It’s astonishing how good Saints QB Drew Brees is at this point in his career

On a record-setting Monday night inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, when New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees nearly pitched a perfect game in a 34-7 rout of the Indianapolis Colts, one pass stands out among the rest.

And it wasn’t a 5-yard scoring pass to tight end Josh Hill midway through the third quarter that enabled Brees to surpass New Orleanian Peyton Manning and become the NFL’s all-time leader in touchdown passes.

No, the pass I’m referring to came early in the second quarter with the Saints holding a 3-0 lead. Working out of shotgun formation on second-and-11 from the Colts 33, Brees canvassed the defense, dutifully went through his progressions and finally checked down to running back Latavius Murray in the right flat.

It fell harmlessly incomplete with 14:12 remaining in the first half. No harm, no foul. A big nothing burger, right.

Prior to that INC, Brees had completed his first seven passes.

And why is that incompletion worth mentioning? Because of Brees’ 30 passes on this historic night, it was his only empty aerial against the Colts in three-plus quarters of work.

Think about it.

Brees completed 29 of 30 passes (96.7 percent, a league record), including a league-record 22 straight to finish his night’s work. Brees completed passes to nine different receivers, including Michael Thomas who caught all 12 targets for 128 yards and one touchdown.

Completing 29 of 30! That’s difficult for a quarterback to do in pre-game warmups, let alone under the pressure of game conditions with 300-pound behemoths in hot pursuit. In training camp, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw five consecutive interceptions against his own teammates in 11-on-11 work.

“I’ll be honest with you, you always think about the one that you missed,’‘ a beaming No. 9 told ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Walters. “If I just set my darn feet and throw it to the running back, it’s 30 for 30, so that one may haunt me for a little while.”

Brees now stands alone with 541 TD passes and counting, two more than Manning and three more than New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady who remains relevant at age 42.

A month shy of his 41st birthday, Brees may not be the GREATEST OF ALL TIME. He may not be on everyone’s Mt. Rushmore of Quarterbacks, but few have been better.

At the moment, Brees is running hot. En fuego hot! Consider: In the Saints’ last 18 possessions played over their last two games, Brees has thrown nine TD passes and directed 14 scoring drives, including the first six possessions against the Colts.

Truth be told, there were times Monday night when, if Brees had had a basket of footballs by his side, he would have been able to complete multiple passes against the Colts’ passive zone and Cover 2 defense.

Defenders seemed a step slow and inexplicably out of position to make plays. The Colts (6-8) turned out to be the perfect patsy on a national stage for Brees and the Saints (11-3) who remained relevant in the race for homefield advantage in the NFC.

But danger lurks Sunday in Music City, U.S.A., where the formidable Tennessee Titans (8-6) lay in wait (noon, Fox) at Nissan Stadium.

Don’t look for Brees to get a free pass against the Titans.

This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 10:14 AM.