Saints QB Drew Brees Owns Two of the Top 20 Passing Seasons in the Last 25 Years

Over at numberFire.com, you can usually find betting odds, fantasy projections, and and player rankings. They recently released a list of the 20 Best NFL Passing Seasons in the Last 25 Years. Of course New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees would show up on the list, and he actually showed up twice. First, he came up at # 16 with his 2011 performance:

Drew Brees' 2011 season is what separates the really good seasons from the great. His 8.23 ANY/A is far superior to the previous passer, as are his 71.23% completion rate and 5,476 passing yards.

Over 16 games, Brees also earned himself a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 46 to 14. After winning the Super Bowl two years prior, the New Orleans Saints failed to emerge from the divisional round of the NFC playoffs in this campaign.

He then showed up for a second time on the list five spots later at #11, with his 2009 season.

Like the two quarterbacks proceeding him, Brees makes his second appearance on this noteworthy list. However, this season was the one in which Brees and company took home the Lombardi Trophy, winning 13 regular season games and catching fire in the playoffs.

Rightfully so, Brees was named MVP of the big game. After all, he passed for 8.31 ANY/A while also completing 70.62% of his throws. His 109.6 passer rating and 34 touchdowns both led the entire NFL that season in what could've been an MVP year for the 30-year-old.

It’s hard to fault the logic there.

In case you’re curious, topping the list was then-Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning’s 2004 season when he finished the year with a passer rating of 121.1 winning the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award for the second year in a row. Also, in case you’re wondering, Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan’s 2016 performance came in third on the list. Did you know the Falcons blew a 25 point lead in the Super Bowl that year?