K Major

New Orleans Saints

Quarterback grade: Drew Brees, 73.9

More of the same for Brees and Saints offense

In the comeback effort, Brees made some of his most impressive throws of the season, including a touchdown pass to tight end Coby Fleener that he fit in through one of the smallest windows you’ll ever see. Those don’t overshadow some egregious mistakes early in the game, however, and his grade reflects that. It’s difficult to believe that the same quarterback who made that throw also floated an absolute duck into the hands of Panthers safety Kurt Coleman in the middle of the second quarter. Brees was accurate on 37 of his 40 targeted passes, but his average depth of target was only 4.6 yards down the field.

drewbreespressurepanthers

Top offensive grades:

RT Zach Strief, 79.9

RG Jahri Evans, 74.6

C Max Unger, 73.9

RB Tim Hightower, 68.6

WR Brandin Cooks, 68.3

Underneath attack shut down

After all the talk heading into this game was about how Brees could exploit the Panthers’ secondary throwing down the field, the Saints did just the opposite. The game plan called for Brees to put the ball in playmakers’ hands and let them go to work, as 30 of Brees’ 40 targeted passes were thrown within five yards of the line of scrimmage. As you can see from the grading above, the Saints’ playmakers were unable to get much going after the catch. The receivers and tight ends combined for a single broken tackle on 21 catches, while the running backs broke three combined on 12 catches.

Top defensive grades:

DE Cameron Jordan, 87.9

CB Ken Crawley, 84.7

LB Nathan Stupar, 82.6

DT Nick Fairley, 79.9

S Jairus Byrd, 77.6

https://www.profootballfocus.com/pro...newton-excels/