MIAMI — Drew Brees emerged from the locker room with a fresh cut under his chin and another between his eyebrows.

He made the Miami Dolphins look worse.

Brees and the unbeaten New Orleans Saints fell behind for the first time all season, then overcame a 21-point deficit yesterday to beat Miami, 46-34.

The NFL's highest-scoring team topped 40 points for the fourth time and outscored the Dolphins 22-0 in the fourth quarter.

"There was no doubt on our sideline we would come back and win," said Brees, who threw for 298 yards. "They had given us their best shot, and we had played about as bad as we could play. All we had to do was string together a few drives and gain the momentum back. We knew it was going to happen, and it did."

NFL passing leader Brees had his worst day of the season, with three interceptions, a lost fumble and five sacks. But he led touchdown drives of 82, 79 and 60 yards on successive possessions in the second half to put New Orleans ahead.

Tracy Porter's 54-yard interception return then sealed the win for the Saints (6-0), who are off to their best start since 1991 and are the only unbeaten team in the NFC.

"It can be a season-defining win," linebacker Scott Shanle said. "This was a test we hadn't faced yet, and we couldn't be happier with the way we responded."

Brees threw for one touchdown and scored twice. After his 2-yard keeper with 8:35 left gave the Saints their first lead, he celebrated by dunking the ball over the crossbar.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins (2-4) fell 2 1/2 games behind AFC East leader New England.

"This was our game to win," said Miami's Ricky Williams, who rushed for 80 yards and three touchdowns. "We fought and we fought. They just fought harder at the end."