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Two of the four players suspended from the Saints bounty program, Scott Fujita and Anthony Hargrove, are no longer on the team.

However, the Saints are losing their longest tenured player, Will Smith, for four games and starting inside linebacker, Jonathan Vilma, for the entire 2012 season.

Smith and Vilma were two of five Saints defenders to play at least 80 percent of defensive snaps in the games they played last season (see chart).

Smith is fourth in team history with 61.5 sacks, but is coming off a career-low 35 tackles last season. Smith also has only two sacks over the last two seasons with a standard four-man pass rush, but he thrived when the Saints sent added pressure.

The Saints defense sent five or more pass rushers on more than half of dropbacks in 2010 and 2011, leading the league both seasons -- and Vilma and Smith were big parts of the Saints' blitz packages:

• Smith led the Saints and was tied for fourth in the NFL with 10 sacks the last two seasons when the Saints sent at least five pass rushers.

• Smith also led all Saints linemen since 2010 with seven passes defensed/intercepted.

• Smith's nine tackles for losses are tops among Saints defensive linemen and tied for second-highest on the team with Vilma.

Vilma led Saints in tackles from 2008-10, and in 2011 was tied for second in the NFL with three opponent fumble recoveries.

According to Accuscore, the Saints playoff chances dropped 5.2 percent, which is not significant because a team's chances to go to the playoffs fluctuate about 5 percent from week to week during the regular season.

Stats & Information gets you ready for the NFL Draft at the end of the month with a look at the biggest need for each team. Today, we take a look at the NFC South.

Atlanta Falcons
Need: Pass-rushing defensive lineman

The Falcons sent four or fewer pass rushers at the seventh-highest rate in the league (76.8 percent), but ranked 20th in the NFL with a sack every 20.7 dropbacks. Defensive end John Abraham led the team with 9.5 sacks when Atlanta rushed four or fewer. No teammate had more than three, including Ray Edwards, who signed a five-year, $30 million deal last offseason but had only 3.5 sacks.

Kiper’s 1st-Round Prediction: No first-round pick
McShay’s 1st-Round Prediction: No first-round pick

Carolina Panthers
Need: Run-stuffing defensive lineman

The left side of the Panthers’ defense was terrible defending the run. Not only were the 2.5 yards after contact allowed per rush to the right the worst in the NFL, but the Panthers were the only team to allow over 500 rushing yards before contact to the right side (870 yards total). In addition, Carolina ranked last in yards per rush (6.4) and first downs (41) to the right side.

Kiper’s 1st-Round Prediction: Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis
McShay’s 1st-Round Prediction: Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis

New Orleans Saints
Need: Defensive backs

Only the Green Bay Packers allowed more 30-yard pass plays inside the numbers last season than the Saints. New Orleans had the second-worst touchdown-interception differential in the NFL against throws over the middle.

New Orleans revamped their linebacking corps, bringing in David Hawthorne, Chris Chamberlain and Curtis Lofton in free agency. Help in the secondary is a necessary next-step for the Saints, especially after losing Tracy Porter to the Denver Broncos.

Kiper’s 1st-Round Prediction: No first-round pick
McShay’s 1st-Round Prediction: No first-round pick

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Need: Cover corner

The Buccaneers allowed 494 points last season (30.9 PPG), tied for the second-most in the last 10 years. The Bucs have to address a questionable group of defensive backs, even with Ronde Barber returning.

The Bucs secondary wasn’t helped by a mediocre linebacking corps - no team had fewer impact plays (sacks + interceptions + passes defended) by linebackers than Tampa Bay. However, the Buccaneers were horrible defending passes downfield, and must improve to contend in a division that features Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Cam Newton.

Kiper’s 1st-Round Prediction: Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU
McShay’s 1st-Round Prediction: Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

This division-by-division look at the NFL Draft will resume Monday with the AFC South.

Traditional statistics support Cam Newton as the clear choice for Rookie of the Year. He set a single-season rookie record with 4,051 passing yards. In addition, he racked up 706 yards rushing.

In a staggering feat for a rookie, Newton also set the single-season record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 14.

Not only did Newton re-write the record books, but he also showed that he's one of the best quarterbacks -- in the entire league -- when it comes to facing pressure.

When facing two prominent and yet different types of pressure, Newton excelled. Newton ranked in the top five in the league both against defenses that brought five or more pass rushers against him and in situations when he had to make plays outside the pocket. No other quarterback could make that claim.

Under duress or taking a hit specifically means when the pressure of a defensive threat toward a QB is imminent or is occurring during the play. Against the first type of pressure, Newton owned the best Total QBR in the league at 96.6.

The ability to make plays when under pressure is a necessity for any QB, and being mobile helped Newton do it better than anyone else.

This leads to the second type of pressure he excels against: under duress or taking a hit while throwing outside the pocket. Newton ranked fifth in QBR in this category, placing him among the elite quarterbacks when he's in the open field.

How is it possible that a rookie is so successful against this combination of pressure? His ability to rush the ball both directly and indirectly benefits his QBR.

Directly, Newton not only ranks first in QBR on rush plays, he crushes the competition. At 6’5’’, 248 pounds with a 40-yard dash of 4.59 seconds, he is a terror in the open field.

