked off Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz three times while limiting him to 19-of-33 passing for 156 yards.

Coming off a 45-35 victory over the Los Angeles Rams two weeks ago and a 51-14 road rout of the Cincinnati Bengals last week, the Saints kept their high-octane offense in full gear, jumping out to a 24-7 halftime lead over the Eagles.

Brees finished 22 of 30 and sat down one series after throwing his fourth touchdown pass of the game, a 37-yarder on fourth down to running back Alvin Kamara that put New Orleans up 45-7 with 13:15 left.

In the first half, Brees completed 15 of 22 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns, a 3-yard pass to Austin Carr on third-and-goal and a 15-yard slant to Tre'Quan Smith.

The Eagles tried to take away wide receiver Michael Thomas with consistent double coverage, so Brees simply spread it around, completing passes to seven different receivers in the first 12 minutes.

The Saints scored on Wil Lutz's 38-yard field goal on their opening series and on Mark Ingram's 14-yard sweep around right end, when he jogged into the end zone untouched for a 10-0 lead.

The New Orleans offense was in such high gear that punter Thomas Morstead punted for the first time in 17 possessions in the second quarter. The Saints had scored on 12 consecutive possessions before that punt, not counting a kneel-down by Brees at the end of the Cincinnati game last week.

The Eagles' lone score came on Josh Adams' 28-yard run midway through the second quarter.

The Saints dominated the first half, holding a 321-109 edge in total offense and a 16-7 advantage in first downs.

When Brees hit Thomas for a 23-yard touchdown over cornerback Rasul Douglas, the Saints led 31-7 early in the second half.

The Eagles went for it on fourth-and-5 from their 41-yard line with 10 minutes left in the third quarter, but Wentz bobbled the snap and threw an incompletion over the middle.

The Saints then drove 41 yards in seven plays to ice the game, 38-7, on Ingram's 1-yard run off left guard with 5:34 left in the third quarter.

Brees' fourth-quarter TD pass to Kamara was New Orleans' seventh scoring drive in eight possessions.

--Field Level Media