WEMBLEY, England — After last year's low-scoring mudfest, the NFL was hoping for some offensive fireworks this time at Wembley Stadium.

New Orleans and San Diego delivered.

Drew Brees went 30 for 41 for 339 yards and three touchdown passes against his former team to lead the Saints to a 37-32 win over the Chargers yesterday, putting New Orleans back at .500 and dropping San Diego to 3-5.

The Saints (4-4) held off a late comeback by the Chargers, who came from 37-20 down early in the fourth quarter and were driving for the tying touchdown when linebacker Jonathan Vilma picked off a pass by Philip Rivers with just over a minute to go. Brees took a safety in the final seconds to complete the scoring.

Last year, the New York Giants slogged to a 13-10 win over the Miami Dolphins in London on a rain-soaked field. This time, 83,226 fans at England's showcase venue witnessed high-scoring, offensive football at its best.

The game turned into a shootout between Brees and Rivers, his former backup in San Diego, as both teams had more than 400 yards of offense.

Brees, who played his first five seasons for the Chargers before signing as a free agent with New Orleans before the 2006 season, faced his former teammates for the first time.

"This game was not about me proving a point or proving anybody wrong or saying they shouldn't have let me go," Brees said. "We beat a very good team today that needed a victory as badly as we did."

The Saints bounced back from last week's loss to the Panthers and coped just fine without star back Reggie Bush, who underwent surgery on his injured left knee earlier this week.

"It was an important win," coach Sean Payton said. "I thought our players did a good job of handling some of the distractions, and some of the things that come up after a tough loss, and certainly the injuries. We were able to put that aside and still play a good team and get a win today, and that's encouraging."

Rivers came up with big numbers as well, completing 25 of 40 attempts for 341 yards and three touchdowns to bring his season total to 19 TDs. But while Brees went without an interception, Rivers' one pick on a late drive proved crucial.

"The whole experience was a lot of fun, except the outcome of the game," Rivers said. "It's a tough one to swallow, and 3-5 with a 13-hour flight ahead of us doesn't make it any better."

GIANTS 21, STEELERS 14

PITTSBURGH — The New York Giants did little with the exceptional field position the Steelers gave them. Finally, when it seemed Pittsburgh had too much depth and defense for the Super Bowl champs, the Steelers were tripped up by — of all things — a bad punt snap.

Eli Manning threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Boss with 3:11 remaining for the Giants' only touchdown after they tied it several minutes before on a bizarre safety — backup snapper James Harrison's high snap on a punt gave New York two points.

The Steelers (5-2) tried to make up for Ben Roethlisberger's four interceptions by turning two big-play scores into a lead they preserved with a goal-line stand midway through the fourth.

But the Giants (6-1) tied it with 6:48 remaining on the safety.

John Carney kicked four field goals for New York.

PATRIOTS 23, RAMS 16

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Patriots got by the Rams on a fingertip touchdown catch by Kevin Faulk, who hung on to Matt Cassel's 15-yard pass on the left edge of the end zone with 3:19 remaining. A juggling interception by Deltha O'Neal with 1:08 left ended the Rams' last threat.

The Patriots (5-2) won their second straight game. The Rams (2-5) couldn't overcome the absence of Steven Jackson, who missed the game with a strained right thigh muscle.