New Orleans Saints' loss to Atlanta Falcons is on Drew Brees By Jeff Duncan, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune
on November 30, 2012 at 12:31 AM, updated November 30, 2012 at 9:20 AM
Atlanta --
Stick around the NFL long enough and you'll see eventually see it all. Even Drew Brees throwing five interceptions in a single game.
Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com and the Times-Picayune New Orleans
Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) is called for delay of game late in the second quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta Thursday November 29, 2012. (Photo by David Grunfeld, Nola.com |The Times-Picayune)
It happened. I watched it with my very own eyes at the Georgia Dome on Thursday night.
Brees wasn't part of the reason the New Orleans Saints lost to the Falcons 23-13. He was THE reason they lost.
Not only did he throw five picks for the first time in his 12-year NFL career but his landmark streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass was snapped at 54.
Brees might play the rest of his career and never have another night like this. It started poorly and never got any better. The Saints' opening drive of the night ended in a Brees' interception, and their final two drives ended the same way.
He threw passes high, low and behind his receivers. Worse, he even did the unthinkable, botching a scoring opportunity inside the Falcons' 5-yard line before halftime with a mental mistake.
Brees has never played this poorly as a Saint. Ever. Nothing close.
The only thing Brees didn't botch on this night was the postgame press conference, where he admirably fell on the sword.
"I pride myself on being a great decision-maker and guy that's going to help us win the game, not be a detriment by turning the ball over like that," Brees said.
That this dreadful performance came in prime time against a division rival with so much at stake makes the effort even more mind-boggling. Brees typically dominates in these situations. This time the dominator was the dominated.
Never has such an efficient quarterback played so inefficiently. Brees' final passer rating was a ghastly 37.6, about a third of what he usually calculates. That's the lowest of his Saints career and his worst rating since 2005.
The five interceptions matched the most ever thrown by a Saints quarterback. Think about that one for awhile. Not even Gary Cuozzo or Richard Todd or the Billy Joes had ever thrown this many picks in a game. The only other Saints quarterback to accomplish this ignominious feat? Archie Manning did it twice.
And it could have been six or seven if Robert McClain could have held on to another wayward Brees pass in the second quarter or John Abraham had not jumped offsides in the fourth quarter, negating an interception by Corey Peters.
"It doesn't really matter how they happened, the responsibility is mine," Brees said. "And that the first time that's ever happened to me. It's extremely disappointing. A couple of critical mistakes that end up costing us the game and I'm OK saying that because I have to hold myself accountable."
When Brees wasn't scanning images of the Falcons' defense on the bench, he could found standing on the sideline with hands on hips, the look on his face a mixture of disgust and incredulity.
It was the second poor performance in five days for Brees. His two pick-sixes sunk the Saints against the 49ers on Sunday. Who would've thought he'd lay an even bigger egg four nights later.
"That's a very good quarterback that is normally a very efficient player," Falcons Coach Mike Smith said. "I can't say enough about it."
Brees even struggled with the mental game, as well. After the Saints fought back from a 17-0 hole and had a chance to pull within a touchdown or field goal just before halftime, Brees, usually masterful in the 2-minute drill, uncharacteristically botched the time management. He threw an ill-advised pass to Darren Sproles in the middle of the field with 17 seconds left and no timeouts. The Saints' scoring chances died, along with the clock, at the Falcons' 3.
"Honestly, I thought we had more time than we did," Brees said. "That's my mistake. That can't happen."
It was that kind of night for Brees, which is probably why he was the first player to exit the field after the clock expired. He raced to triumphant Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and congratulated him, then offered a brief handshake to Tony Gonzalez, and that was it. He was gone, out the tunnel almost before some players even managed to make it to midfield.
We've become so accustomed to Brees' greatness that we expect miracles from No. 9 every game. We expect perfection, or something close to it, from Brees when the ball is snapped. When it doesn't happen, we are perplexed, dumbfounded, astonished even.
The Saints simply can not win when Brees plays this way. In fact, they can't win when he plays even close to this poorly. The Saints are 1-9 in games in which he's thrown three or more interceptions.
Their only win came in the magical 2009 Super Bowl season when seemingly everything the Saints did turned to pixie dust. Those days seem like distant history today.
This loss might have sunk the Saints' season. They're now 5-7 with no margin for error the rest of the way. And their fearless leader, the man once deemed Breesus by his loyal legion of followers, suddenly looks extraordinarily human.
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