Saints vs. Falcons: Drew Brees Strengthens MVP Chances, Ties NFL Record

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees continued to strengthen his chances of winning his first regular season NFL MVP award after again starring for his team in Thursday night’s Thanksgiving clash against the Atlanta Falcons.

The 39-year-old has been installed as the favorite ahead of Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes II to win the MVP award this season and he proved his credentials by throwing four touchdown passes to lead the Saints to a 31-17 win over the 2016 NFC Conference champions.

The Saints became the second team this season to record 10 wins after the Los Angeles Rams achieved the feat Monday night following their epic 54-51 win over the Chiefs. And the New Orleans team did so despite facing a spate of injury absences in their wide receiver positions.

Veteran receivers Ted Ginn Jr., Cameron Meredith and Dez Bryant were already on the injured reserve, while they also lost rookie Tre’Quan Smith to a foot injury before the game. But it was not a problem as Brees improvised and set numerous records Thursday night.

The veteran quarterback threw touchdown passes to four undrafted players and according to ESPN, the Saints became the first team to do so in the Super Bowl era. They also became the first team since the Pittsburg Steelers in 1984 to have four players score their first or second career touchdowns in the same game.

Brees also tied another NFL record as he became the second player after Matt Ryan in 2016 to throw touchdown passes to 13 different players in one season. The Saints have the highest-scoring offense in the NFL with an average of 37.2 points per game and the quarterback has thrown 29 touchdown passes with just two interceptions.

The Saints are clearly one of the favorites to make the Super Bowl in 2019 and apart from their offensive strength, which is well known, their defense has also been making strides in recent games.

According to Bleacher Report, the Saints held the Falcons to 366 total yards, which is down from their season average of 403.4 yards. They also forced four turnovers with three of them being fumbles which were gathered by the Saints defensive line.

It was not the first time where their defense made a difference, as in their last three games – the New Orleans franchise have given up an average of 12.7 points and 282 yards.

Along with the Saints, the Rams and the Chiefs are the other favored contenders to make Super Bowl LIII. The New England Patriots are also likely to be in the mix in the post-season.

The Saints will hope to continue their winning momentum in Week 13, but face a difficult game against NFC East toppers the Dallas Cowboys at the AT&T Stadium on Dec.29.