Saints on record pace

? Drew Brees had four turnovers, was sacked five times, and his team was down by three touchdowns in the waning moments of the first half.

The Saints still won. On the road. By double digits.

Generally, teams can’t win that way in the NFL. Then again, conventional wisdom goes out the window when a club is on pace to break the league’s all-time single-season scoring record.

“Honest to God, we knew it was going to happen,” Brees said, recalling the locker room mood at halftime of the Saints’ 46-34 comeback win at Miami on Sunday. “Sure enough, it did.”

New Orleans has scored 45 or more points in a game four times this season. The Saints have averaged 39.7 points through their first six games. That puts them on pace to challenge the single-season scoring record owned by the 2007 New England Patriots, who averaged 36.8 points. Those Patriots went 16-0.

And it hasn’t just been the Saints’ vaunted offense putting up all the points during their 6-0 start. Big plays by the defense were part of the reason New Orleans scored 43 points in the last 30:02 at Miami.

New Orleans’ first touchdown in the final seconds of the first half was set up by safety Roman Harper’s forced fumble and linebacker Scott Shanle’s recovery. Then came two interceptions returned for scores in the second half by safety Darren Sharper and cornerback Tracy Porter — with Porter’s coming in the final minutes and keeping New Orleans perfect against the point spread as well.