NFL Week 8 awards: Drew Brees eviscerates the competition
By Brad Rowland
Week 8 Most Valuable Player
Drew Brees, QB New Orleans Saints
What an unbelievable game and what a dominant and impressive performance.
Brees and the Saints upended the New York Giants by a 52-49 margin (not a misprint) on Sunday afternoon. And while it certainly wasn’t a game for defensive aficionados, the entertainment level was off the charts. Brees, who has received healthy criticism for his early-season play this season, absolutely exploded from a statistical standpoint, completing 40 of his 50 pass attempts for 511 yards and seven (yes, seven) touchdown passes.
The 36-year-old quarterback jumped into an eight-way tie for the NFL record for single-game touchdown throws, and if that wasn’t impressive enough, Brees put together a ridiculous 140.5 quarterback rating. In short, Brees made every play possible during this game, and he did so without the benefit of a single dominant wide receiver. To expand, the Giants had absolutely no answer for the New Orleans offense throughout the day (as evidenced by the score), and Brees had to be near perfect to make up for an appalling performance from his defense.
He is the centerpiece of the New Orleans Saints in a way that can only be matched by a handful of quarterbacks in the NFL, and on this day, Drew Brees reminded the football world of his still-immense ceiling.
Runner-up: Eli Manning, QB New York Giants
