Inside the numbers: Drew Brees vs. 2020 Saints opponents

How has Drew Brees performed against the opponents he's facing in 2020?

It's hard to definitively say if 2020 is going to be the last run for Drew Brees. However, the season ahead is the only focus for him and the Saints. This is an extremely talented team who is looking to overcome their playoff woes to try to bring a second Lombardi Trophy to New Orleans, and they will certainly have their work cut out for them. Most of the team's successes or failures will be what Brees brings to the table this season. The Saints schedule has been set for nearly three weeks, while the opponents have been known since late December.

So, how has Drew Brees performed against these teams? What do the numbers and data tell us? Who has he thrown the best against? Who has he struggled with? That's all included here.

Drew Brees Career Stats vs. 2020 Opponents

• Combined Regular Season Record: 82-50
• Passing Completions: 3,491
• Passing Attempts: 5,079
• Passing Completion Percentage: 68.73%
• Passing Yards: 39,445
• Average Per Game: 298.8
• Passing Touchdowns: 285
• Interceptions: 109

The 39,445 passing yards in these 102 games represents 60.6 percent of Brees' total yardage with the Saints and 51 percent of his career total of 77,416. The 285 touchdowns account for 61 percent of his 467 touchdowns with the Saints, while it comes in at 52.1 percent of his 547 career passing touchdowns.

Next, we look at the regular season opponent breakdown of the 13 teams the Saints play in 2020. This data is solely comprised of Saints statistics, and does not include any postseason games.

Brees vs. Opponent Breakdown

• Atlanta Falcons: 19-9, 26 points/game, 749/1098 (68.21%), 8,468 yards (302.4/game), 53 TDs, 26 INTs
• Carolina Panthers: 14-11, 27 points/game, 665/983 (67.65%), 7,265 yards (290.6/game), 50 TDs, 21 INTs
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 17-10, 26.6 points/game, 684/998 (68.54%), 7,646 yards (283.2/game), 53 TDs, 25 INTs
• Chicago Bears: 4-2, 26 points/game, 166/239 (69.46%), 1,784 yards (297.3/game), 13 TDs, 4 INTs
• Detroit Lions: 4-3, 33.3 points/game, 195/281 (69.4%), 2,246 yards (320.9/game), 18 TDs, 7 INTs
• Green Bay Packers: 4-2, 36 points/game, 167/240 (69.58%), 2,183 yards (363.8/game), 16 TDs, 3 INTs
• Minnesota Vikings: 4-2, 25.3 points/game, 157/217 (72.35%), 1,683 yards (280.5/game), 11 TDs, 3 INTs
• Philadelphia Eagles: 4-2, 31.8 points/game, 148/213 (69.48%), 1,807 yards (301.2/game), 14 TDs, 5 INTs
• San Francisco 49ers: 6-3, 30.7 points/game, 240/350 (68.57%), 2,675 yards (297.2/game), 25 TDs, 6 INTs
• Denver Broncos: 0-3, 23 points/game, 82/119 (68.91%), 937 yards (312.3/game), 6 TDs, 3 INTs
• Kansas City Chiefs: 1-2, 25 points/game, 82/120 (68.33%), 873 yards (291/game), 7 TDs, 3 INTs
• Los Angeles Chargers: 3-0, 34.3 points/game, 82/122 (67.21%), 916 (305.3/game), 9 TDs, 3 INTs
• Las Vegas Raiders: 2-1, 35.3 points/game, 74/99 (74.75%), 962 yards (320.7/game), 10 TDs, 0 INTs

Of all the opponents the Saints face in 2020, they've not beaten the Broncos in the Sean Payton era. It's the one team that Brees hasn't defeated as a Saint, but did so only twice with the Chargers. Overall, Brees is 6-6 against the AFC West in his career with New Orleans. Overall, in his 12 AFC West games, Brees has posted 320/460 (69.6%) for 3,688 yards with 32 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.

Brees is a combined 16-9 against the NFC North, throwing up 685/977 (70.1%) for 7,896 yards. He's thrown for 58 touchdowns and 17 interceptions against the division since joining the Saints in 2006. 

Not to be forgotten, the NFC South is where Brees has done the bulk of passing. He's 50-30 against the division, which comes to the tune of a career 62.5 winning percentage. The totals look like this. Brees is 2098/3079 (68.1%) for 23,379 yards (292.2/game). He's thrown for 156 touchdowns, which includes over 50 against each NFC South opponents, while having 72 interceptions.

Where does that factor in to his career totals? For starters, facing the NFC South accounts for 37 percent of Brees' 216 games with the Saints (80 total). His 23,379 yards represents 36 percent of his 65,068 passing yards with New Orleans, and 30.2 percent of his career total. For perspective, those 23,379 yards against these three teams would place him 88th on the all-time passing leader list, ahead of players like Bernie Kosar, Ryan Tannehill, Marc Bulger, Derek Carr, Roger Staubach, Michael Vick, and everyone's favorite Sammy Baugh. You could add up Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, and Lamar Jackson's passing totals and just barely edge out what Brees has done against the NFC South while just being in New Orleans at 23,456 yards.

Drew Brees career performance vs. 2020 Saints opponents / John Hendrix

Highs and Lows - At a Glance

• Highest Points/Game: 35.3 (vs. Raiders)
• Lowest Points/Game: 23 (vs. Broncos)
• Most Wins: 19 (vs. Falcons)
• Best Record: 3-0 (vs. Chargers)
• Worst Record: 0-3 (vs. Broncos)
• Most Completions: 749 (vs. Falcons)
• Most Attempts: 1,098 (vs. Falcons)
• Best Completion Percentage: 74.75% (vs. Raiders)
• Lowest Completion Percentage: 67.21% (vs. Chargers)
• Most Yards: 8,468 (vs. Falcons)
• Lowest Yards: 873 (vs. Chiefs)
• Best Average Passing/Game: 363.8 (vs. Packers)
• Most Passing Touchdowns: 53 (vs. Buccaneers and Falcons)
• Least Passing Touchdowns: 6 (vs. Broncos)
• Most Interceptions: 26 (vs. Falcons)
• Least Interceptions: 0 (vs. Raiders)
• Most Sacks: 36 (vs. Falcons)
• Least Sacks: 2 (vs. Raiders)

The Drew Brees appreciation cannot be stated enough, and the league will certainly miss him when he's gone. If this is the last year to see Brees and you have the chance to, then you should. The NFL may never see another quarterback like him in this lifetime, and it'd be fitting to see the Saints send him off into the sunset a winner. Either way, he should be in line for another stellar season in New Orleans.