In a league full of stories about tenuous relationships between starting and backup quarterbacks, it is rare to run across a bond like the one that exists between the New Orleans Saints' Aaron Brooks and his understudy, Jake Delhomme.

Each is a fourth-year player in the prime of his playing life. "We established a friendship from Day One," Brooks, a starter and team captain, said of Delhomme.

It is their unwavering bond, Brooks said, that sparked yesterday's 37-25 victory over the Ravens. Brooks was 9-for-25 for 123 yards and a touchdown in a little over two quarters, and Delhomme went 7-for-8 for 103 yards the rest of the way.

"Jake is a good guy to be around. Jake is a good guy to have around. Jake is also a great backup quarterback," Brooks said. "It's great to be able to talk to another player on your team and not feel inferior in terms of losing your job."

Even before reinjuring his right shoulder early in the third quarter, Brooks had been prepping Delhomme for his first start of the year.

"It was my duty as a captain and the quarterback on this team to let the backup guy know how I'm feeling during the game. It has to be that way so he can be prepared to go in," Brooks said.

"In the second quarter, Aaron looked at me and said to stay loose. Then he said it again at halftime," said Delhomme, who went 1-for-2 on five plays of relief in last week's game against Tampa Bay. "I figured, sooner or later, my time was going to come to go in. I wanted to be ready."

That time arrived when Brooks crashed to the ground after being sacked by Peter Boulware for the second time in the same series. "I fell on my shoulder. It was the same injury: deep bruise to my deltoid muscle," said Brooks, who wanted to stay in but knew he was leaving his team in solid hands.

"We had all the confidence in the world with Jake stepping in," coach Jim Haslett said. "He made some great decisions."

Facing third-and-three at his own 24 in the fourth quarter, Delhomme eluded a sack and ran 6 yards for a first down. A 54-yard pass to Jake Reed to the Ravens' 11 set up John Carney's field goal for a 30-17 lead.

After being sacked for a 6-yard loss on his next possession, Delhomme -- facing fourth-and-10 at the Ravens' 29-yard line -- completed a 14-yard pass to Joe Horn. Another completion set up Deuce McAllister's 6-yard touchdown that made it 37-17.

"This was a great situation for me to come into. The line was blocking well, Deuce was running well, and I'll take a 13-point lead like the one Aaron gave me every time," Delhomme said. "To be honest, I don't know how I did it, but I don't think I could have done it without Aaron."