NEW ORLEANS -- Staggered by a shoulder pad to the head and ripped down by a forearm hit across the neck, Drew Brees was crumpled on the turf with blood on his chin. Joe Staley Jersey . Yet the vicious sack by San Franciscos Ahmad Brooks also drew a flag that cancelled out Brees lost fumble with 3:12 left and gave the Saints prolific quarterback one chance too many. Brees guided New Orleans to two late Garrett Hartley field goals -- the second as time expired -- and the Saints upended the 49ers 23-20 on Sunday. "All I remember is just getting clothes-lined in the chin and as Im on the ground, Im saying, Thats got to be a flag," Brees said. "One of my teammates kind of picked me up and said, Are you all right? and he said, Dont worry, theres a flag. "I said, All right, good. Just took a moment, and youve got to get ready to go." The Superdome crowd grumbled each time the Saints settled for high-pressure field goals in the fourth quarter, apparently nervous that Hartley, whod missed four of six attempts in the previous three games, would slip up again. Instead, Hartley made all three of his field goal attempts in the final quarter to wipe out New Orleans 20-14 deficit. His 42-yarder with 2:06 left tied it. His game-winner was from 31 yards. He also hit from 21 yards earlier. "This team and this coaching staff and this organization never took their foot off the gas with me and here we are sitting at 8-2 and getting ready for Atlanta," Hartley said. The Saints trailed 20-17 when Brooks levelled Brees. The Niners protested the resulting flag vigorously. "It was very frustrating. The game could have gone a totally different direction than what it went," Brooks said. "I was just mad because that was a big play in the game. We lost, and thats probably the reason why." The Saints (8-2) improved to 6-0 at home despite three turnovers and a failed fourth down conversion. "Youre going to have games like this," Brees said. "You still find way to win against a playoff-calibre opponent with a lot at stake at this point in the season. That says a lot." The victory guaranteed the Saints would remain at least a game ahead of Carolina -- which plays Monday night -- for first place in the NFC South. It also kept New Orleans one game in the loss column behind top NFC seed Seattle (10-1). Marques Colston finished with five catches for 80 yards to become the Saints all-time leader in yards receiving with 7,923, passing Eric Martins two-decade-old mark of 7,854. "Its definitely an awesome accomplishment," said Colston, a 2006 seventh-round draft choice out of Hofstra. "It had a lot to do with some of the guys in this locker room and this coaching staff, but were in the midst of something a lot more meaningful right now." Colin Kaepernick passed for two scores, but finished with only 127 yards and was sacked three times as the Niners (6-4) lost their second straight. "The greater the challenge, the greater the glory," Niners coach Jim Harbaugh said. "Thats the way I look at it. Im proud of our guys for the way they fight, and if we continue to do that, were going to win a lot of games." The Saints defence, one of the worst in NFL history a year ago, played well enough to keep the Saints within striking distance despite what appeared to be a number of seemingly costly mistakes. Junior Galettes sack helped stall the Niners last drive. Niners running back Frank Gore managed only 48 yards on 13 carries. Kaepernick completed 17 of 31 passes and scrambled three times for 25 yards. His last run was a 16-yarder on third-and-long that came up 3 yards short of a first down with less than two minutes to go. Brees completed quick three passes on his final series: a 9-yarder to Graham, the 20-yarder to Colston and then another 12-yarder to Graham. Brees finished 30 of 43 for 305 yards and one touchdown, a 3-yard connection with rookie tight end Josh Hill. That was enough to overcome New Orleans turnovers, which began with Lance Moores muffed fair catch, setting up an 11-yard touchdown drive capped by Kaepernicks pass to Anquan Boldin. Boldin was covered by Corey White, whod come in after what appeared to be a serious left leg injury to Jabari Greer. White briefly made up for it with a diving interception, but when he tried to run for a score, he fumbled the ball through the end zone for a touchback. The Niners then drove for Phil Dawsons 55-yard field goal, which gave them a 10-7 lead. New Orleans regained the lead at 14-10, thanks to Travaris Cadets 82-yard kickoff return, which set up Jed Collins 1-yard touchdown run. But in the third quarter, Brees, scrambling right, tried to lob a pass to Graham, only to have Brooks leap up and tip the ball to himself for an interception he returned to the Saints 22. Soon after, Vernon Davis 17-yard TD catch made it 17-14. NOTES: Injuries forced 49ers CB Tarell Brown (ribs) and Niners LG Mike Iupati (knee) from the game. ... Colston also now has 7,930 career yards from scrimmage, breaking Martins record of 7,865. Pierre Garcon Jersey . He was still a kid, going into his senior year of high school. Thursday, the point guard stood in front of a couple dozen members of the media and spoke with