ball as we could have, especially defensively, because wa

NEW ORLEANS -- Broncos safety Darian Stewart was in the right place at the right time, as Denver defenders often seem to be.Shutting down quarterback Drew Brees for four quarters was always going to be a tall order, particularly with starting quarterback Aqib Talib and starting defensive end Derek Wolfe injured. Still, Denvers dynamic defense produced four pivotal turnovers in a wild 25-23 victory over the previously surging Saints on Sunday.The Saints offense is real tough and we knew that coming in, said Stewart, who had two interceptions and a fumble recovery . We had a lot of guys out injured, which only made the challenge more difficult. But we had a lot of guys who stepped in and made contributions. That was huge.The game ultimately was decided in the unlikeliest of ways. Denver rookie Justin Simmons blocked a potential go-ahead, extra-point kick by New Orleans Wil Lutz, and rookie teammate Will Parks grabbed the loose ball, returning it 84 yards for a defensive 2-point conversion with 1:28 left in the game.Yet New Orleans might never have relinquished its 17-10, second-half lead if not for two fumbles forced by Denvers defense.The Broncos, who entered the game with the top-rated pass defense in the NFL, intercepted Brees twice in the first half.Stewart made his first interception by anticipating Brees throw down the left sideline and cutting in front of intended target Travaris Cadet at the Denver 9-yard line. The second came when Stewart snagged a pass ripped from rookie receiver Michael Thomas grasp by defensive back Bradley Roby.In the fourth quarter, Stewart once again found a ball landing in his lap when Roby punched the ball away from Thomas after a reception over the middle.Thats a play we work on, Roby said of his strip. In that situation, you have to say to yourself, `Youve got to go for the ball.Denver converted that turnover into Demaryius Thomas game-tying touchdown.Then came defensive end Jared Cricks crushing tackle of Thomas that forced another fumble, recovered by T.J. Ward to set up a field goal which put Denver ahead 23-17 with just under 3 minutes left.Those plays helped Denver overcome Brees NFL-record 56th game with at least 300 yards and three TDs passing.The four turnovers, they cost us the game, Brees said. It made it a lot closer than it probably should have been.Heres what else stood out in Denvers victory over the Saints:PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: Simmons said Denver had picked up on some of the Saints place-kicking tendencies and figured they might be able to block a kick by having a player hurdle the offensive line. Simmons said the Broncos worked on the play, called Leaper, all week.Its something you work on all the time, Denver coach Gary Kubiak said. Its risky to do because if you touch somebody, its a penalty. There are certain situations in a game where you say it is worth the risk, and this was one of them.ELITE BREES: Brees passed for 303 yards with touchdowns on a 32-yard pass to Brandin Cooks , as well as 3- and 5-yard tosses to Willie Snead. He did it against a Broncos defense that entered the game allowing just 183.3 yards passing per game. Who knows what kind of numbers Brees might have had it three drives werent stalled by turnovers in which the ball was knocked from Michael Thomas hands?MIXED BAG: The Broncos are still living with quarterback Trevor Siemians rookie mistakes. He threw two interceptions and didnt seem to see cornerback Sterling Moore jumping the route on the first or Kenny Vaccaro standing right in the balls path on the second. He also took six sacks. But he made a number of clutch throws -- not just on his TD passes of 14 yards to Jordan Taylor and 2 yards to Demaryius Thomas. He also completed a slew of drive-extending throws and the Broncos converted 11 of 19 third downs.BETTER BLOCKING: Two of Denvers best pass rushers -- Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware -- were held without a sack by a Saints offensive line that was missing starting left tackle Terron Armstead. Andrus Peat took over for Armstead, sliding over from left guard, and Senio Kelemete took Peats guard spot. Denver, which came in with 28 sacks, managed just one on Brees, by linebacker Shaquil Barrett.QB PRESSURE: New Orleans ramped up its pass rush in a big way. The Saints had 11 sacks in their first eight games, but six different defenders got a sack apiece on Siemian: rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, defensive tackle Nick Fairley, end Cameron Jordan, safety Kenny Vaccaro and linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Craig Robertson.