By By Richard Dark/The Meridian Star
NEW ORLEANS On a dreary day in the Big Easy, things quickly got even drearier inside the Louisiana Superdome.
The New Orleans Saints lost quarterback Jeff Blake in the first quarter to a dislocation and fracture of the right foot and also saw their six-game winning streak snapped 31-22 to the Oakland Raiders in front of a sellout crowd of 64,900.
Saints head coach Jim Haslett admitted the loss of Blake may have been more costly than the one suffered the previous week in running back Ricky Williams.
The Saints then had to turn to backup quarterback Aaron Brooks who came on to fill the void, and in his first NFL action, amassed a 14-of-22 day passing for 187 yards, a pair of scores and an interception. Brooks, a second-year player out of Virginia, was acquired in the preseason from Green Bay in a trade.
But to their credit, the Saints (7-4) didn't lie down after the departure, scoring 13 unanswered points after spotting the AFC West leaders a quick 17 points.
After an early interception that led to the Raiders' second score, Brooks got going after a pair of gains by former Oakland Raider and current Williams replacement Jerald Moore netted 16 yards.