DETROIT — Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes in the final 3:38 to erase a 13-point deficit and lift the Detroit Lions to a 24-23 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon at Ford Field.

Stafford had a 73-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Golden Tate, then found wide receiver Corey Fuller on a 5-yard score with 1:48 remaining.

Stafford completed 27 of 40 passes for 299 yards and was intercepted twice. Detroit (5-2) remained in a first-place tie with Green Bay in NFC North. Running back Joique Bell rushed for 48 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown.

Tate caught 10 passes for 154 yards but running back Reggie Bush, playing against the team that drafted him, was limited to 10 yards on four carries, though he caught five passes for 22 yards.

Perennial All-Pro wide receiver Calvin Johnson sat out for the second consecutive game with a high ankle sprain for the Lions.

Quarterback Drew Brees threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns but had a costly late interception for New Orleans (2-4).

Brees completed 28 of 45 passes against the league’s No. 1 ranked defense but the Saints lost their seventh consecutive regular-season road game. Wide receiver Kenny Stills caught five passes for 103 yards, including a 46-yard score and receiver Marques Colston hauled in six passes for 111 yards.

Tight end Jimmy Graham dressed despite a shoulder injury but played sparingly and did not catch a pass. Running back Mark Ingram, who missed the last three games because of a fractured hand, gained just 16 yards on 10 carries.

Stills gave the Saints a 17-3 advantage just 1:18 into the second half when he blew past cornerback Darius Slay along the right sideline and hauled in Brees’ 46-yard pass. It was Stills’ first receiving touchdown of the season.

Detroit responded with a 12-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with Bell’s 1-yard scoring plunge.

Shayne Graham’s 48-yard field goal with 13:33 remaining put the Saints up 20-10. That completed an 11-play, 69-yard drive.

The Lions drove inside the Saints’ 20 on their next possession, only to get stymied when a Stafford pass bounced off the pads of reserve tight end Jordan Thompson and into the hands of safety Kenny Vaccaro, who returned the interception 45 yards. That led to Graham’s 36-yard field goal with 5:24 left for a 23-10 lead.

Stafford’s short pass to the right turned into a 73-yard score when Tate slipped past cornerback Corey White and raced past the rest of New Orleans’ secondary with 3:38 remaining.

Safety Glover Quin then picked off a Brees’ third-down pass and returned it 23 yards to the Saints 14. A fourth-down pass interference call against the Saints kept Detroit’s drive alive. Stafford then found Fuller near the back of the end zone on third down for the game-winner.

New Orleans turned the ball over on downs with 21 seconds left.

The Saints led 10-3 at halftime behind a defensive effort that held the Lions to 101 total yards.

Fullback Austin Johnson scored his first career touchdown on a 13-yard pass from Brees with 13:56 remaining in the half for the game’s first points. New Orleans’ offense didn’t have to go far, as cornerback Keenan Lewis intercepted a Stafford pass at the Detroit 29. Four plays later, Johnson took a swing pass and barreled inside the left pylon.

Safety James Ihedigbo recovered running back Khiry Robinson’s fumble at the Saints 47 to set up the Lions’ lone first-half points. A 31-yard pass interference penalty against cornerback Brian Dixon brought the Lions inside the Saints’ 10 but they had to settle for Matt Prater’s 21-yard field goal.

Graham kicked a 27-yard field goal that bounced off the left upright and over the crossbar on the final play of the half.

NOTES: Saints C Jonathan Goodwin left the game with a left leg injury during the second quarter when Detroit DT Nick Fairley was blocked into him. New Orleans NT Brodrick Bunkley exited in the second half with a concussion. … Lions rookie TE Eric Ebron, their first-round pick, and RB Theo Riddick missed the game with hamstring injuries. FB Erik Lorig (ankle) and CB Patrick Robinson (hamstring) were among the Saints inactive players. … The Saints won their last five games after their bye week. … New Orleans won the last four meetings while scoring an average of 40.8 points, including its 45-28 playoff victory on Jan. 7, 2012. … Stafford tied Bobby Layne’s franchise record of 118 touchdown passes. … Detroit faces Atlanta in London on Sunday morning prior to its bye week, while the Saints host Green Bay on Sunday night.