Saints News Network

Drew Brees and the Saints on Monday Night Football

The Saints will need to use some of their Monday Night Magic to help power past the Raiders, and Drew Brees is the focal point.

John Hendrix

The Saints help close out Week 2 across the NFL when they travel to take on the Raiders in the newly built multi-billion-dollar Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It's unfortunate that no fans will be able to witness this spectacle, as New Orleans would have traveled and represented well here. Regardless, Sean Payton's squad is looking for their first 2-0 start since 2013, and have a great opportunity to get there with their track record on ESPN's Monday Night Football.

The Saints are 11-5 on Monday Night Football since 2010, which includes a four-game winning streak currently. They were nearly invincible for a good stretch from 2008-2013, winning nine straight games. They were so dominant that they outscored their opponents by 147 points (326-179). 

Saints on Monday Night Football under Sean Payton (16-7)

  • 12/16/19 - win vs. Colts, 34-7
  • 9/9/19 - win vs. Texans, 30-28
  • 12/17/18 - win at Panthers, 12-9
  • 10/8/18 - win vs. Redskins, 43-19
  • 9/11/17 - loss at Vikings, 29-19
  • 9/26/16 - loss vs. Falcons, 45-32
  • 12/21/15 - loss vs. Lions, 35-27
  • 12/28/14 - win at Bears, 31-15
  • 11/24/14 - loss vs. Ravens, 34-27
  • 12/2/13 - loss at Seahawks, 34-7
  • 9/30/13 - win vs. Dolphins, 38-17
  • 11/5/12 - win vs. Eagles, 28-13
  • 12/26/11 - win vs. Falcons, 45-16
  • 11/28/11 - win vs. Giants, 49-24
  • 12/27/10 - win at Falcons, 17-14
  • 9/20/10 - win at 49ers, 25-22
  • 11/30/09 - win vs. Patriots, 38-17
  • 11/2/09 - win vs. Falcons, 35-27
  • 11/24/08 - win vs. Packers, 51-29
  • 10/6/08 - loss vs. Vikings, 30-27
  • 12/10/07 - win at Falcons, 34-14
  • 9/24/07 - loss vs. Titans, 31-14
  • 9/25/06 - win vs. Falcons, 23-3

New Orleans is 11-5 at home, while going 5-2 on the road. Overall, their 16-7 (.696 winning percentage) record is pretty stellar. New Orleans has scored 30 points or more in 12 of their 23 Monday Night Football games, and are 11-1 when they get to that point threshold. 

Drew Brees enters Week 2's matchup needing to bounce back after a pretty rough offensive outing, and the big stage on ESPN is a perfect place to do it. In his time with the Saints, Brees is 621-of-871 (71.2 completion percentage) for 7,147 yards with 55 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He also has a lone rushing touchdown from 2011. In the team's four-game winning streak, Brees completed 80.2 percent of his throws (110-of-137), totaling 1,243 passing yards with 9 touchdowns and 2 picks.

While the overall marks are impressive for Brees, what matters this week is the road performance. The Saints have totaled 145 points in their seven road appearances under Sean Payton, averaging just under 21 points/game (20.7), narrowly outscoring opponents 145-137. Brees, who is 8-3 in his career against the Raiders, has a 11-3 TD-INT ratio on Monday Night Football, while going 193-of-274 (70.4 completion percentage) for 1,900 yards. 

Drew Brees: Benchmarks with the Saints on MNF

  • Most Completions: 36 (9/26/16 vs. Atlanta) 
  • Most Passing Attempts: 54 (9/26/16 vs. Atlanta) 
  • Best Completion Percentage: 96.7 (12/16/19 vs. Indianapolis) 
  • Most Yards: 420 (11/24/14 vs. Baltimore) 
  • Most Touchdown Passes: 5 (11/30/09 vs. New England) 
  • Best Passer Rating: 158.3 (11/30/09 vs. New England) 
  • 400-Yard Passing Games: 2 (9/30/13 vs. Miami, 11/24/14 vs. Baltimore) 
  • 300-Yard Passing Games: 14

In the past few seasons that has witnessed the Saints go on a strong regular season tear, Brees' Monday Night Magic has been strong.

  • 2019: 2 Games | 2-0 Record | 83.56 Comp % | 667 Yds | 6 TDs | 1 INT | 127.0 PRTG | 9.27 Yds/Att | 338.2 Yds/Gm | 93.2 PFF Grade 
  • 2018: 2 Games | 2-0 Record | 76.56 Comp % | 566 Yds | 3 TDs | 1 INT | 111.8 PRTG | 8.84 Yds/Att | 283.0 Yds/Gm | 77.4 PFF Grade 
  • 2017: 1 Game | 0-1 Record | 72.97 Comp % | 291 Yds | 1 TDs | 0 INTs | 104.7 PRTG | 7.88 Yds/Att | 291.0 Yds/Gm | 80.3 PFF Grade 
  • 3-Year Total (2017-2019): 5 Games | 4-1 Record | 77.70 Comp % | 1,524 Yds | 10 TDs | 2 INTs | 114.5 PRTG | 8.66 Yds/Att | 304.8 Yds/Gm | 83.6 PFF Grade

With an ailing Michael Thomas, this is one of those games where New Orleans could use a Drew Brees takeover, and he's primed to do so on the big stage.

Published
John Hendrix
JOHN HENDRIX

I officially started covering the New Orleans Saints & other NFL topics in 2011. My work has been featured on various outlets over the years. I worked closely with Skyhorse Publishing in Fall 2018 to update the book, Tales From the New Orleans Saints Sidelines, which filled in all Saints material from the 2013-2017 seasons. Prior to joining Saints News Network, I served as the Managing Editor of SB Nation's Canal Street Chronicles for 3.5 years, and before that with FanSided's Who Dat Dish as the Managing Editor for several years. I have also had experiences of being a freelance Saints reporter for The Sun Herald in Biloxi, MS and a contributing writer for WDSU, a local NBC TV station in New Orleans. I have appeared on a vast amount of TV and Radio shows, both nationally and locally. For tips, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at johnhendrix@saintsnews.net