poise about how much hed grown since then, and how hes ready for the next level. Colin Kaepernick Jersey .Manager Brendan Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo on Friday that Sturridge pulled his calf muscle in training as he prepared to return from a five-week layoff due to a thigh strain. NEW YORK -- After more than two weeks of mostly misery, the Texas Rangers werent about to start patting themselves on the back for winning one game. Robinson Chirinos hit an early three-run homer, Adrian Beltre connected again and Texas ended a six-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday night. "I know we finally won a ballgame, but weve got to win more than just today," manager Ron Washington said. Alex Rios had three hits, including an RBI double off longtime Texas nemesis Bartolo Colon in a four-run first, and Colby Lewis (6-5) pitched six steady innings to help the banged-up Rangers win for only the third time in 17 games. They snapped a 10-game skid on the road, their longest since a club-record slide of 12 games in 2003, with their first win away from home since June 16 in Oakland. "Its been a rough season and weve talked plenty about this, and its a shame that it happened to us with as good of a team that we were going to have," Rios said. "But we just have to go out and play like we did tonight, have fun and enjoy what we do." Travis dArnaud homered for the Mets, who have dropped five of six and eight of 10. David Wright had a double in four at-bats as he returned to the lineup after missing seven games with a bruised left rotator cuff. Colon (8-7) went seven innings but lost his second consecutive outing after going 6-0 with a 1.58 ERA in his previous seven starts. The 41-year-old right-hander fell to 20-9 in 34 starts against the Rangers, his most wins against any team and the most by any pitcher vs. Texas. The first inning has been a bugaboo for Colon all season. "I have no idea why," he said through a translator. "I was just having trouble getting my pitches where I wanted them that first inning." Lewis allowed three runs -- two earned -- and eight hits. He struck out seven, walked none and pitched around Wrights leadoff double in the fifth, retiring his final six batters to protect a two-run lead. The right-hander has lasted at least six innings in three straight starts, compiling 21 strikeouts and no walks during that stretch. Shawn Tolleson escaped an eighth-inning jam after Texas turned Juan Lagares hard grounder into a double play. Joakim Soria, pitching for the first time in six days, worked a one-hit ninth for his 16th save in 17 chances. "Were supposed to be winning more ballgames right now," Beltre said. "All the injurries and stuff -- we still have a pretty good team, and we shouldnt be losing as much as weve been. Custom San Francisco 49ers Jerseys. No excuse. We should be playing better, and thats what we expect." Elvis Andrus and Rios hit consecutive doubles in the first to put Texas ahead. Colon had a chance to get out of the inning down by only one, but Chirinos drove a 1-2 pitch the other way to right-centre for his eighth home run. He has six homers and 15 RBIs in his last 20 games. Beltre, who also homered Friday in the Rangers first visit to Citi Field, made it 5-0 in the third with his sixth career home run off Colon. Curtis Granderson hit an RBI double, and Bobby Abreu had a run-scoring single in the bottom half, but Lewis limited the damage. With the bases loaded, Wright flied out to shallow centre, Lucas Duda struck out, and Lagares grounded out. "Just fell short tonight," said dArnaud, who hit a leadoff homer in the fourth. Chirinos was a bit shaken up in the fifth when a foul ball hit him in the mask. After a trainer and Washington came out for a look, Chirinos and his manager playfully shoved each other before the catcher returned to his spot behind the plate. "Were not out of this thing," Lewis said. "Its only the All-Star break, so you never know what can kind of happen." NOTES: The Mets said right-handed reliever Buddy Carlyle was on his way from Triple-A Las Vegas to New York, and manager Terry Collins confirmed "there is a possibility" left-hander Jonathon Niese will be placed on the disabled list with shoulder trouble. "We will make the announcement (Sunday)," Collins said. "We are going to wait to see when he gets in here, how he is doing." ... The Rangers fielded a different lineup for the 20th straight game. Theyve used 45 players this season, most in the majors and one shy of their total from last year. ... Washington said he would encourage Yu Darvish to participate in the All-Star game if the Japanese right-hander is chosen for the AL roster on Sunday -- but he doesnt want his ace throwing more than 20 pitches. Darvishs next scheduled start is Wednesday against Houston. ... Texas 1B Carlos Pena snapped an 0-for-20 slump with an eighth-inning double. He is 4 for 36 (.111) since getting called up from Triple-A Round Rock on June 24. ... Wright extended his hitting streak to 11 games. ... RHP Nick Tepesch (3-3) starts the series finale Sunday against Mets RHP Zack Wheeler (3-8).Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '