NEW ORLEANS -- Malcolm Jenkins is starting to play more like the five-time Pro Bowl safety he replaced in New Orleans' starting lineup.

Jenkins intercepted two passes near the Saints' goal line and returned one of them 96 yards for his first career touchdown in the Saints' 31-13 win over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

It was a performance reminiscent of Darren Sharper, who missed the Saints' first six games as he recovered from knee surgery, opening the way for Jenkins to earn a starting spot in his second season out of Ohio State.

"I'm still learning," Jenkins said. "This is the first game I had an interception all year and there was plenty of opportunities in the previous games. But there's always stuff to learn and I think I'm starting to definitely understand a lot more than I have."

The Saints (10-3) took the early lead because of a fast start by Drew Brees, who completed 13 of his first 15 passes and threw two of his three touchdown passes in the first quarter to Marques Colston.

Jenkins' big defensive plays made the lead stand up. His touchdown came right after the Rams had recovered Courtney Roby's fumble on a kickoff return, giving St. Louis the ball at the New Orleans 21, in prime position to cut into what was then a 14-6 lead.

Instead, Jenkins made it 21-6 at halftime, and his second-half interception squelched any hope the Rams had of coming back. Jenkins, who was a cornerback in college, was playing nickel back during his second interception while Sharper was on the field at safety.

"I'm not saying he's the second coming [of me]. He's going to be the first coming of Malcolm Jenkins," Sharper said. "He's going to be a future multi-Pro Bowler. He works real hard and absorbs anything I try to tell him, but he has the ability. He can play corner and safety and make plays at both positions."

Rams rookie Sam Bradford scored the only St. Louis touchdown on a short keeper after the game was out of reach. He passed for 231 yards but his day was marred by the two interceptions deep in Saints territory.

"I've got to be better when we're down there and I've got to be smarter with the football," Bradford said. "I just can't make those mistakes."

Jenkins said he got a good jump on the first pass he intercepted, but also noted that Bradford "didn't put much velocity on it, so it kind of hung up a little bit."