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Amani Hooker Womens Jersey . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. Corey Davis Titans Jersey . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. http://www.authentictitanspro.com/Curley-culp-titans-jersey/ . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Jurrell Casey Jersey . - The Washington Redskins have cut defensive lineman Adam Carriker and punter Sav Rocca. Kevin Byard Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. MORAGA, Calif. -- Before the game, Scott Cross reminded his UT Arlington players they had a chance to make their mark on program history.He was like, `This would be the biggest win in school history, guard Erick Neal said. That just added fire to it and made us want to play harder.Kevin Hervey scored 15 points and UTA beat a Top 25 team for the first time, shocking previously unblemished No. 12 Saint Marys 65-51 on Thursday night just more than a week after another special and emotional win at Texas.The Mavericks (8-3) had gone 0-28 against ranked opponents dating to their first try in February 1967 after becoming Division I in 1959-60. Then, they pulled off their big upset at McKeon Pavilion, where the Gaels had won eight straight and 23 of 24, and cheers were heard from the visiting locker room.But Saint Marys (6-1) never clicked against the scrappy UTA team while returning from a break for final exams for its first game since a win at Stanford on Nov. 30. The Gaels were held to 31.4 percent from the field and shot 8 of 27 on 3-pointers.I thought we got outplayed. Pretty simple, Saint Marys coach Randy Bennett said. I thought they beat us at every phase.The speedy Neal added 13 points and eight assists in UTAs seventh straight victory.It was definitely an unbelievable game for us, Cross said. Our guys probably played as good of basketball as we could have, especially defensively, because watching them on video I honestly thought it was the best offensive team I think Ive ever seen in my entire life.Jock Landale had a rare poor shooting performance, limited to 14 points on 3 of 10 from the floor and the Gaels had a season-low 11 assists to go with 16 turnovers.Saint Marys trailed 49-30 with 11:50 to play, then used an 11-3 spurt to get back to 52-41. UTA kept answering on both ends with key baskets and rebounds -- such as a contested 3-pointer from the top by Drew Charles with 7:42 remaining.The Mavericks, from tthe Sun Belt Conference, used quick, crisp passing to create open looks from the perimeter and the paint to outplay the Gaels early.dddddddddddd Three times this season -- their lone three previous losses -- squandered double-digit halftime leads in road losses at Minnesota, Florida Gulf Coast and Arkansas.They used those defeats as learning moments that have carried UTA during this run of early season success.Its a humongous deal, Hervey said. Were excited and hopefully we can build on this.Hervey hit his first three shots as UTA jumped to a 21-12 lead midway through the first half and led 36-23 at the break.Saint Marys fell behind 21-12 and 27-15 late in the first half making just 6 of its first 18 shots and 2 of 6 by the typically spot-on Landale.Defensively we werent good, offensively we werent good, Bennett said. Taking care of the ball we were bad. Rebounding we were bad.MOMENT OF SILENCEA moment of silence was held before the national anthem for the victims of the deadly warehouse fire last week in nearby Oakland.BIG PICTUREUTA: UTA held a 36-30 rebounding edge. ... The Mavericks have led at halftime in all of their games. ... UTA followed up a 99-49 victory against Division III UT Dallas by outplaying one of nations top programs in all aspects.Saint Marys: Calvin Hermanson, 21 of 40 from 3-point range coming into the game, went 1 for 7 from beyond the arc. ... Landales shooting percentage dropped from 76 percent to a 70-percent clip (54 for 77).UP NEXTUTA: Off until playing Dec. 16 at Bradley.Saint Marys: Host UC Irvine on Sunday after the Anteaters lost last month in overtime at California. Seventh-year Irvine coach Russell Turner is a former Golden State Warriors and Stanford assistant.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '