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Carolina rookie quarterback Cam Newton was on the field for a higher percentage of his team’s offensive plays than all but three NFL quarterbacks in the 2011 season.

Newton was on the field for 98.95 percent of Carolina’s 1,046 offensive snaps. He was out for only 11 plays. New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning led the league in this category, playing in all 1,075 of his team’s offensive plays.

New Orleans’ Drew Brees ranked No. 10 in the league, taking part in 96.35 percent of the Saints’ snaps. Brees was pulled from a few games when the Saints were blowing teams out, although his departure might have come a bit later than the Atlanta Falcons would have liked in the game where Brees broke Dan Marino’s record for passing yardage in a season.

Atlanta’s Matt Ryan participated in 94.23 percent of the Falcons’ 1,127 offensive plays. Ryan’s percentage was No. 12 in the league.

Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman was No. 14 at 92.26. Freeman was on the field for 942 of Tampa Bay’s 1,021 offensive plays. Freeman missed one game with an injury and also was yanked at times when the Bucs inserted Josh Johnson in their Wildcat package, which, hopefully is something new coach Greg Schiano does away with.

I’ve got playing time details for every player in the league in 2011. I’m breaking them down with Saint Leo University student Chris Walker, who is acting as the unofficial (and unpaid) NFC South Blog intern. Over the coming days, we’ll take individual looks at playing time for NFC South players at all the different position groups.

Time for an evening look at Wednesday's headlines from around the NFC South.

• John Manasso writes about some changes that could be coming for Atlanta’s defense now that Mike Nolan is the coordinator. It remains to be seen what the Falcons will do about potential free agents in cornerback Brent Grimes, linebacker Curtis Lofton and defensive end John Abraham. But I think it’s fair to suggest that no matter what happens with those three, the Falcons will be looking to improve their pass rush and play in the defensive backfield.
• Here’s a list of highlights from the Saints’ 2011 season. No surprise that Drew Brees breaking Dan Marino’s record for passing yards in a season is No. 1. Even as a jaded journalist, I’m always going to remember I was in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for that game and got to witness history.
• Here’s some potentially interesting news. The NFL, which forbids players from tweeting during regular-season games, will make an exception during the Pro Bowl. Since Atlanta receiver Roddy White will be there, his Twitter account could be more interesting than the all-star game.
• With Indianapolis hiring Chuck Pagano as head coach, New Orleans offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael and offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, who had been candidates, apparently will be staying with the Saints. Of course, Carmichael and Kromer could suddenly appear on Tampa Bay’s list, if they’re not already there.
• Speaking of Tampa Bay’s search, the Bucs reportedly had a second interview with Mike Sherman Wednesday. Does that mean the Bucs are getting closer to finally making a hire? Not necessarily, the Bucs have been so deliberately slow in this search and pulled a total surprise when they unsuccessfully attempted to hire Chip Kelly. They could be closing in on Sherman, but they could be secretly meeting with someone else.
• The Panthers interviewed Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson at the Senior Bowl. Again, I urge caution into reading too much into pre-draft interviews. But, Wilson to the Panthers with a late-round draft pick, carries some logic. The Panthers could be looking for a backup for Cam Newton. Derek Anderson is scheduled to be a free agent and the Panthers may cut Jimmy Clausen loose.
• Richard Rodgers has been added as Carolina’s assistant special teams coach. He played with coach Ron Rivera in college at California.

Time for a look at the top Wednesday morning headlines from around the NFC South.

Drew Brees’ uniform from the day he broke Dan Marino’s record for passing yards in a season is now on display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

With Stephen Nicholas still banged up, it looks as if Spencer Adkins could make his second straight start at outside linebacker for Atlanta.

No big surprise here, but the Saints went ahead and officially placed running back Mark Ingram and linebacker Will Herring on injured reserve. Offensive lineman Eric Olsen and linebacker Nate Bussey are filling the roster spots.

As he reflected on the season, Carolina general manager Marty Hurney said it became apparent early on that the Panthers got “who we thought we drafted’’ in rookie quarterback Cam Newton. The Panthers did a ton of homework on Newton and believed they were getting a player who was potentially special. But I don’t think even the Panthers knew how quickly Newton would explode and put up huge numbers.

Martin Fennelly writes that Raheem Morris’ downfall ultimately was due to his inability to separate himself from the players. That’s very true. Morris had many positive qualities, but he never established himself as an authority figure with the Tampa Bay players. The Bucs were a young team with virtually no leadership and that’s why they fell apart.

The NFL just officially announced its players of the week awards. It should come as no surprise that New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees was selected as the NFC offensive player of the week.

As you might have heard, Brees broke Dan Marino’s record for passing yards in a season in Monday night’s victory against Atlanta. Brees now has 5,087 passing yards. Brees finished the Atlanta game with four touchdown passes, which gives him 41 on the season. He’s only the sixth quarterback in NFL history to pass for 40 touchdowns in his season.

This is Brees’ 15^th career player of the week award and third of this season.

As we discussed earlier, New Orleans coach Sean Payton has taken some criticism for allowing quarterback Drew Brees to stay in the game as he broke Dan Marino’s record for passing yardage in a season Monday night.

Payton was asked about the criticism Tuesday and said he has no regrets over how he handled the situation.

“Like I said last night, you are going to make decisions and people will write what they want after the fact,’’ Payton said. “You go with your gut. I thought it was the right decisions last night. This morning, I thought it was clearly the right decision. I felt overwhelmingly that most people that are involved in this game, and know a little bit about this game, probably felt the same way. The great thing about our game is that you can have an opinion about it. I felt that was in the minority.’’

The decision by New Orleans coach Sean Payton to leave Drew Brees in and continue throwing late in Monday night’s victory against Atlanta is drawing lots of criticism.

Brees broke Dan Marino’s record for passing yards in a season with a little over two minutes left in a 45-16 victory. The fact Brees was still in a game that was long over has some critics saying Payton broke an unwritten rule.

Two writers I know and respect enormously took issue with Payton’s decision. Pete Prisco writes that Brees’ record is tainted due to the circumstances under which it was finalized. Jason Cole writes that leaving Brees in the game and scoring a late touchdown wasn’t very classy.

I recognized both points and I’m generally opposed to anyone running up the score. I haven’t always agreed with everything Payton does and don’t disagree all that much when people say he’s arrogant or aggressive.

But I really have no problem with what Payton did Monday night. He was looking out for the best interest of his team. Had he pulled Brees, the media attention that comes with the pursuit of a record like this would have dragged on for another week. Sure, Brees could have broken the record in Sunday’s game against Carolina.

But why not get it out of the way as soon as you can? The Saints will have other things to worry about Sunday, like trying to get ahead of San Francisco and into the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.

What Payton did was not at all out of character. He had a goal in mind and he went for it.

Are the Falcons unhappy about how things played out? Absolutely, although they were careful not to publicly criticize Payton and the Saints.

But the fact is the Falcons (coaches and players) are all professionals. They’re paid very well. They’re also expected to perform at a very high level. The Falcons didn’t do that Monday night.

Will they remember what happened and try to use it as a motivating factor if they end up playing the Saints in the playoffs? No doubt. Maybe that motivation provides a different result in a postseason rematch and it comes back to bite Payton in the end.

Or maybe the Falcons simply aren’t good enough to beat the Saints? Either way, it wasn’t Payton’s responsibility to act in the best interest of the Falcons. This isn’t Little League. Payton did what he felt was best for his team at the moment and that’s his job.

» NFC Stock Watch: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

FALLING

1. LeGarrette Blount, Buccaneers running back. He lost a fumble on Tampa Bay’s first offensive play against Carolina and coach Raheem Morris benched Blount, who has had fumbling problems all season, until the second half. Tampa Bay has all sorts of problems, but if you asked me to single out the biggest culprit among the players, I’d go with Blount. He ran for 1,000 yards as a rookie in just about half a season and probably won’t do that for this full season unless he runs wild in the finale against Atlanta. Yeah, like that’s going to happen. My main gripe with Blount is that he’s held back the entire offense because the coaches won’t use him as a pass-catcher or pass-blocker. If you haven’t learned to pass block by the end of your second NFL season, you probably never will pick it up.

2. Atlanta’s defense. I’m sure some members of the Falcons’ organization aren’t happy the Saints were still throwing the ball late in Monday night’s game. Understandable because the Saints did push the limits of decorum a little bit. But there’s an easy way for a defense to prevent that. Play better earlier in the game and you won’t put yourself in a situation where a team is blowing you out.

3. Michael Turner, Falcons running back. He carried 11 times for 39 yards Monday night. I know the Falcons had to go away from the running game after they fell behind. But this was the fifth straight game in which Turner has failed to rush for 100 yards. He has been on the injury report with a groin problem in recent weeks. Makes you wonder if the injury might be holding him back.

RISING

1. Drew Brees, Saints quarterback. His stock has hit an all-time high and that’s saying something. He broke Dan Marino’s record for passing yards in a season and he did it in a victory. Brees is having a season for the ages, but he has made it clear it will only be meaningful if it culminates with a second Super Bowl title.

2. Brandon LaFell, Panthers receiver. He had his first career 100-yard receiving game against Tampa Bay and that included a 91-yard touchdown catch, the longest in franchise history. A lot of people say the Panthers should draft a receiver early and pair him with Steve Smith. I say that’s not necessary. They invested an early pick in LaFell last year. It often takes receivers some time to develop. Plus, Carolina put in a whole new offense this season. LaFell seems to be picking it up and the coaches are happy with his progress. David Gettis, who missed his second season with an injury, also will be back next year. Put LaFell and Gettis with Smith and the Panthers might already be set at receiver.

3. Darren Sproles, Saints running back. He sort of got lost in Brees’ shadow, but Sproles had another huge all-around game Monday night. He rushed five times for 67 yards, caught two passes for 22 yards and a touchdown and added a 92-yard kickoff return. The biggest difference I see between last year’s Saints and this year’s team is the addition of Sproles. He has brought different elements to the offense and the special teams.

NEW ORLEANS -- In the moments after Drew Brees broke Dan Marino’s record for passing yards in a season Monday night, a bunch of other New Orleans Saints were brought into the media room to talk about their quarterback.

Perhaps the most entertaining of the bunch was tight end Jimmy Graham. He was asked what he’d be doing if Brees wasn’t his quarterback.

“I’d be overseas playing basketball,’’ said Graham, who played basketball at the University of Miami.

Graham then had another very interesting revelation.

“I told Drew that whenever he decides to retire, I’m going to retire,’’ Graham said. “I’ll never play with another quarterback. I’m really serious about that.’’

Interesting because Graham is only in his second NFL season. Brees hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, but he’ll turn 33 in January and can’t go on forever. Graham sounded very serious when he made the statement.

So keep an eye on this as the end of Brees’ career draws closer. Graham just might be serious about walking away from the game while he’s still young.

NEW ORLEANS -- Drew Brees broke a record Monday night. He also broke a rival.

In one massive swoop, Brees set an NFL passing record for yards in a season, won an NFC South title and sent a very clear message to the Atlanta Falcons, who had been surging lately, that they can’t compete with the Saints right now.

“It couldn’t have happened in any other way,’’ Brees said. “It was perfect.’’

It was perfect because everything was on Brees’ terms in a 45-16 victory against the Falcons at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on "Monday Night Football." It was perfect because Brees broke the record Dan Marino set in 1984 by throwing a 9-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to Darren Sproles, a former teammate in San Diego and the running back Brees recruited to New Orleans as a free agent this past summer.

It was perfect because the Saints (12-3 and still in contention for the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs) were so in control of the game that Brees didn’t have to worry about the distraction of chasing a record in a tight game. It was perfect because tight end Jimmy Graham, a former college basketball player, went leaping into action to grab the historic football after Sproles spiked it and it was high in the air and headed for the stands.

It was perfect because Brees couldn't even see Graham pulling off one of the more athletic moves of his career because a wall of offensive linemen descended upon the quarterback.

“The next thing I know, I’m getting bum rushed by all the (offensive linemen),’’ Brees said.

Brees entered the game needing 305 passing yards to break Marino’s record. He finished with 307.

“Drew is all about winning,’’ wide receiver Marques Colston said. “I’m just glad this came in a win.’’

That’s the way Brees felt the record had to come.

“He never mentioned (the record) one time,’’ said offensive guard Carl Nicks.

Nicks was one of those linemen who surrounded Brees as soon as Sproles crossed the goal line. They all took their turns hugging Brees, but Nicks picked up the quarterback and put him on his shoulder. Nicks and several teammates said they wanted the record for Brees more than the quarterback wanted it himself.

“If they made a movie about Drew, I don’t know if Tom Cruise could even play him,’’ Nicks said. “He’s just the best guy. We all love him, like literally love him.’’

That feeling was pretty obvious on the field and in the locker room after the game. Even Sean Payton, who often comes across as a gruff football coach, was borderline emotional as he addressed the media.

He began to read some biographical date on Marino that he had also read to the team in the locker room. Understandable because Brees was about to turn 5 years old when Marino set the record, Colston was a year old and some of the other Saints hadn’t even been born.

“I think it’s important to recognize the history of the league,’’ Payton said. “To understand how great (Marino) was helps us to understand how great Drew Brees is.’’

Brees was closing in on the record by the end of the third quarter. He had 258 yards and the Saints led 31-13 as the fourth quarter began. But the Saints and Brees hit a little bit of a lull early in the fourth quarter. Three drives stalled quickly and there undoubtedly was some speculation that Payton should have taken Brees out of the game to eliminate the possibility of injury.

But that wasn’t really a consideration, and, if you know Payton, you know his decision fit his character. While admitting he normally wouldn’t have had Brees throwing the ball late in a game with a big lead, he said this wasn’t an ordinary situation.

“I thought it was appropriate,’’ Payton said. “Just the right thing to do.’’

"I hope (Atlanta coach) Mike Smith knows that we weren't trying to run up the score at all,'' Brees said.

The Falcons, who have had a fierce rivalry with the Saints in recent years, might not view it the same way, but Payton did the right thing. There really wasn’t any sense in letting the record -- and all the attention that goes with it -- linger for another week.

“It seemed like the right thing,’’ Payton said. “As a coach, a lot of times, you have to trust your gut.’’

Everyone knows what is in Payton’s gut runs directly through the offense, specifically the quarterback.

“I wasn’t surprised,’’ receiver Robert Meachem said. “(Payton) is the quarterback too. That was a gusty call, but that’s the coach we have.’’

And Brees is the quarterback the Saints have. Records aside, what he did against the Falcons was about more than making history. The game was pretty much over at halftime, right after Brees threw a touchdown pass to Graham to give the Saints a 21-10 lead. Brees finished with four touchdown passes.

More importantly, he sent a strong late-season message to the 9-5 Falcons, who could be a playoff opponent, that they’re not capable of staying with the Saints, who have beaten Atlanta twice this season. Maybe more important than that, Brees might have sent a message to the rest of the league, particularly Green Bay and San Francisco, that the Saints are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the postseason. They’ve won seven straight games and are carrying plenty of momentum.

"This game couldn’t have been more important than it was,'' Brees said.

He wasn't talking about the record. He was talking about the Monday night venue and playing an opponent that still had a chance to steal the NFC South title.

They were all on the table. They were all taken care of methodically, and setting the record just sort of fell into place.

That’s precisely the way Brees wanted it. In 2008, he came just short of Marino’s record. But the Saints were ordinary and didn’t make the playoffs that season. This year, they’ve already clinched a playoff berth and the record seemed appropriate.

But Brees said he’s not ready to start savoring his spot in history. Winning a second Super Bowl is the goal that’s been on his mind all season and that hasn’t changed.

“I’m sure after the season I’ll spend time to reflect on (setting the record),’’ Brees said. “But, right now, there’s still so much to be done.’’

NEW ORLEANS -- Thoughts on the New Orleans Saints’ 45-16 victory against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

What it means: The Saints (12-3) clinched the NFC South, which means they’ll be one of the top four seeds in the playoffs. They still have a shot at going as high as the No. 2 seed, but they’ll need to win their finale and hope San Francisco loses. The Falcons (9-6) already are in the playoffs, but now they can’t do any better than the No. 5 seed. Also, New Orleans’ victory means that, once again, no team has won the NFC South in consecutive years since the division came into existence in 2002.

Record time: With two minutes and 51 seconds left in the game, Drew Brees made history. With a touchdown pass to Darren Sproles, Brees broke Dan Marino's record for passing yards in a season. Marino had 5,084 yards in 1984. Brees came into the game needing 305 yards to break the record. He finished with 307 yards. Brees also threw four touchdown passes.

The Sproles factor: I might be overlooking someone, but I don’t think I’m too far off in saying Sproles was the best free-agent signing in the NFL this year. Sproles has made huge contributions as a runner, receiver and a return man. Early this season, I still saw some fans wearing Reggie Bush jerseys. I don’t think I’ve seen one in a couple of months.

The great debate: After watching the Saints absolutely dominate what had been a good Atlanta team for the past month or so, I think it’s fair to start talking about how the Saints match up with the Green Bay Packers. Remember, the Saints took the Packers down to the wire in the season opener at Lambeau Field. I know for certain the Saints are a better team now than they were in September. Yeah, you can bring San Francisco into the argument too, but that kind of waters things down. The Saints and Packers play great offense and a postseason game between them would be as exciting a game as you could ask for.

What I didn't like: From an Atlanta perspective, the way the Falcons lost this game had to be demoralizing. The Falcons had seemed to be on a roll in recent weeks. They’re already in the playoffs and they should have an easy finale. But the momentum Atlanta had built over the past month or so has been shattered. If they somehow end up facing the Saints again in the playoffs, that’s not a good psychological matchup. The Saints have defeated the Falcons twice already and that’s got to be in the heads of the Atlanta players.

What's next: The Saints host the Carolina Panthers in the regular-season finale on Sunday. The Falcons host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

We all know that Carolina rookie quarterback Cam Newton is having an outstanding rookie season.

But what does it mean going forward? In this Insider post, our friends at Football Outsiders use “similarity scores’’ to find historical matches for contemporary players. They compared Newton to some pretty outstanding quarterbacks during some pretty outstanding seasons (and we’re not just talking rookie years for the other guys).

Their conclusion? We’ve never seen anything like Newton before. They say that it’s fair to compare Newton to a young Peyton Manning as a quarterback and a young Herschel Walker as a running back. That’s pretty high praise.

I’ve been saying for a couple months now that Newton is different than anything we’ve seen. You can say he throws like a Manning, Dan Marino or John Elway. You can also say he runs like Michael Vick or Tim Tebow.

There have been quarterbacks before that you could say one of those two things about. But I think Newton is the first guy you can say both things about.

Even if you had Drew Brees' cellphone number, there’s no way you could reach him right now.

You wouldn't even get a ring; you'd hear, “This mailbox is full.’’ It’s been that way for weeks now, and you can’t really blame the quarterback of the New Orleans Saints.

Contract talks? They can wait until after the season.

Dan Marino? He can wait, too.

“[Marino] actually reached out to me this week and wanted to do something, but I’d really like to just focus on the game,’’ Brees told the New Orleans media Thursday. “I respectfully just kind of said let’s wait here and just kind of let everything fall into place the way it is, and then we’ll definitely sit down. I would love to do that.’’

There’s no disrespect toward Marino intended, and we will get to how much respect Brees has for Marino’s record of 5,084 passing yards in a season in a minute. You also can bet Brees will be more than willing to resume the contract talks he tabled weeks ago.

Just, not right now!

The way Brees is approaching life these days is pretty much the same way he approaches a drop-back. He’s still looking at his first read.

A contract extension that could make him the highest-paid player in history and sitting down with a Hall of Famer are also in the playbook. But they’re down the list of progressions, and Brees isn’t ready to check off any time soon.

It may sound corny or clichéd, but Brees is focused entirely on one thing. He wants what he and the Saints got in the 2009 season. He wants a Super Bowl championship.

“Honestly, I’ve tried to just kind of numb my senses to the whole thing right now and just think about winning football games, executing this offense, being prepared as I can be, focusing on the process and just knowing that the result will take care of itself,’’ Brees said.

If you’ve spent much time around Brees, you’d know that what might seem corny and clichéd from others is simply Brees being himself. You can’t shake Brees on the field with an 11-man blitz, and it’s the same way off the field.

Brees is every bit as aware as the rest of us that he needs only 305 passing yards to break the record Marino set in 1984. He’s also very aware his contract expires the moment the season ends, and he’s smart enough to know he has as much market value as any other football player on the planet.

But Brees wants to talk about only one thing. He wants to talk about the “Monday Night Football’’ game with the Atlanta Falcons. If the Saints (11-3) win, they'll clinch the NFC South title. Brees has been locked on this progression for months.

“We all looked at the calendar prior to the season starting,’’ Brees said. “We all said, 'Hey, Monday night. The day after Christmas. Atlanta. Week 17. That’s going to be a meaningful game obviously within the division.' Then you add on some of the other stuff, and it just makes it more meaningful. I guess we can’t make this game any bigger than it already is.’’

Even though that’s precisely what Brees is trying to avoid, you can make Monday night much bigger than he describes it. Brees is on the verge of breaking a record that was set just before he celebrated his fifth birthday.

This is football’s version of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s record or Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire slugging it out. This is history, and Brees has been down this road before. In 2008, he spent much of the season on pace to break Marino’s record.

But he finished that season with 5,069 yards, which seemed appropriate at the time because that New Orleans team was mediocre and didn’t make the playoffs. At that point, Brees did sit down with Marino, who took his team to the Super Bowl in his record-setting season.

“We talked about it after the ’08 season,’’ Brees said. “At the time it was kind of just like, ‘OK, we made our run at it, and the chances of that happening again are probably really, really slim.'"

Well, it’s happening again. The Saints are winning, and in Brees’ eyes, it won’t be a shame if he breaks the record this time around, as long as some other things happen.

“Is that a significant record?’’ Brees said. “Yeah, I’d say that’s very significant. ... All those are significant records, but the most important thing is winning this game to win the division, to continue our win streak and also stay in line with our goals to continue to progress as we move towards the playoffs here.’’

Critics have said that breaking Marino’s record won’t mean a lot. They say the league has changed to make life easier for quarterbacks and much more difficult for defenses. They also point to the fact that New England’s Tom Brady also is on pace to break the record, and Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning aren’t far off.

There’s some validity to the argument about the game changing to favor offenses. But you can’t blame Brees for that.

The guy just happened to come along and hook up with coach Sean Payton, an offensive mastermind who probably could have taken Brees and exploited defenses in any era.

“Having Sean Payton has been everything for me,’’ Brees said. “Having the opportunity here to be with him, to be coached by him and mentored by him. I think he brought out a confidence in me that I didn’t have before. I’ve always been a really confident guy, but I think there were certain things that might not have ever come out unless I was with him. I think that that has showed. Each and every year I feel like I’ve gotten a little bit better and that’s always been my goal, was just to get a little bit better. And statistics don’t always show that. But in my heart, I know that that’s true, and he’s a huge part of that.’’

The statistics are showing that Brees is getting better. In his heart, the record and the new contract will mean a lot more if they come in tandem with another championship.

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 16:

Ryan's on fire: The Falcons appear to be getting hot at the right time. In the past six quarters, against the Panthers and Jaguars, Atlanta has outscored opponents 65-14. Quarterback Matt Ryan has thrown seven touchdown passes and zero interceptions in those two games. Ryan also is playing for a spot in the record book. He is 42-18 in his career. Joe Flacco, who also entered the league in the 2008 draft, is 42-20. Each already has won more starts in his first four seasons than any quarterback since the Super Bowl era started in1966.

Monday Night Fever: The New Orleans Saints have all sorts of streaks going. They’ve clinched a playoff berth for the third straight season. They’ve won at least 11 games in each of the past three seasons. They’re on a six-game winning streak. That ties them with the Patriots for the longest active winning streak in the NFL. Finally, the Saints have the NFL’s longest active winning streak in “Monday Night Football’’ games. They’ve won six straight and haven’t lost since a 2008 game against Minnesota.

The “other’’ record: Understandably, most of the talk surrounding the Saints has to do with Drew Brees’ pursuit of Dan Marino’s record for passing yards in a season. But another member of the Saints is chasing history. That’s second-year tight end Jimmy Graham. He’s on pace for 99 catches and 1,338 receiving yards. The NFL record for receiving yards by a tight end is 1,290, set by San Diego’s Kellen Winslow in 1980. Graham also has had at least five catches in six straight games.

Making history: Even in a season that hasn’t been filled with wins, the Carolina Panthers have a chance to make some very positive history. Running back Jonathan Stewart needs to gain just 6 rushing yards to reach 600 for the season. Fellow running back DeAngelo Williams already has 717 yards and quarterback Cam Newton has 609 yards. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last two teams to have three 600-yard rushers in a season were the 2006 Falcons (Michael Vick, Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood) and the 1978 Patriots (Sam Cunningham, Horace Ivory and Andy Johnson).

Losing at historic rate: Some unflattering notes on Tampa Bay’s eight-game losing streak: It’s the longest active streak in the NFL and the first time the Bucs have lost eight straight in a season since 1987. If the Bucs lose to the Panthers and make it nine straight, it will set off some more statistical bells. The Bucs haven’t lost nine straight in a season since starting 0-9 in 1985.

Colleague Ashley Fox has a column that says New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees is a worthy candidate for the Most Valuable Player award. If that sounds familiar, it should. I wrote a column that made a similar point just about a month ago.

Before Packers’ fans start shouting, Fox and I both make it pretty clear that Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers will win the award. We’re not saying Rodgers is unworthy of the award. He absolutely is worthy. He’s had a great season and so have the Packers.

But the point Fox and I are making is that Brees at least belongs in the conversation. He’s on the verge of shattering Dan Marino’s record for passing yards in a season (5,084). And the Saints are 11-3. The Packers were undefeated until Sunday, but their loss at Kansas City takes away one strong argument for Rodgers.

He no longer is playing for an undefeated team. He’s playing for a great team and so is Brees. Both quarterbacks are having great seasons. Neither would be a bad choice.

But the reality is Rodgers will win the award. He plays for the Packers. Green Bay might officially be the NFL’s smallest market and New Orleans isn’t far behind. But, unofficially, the Packers are a national team with a huge profile and lots of history.

The Saints’ national profile has grown in recent years, but they don’t have the lore of the Packers. That pretty much guarantees Rodgers will win the MVP, but Brees definitely belongs in the conversation.

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees threw for 412 yards and five touchdowns in Sunday’s victory against Minnesota.

Those numbers come with all sorts of implications and significance, so let’s take a look.

• First off, Brees now has 4,780 passing yards and needs only 305 in the final two games to break Dan Marino’s single-season record for passing yards (5,084 in 1984).

• Brees’ performance Sunday was historic in itself. Brees became the first player ever to pass for 400 yards and five touchdowns while compiling a completion percentage of at least 80, according to Elias Sports Bureau. He’s also the sixth player in NFL history to post 400 passing yards, five touchdown passes and no interceptions in a game.

• It also was Brees’ 11^th game with at least 300 passing yards this season and that’s an NFL record.

• It was Brees’ sixth career game with five passing touchdowns, which ties Marino and Peyton Manning for the all-time record.

• Brees isn’t the only quarterback with a shot to eclipse Marino’s record. Three others at least have a mathematical chance. New England’s Tom Brady would need to average 246 yards over the final two games to pass Marino. Eli Manning needs to average 361.5 yards and Aaron Rodgers needs to average 361.5.

• Brees now has at least one touchdown pass in 41 straight games. That’s the second-longest streak in history. Johnny Unitas set the record (47).

• Brees now has 37 touchdown passes on the season. That’s a new franchise record. Brees had thrown for 34 touchdown passes in two other seasons.