His athleticism accounts for the fact that he had the most rushes this season by a QB (126), ahead of Michael Vick and Tim Tebow. But quantity aside, his No. 1 QBR ranking on designed rushes reveals the quality of Newton’s ground game.

Indirectly, both the high quantity and quality of Newton’s designed rushes helps to set up his passing game. Forced to respect his rushing ability, defenses applied direct pressure to him when he leaves the pocket to avoid being exploited for big gains on the ground.

The only problem is that Newton clearly excels under pressure, leaving a defense vulnerable regardless of their gameplan.

The San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints once again proved that no lead is safe in the playoffs. The two teams exchanged leads four times and combined for four touchdowns in the final five minutes of the game, with Vernon Davis catching the final score with nine seconds remaining to lift the 49ers to a 36-32 win.

Elias confirms that this game was only the second playoff contest in NFL history in which both teams scored at least 16 points in the fourth quarter. The only other game was Super Bowl XXXVIII between the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers.

Why the 49ers Won
Davis emerged as a pass-catching threat for the unusually pass-happy 49ers. Davis caught seven passes for a career-best 180 yards, the second-most in 49ers postseason history, as Alex Smith reached season-highs in attempts (42) and yards (299).

Smith was really effective finding Davis on deep throws. Smith went 5-for-5 for 167 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner, when targeting Vernon Davis 11 yards or more downfield. Davis hadn't caught five such throws in a game over the past four seasons.

Smith also was able to do damage with his legs, scoring a go-ahead touchdown on a designed run on 3rd-and-7 from the Saints' 28-yard line. That play was far from ordinary.

During the regular season, quarterbacks attempted a designed run on 3rd-and-7 or more only 2.4 percent of the time and only once on those 81 carries did the quarterback score a rushing touchdown on the play (Chad Henne in Week 1).

The 49ers defense also did its job, forcing five takeaways that led to 13 points. San Francisco tied for the NFL lead in takeaways during the regular season and had the sixth-most points off turnovers.

Turning Point
Facing third down on the Saints' 14-yardline with under 15 seconds remaining in regulation, Smith found Davis on a short pass up the middle and Davis went in for the game-winning score with nine seconds left on the clock.

According to Elias, this was just the fifth time in NFL postseason history that a team scored a touchdown to take the lead when trailing with fewer than 10 seconds left in regulation. The last such score was Kevin Dyson’s 75-yard kickoff return in the 1999 Wild Card Playoffs.

Why the Saints lost
Drew Brees piled up the passing yards in typical fashion but was uncharacteristically inaccurate in this game. He entered this game with a NFL-record streak of 215 postseason passes without an interception and then threw two in the first half.

Both of those picks came on throws more than 20 air yards downfield, his first multi-interception game on such throws since Week 7 of 2009.

Brees also struggled when under duress (i.e. forced to move or alter throw due to pressure) in this game. Brees completed just 5-of-16 passes when under duress, after posting the second-best completion percentage (53.3 percent) in those situations during the regular season.

Brees did throw for 462 yards, becoming the first player in NFL history with three 400-yard passing games in the postseason. Brees now has the two highest passing yard totals in a playoff regulation game. His 63 attempts were the fourth-most ever in a postseason game.

Stats of the game
With the win, the 49ers have have 19 home playoff victories, matching the Cowboys and Raiders for the second-most in NFL history.

With the loss, the Saints drop to 0-5 all-time in road playoff games, tying the Cincinnati Bengals for the worst road playoff record in NFL history.

The Bay Area will be buzzing this weekend when the San Francisco 49ers host the New Orleans Saints in the franchise’s first playoff game since the 2002 season.

The second-ranked 49ers defense, which allowed an average of 14 points per game, will face a formidable task in trying to slow the league’s hottest offense in this historic strength-versus-strength matchup.

The Saints, who finished the regular season second in the NFL at 34.2 points per game, gained a playoff-record 626 yards against the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card Playoffs and have scored at least 40 points in each of their last four games.

This is the first playoff game between an offense that averaged at least 34 points per game in the regular season and a defense that allowed fewer than 15 points per game since the 1950 NFL Championship, when the Rams (38.8 PPG) lost to the Browns (12.0 PPG allowed) 30-28.

When the Saints have the ball
Drew Brees wasn’t finished re-writing the record books when the regular season ended. Against the Lions he threw for 466 yards, the most ever in a regulation playoff game.

Brees torched the Lions with the deep ball, completing 6-of-9 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns when passing 15 yards or more downfield. Brees will be challenged to repeat those numbers on Saturday as he’ll face one of the toughest defenses on such throws in the NFL.

The 49ers defense has also excelled in getting to the quarterback, tied for seventh in the league with 42 sacks. However, Brees has been one of the hardest quarterbacks to take down this season. He’s been sacked once every 29 dropbacks, the best rate among qualified QBs.

When the 49ers have the ball
As good as the 49ers defense has been this season, their offense has been just as anemic, ranked 26th in total yards. According to Elias, no team has ever won a Super Bowl with an offense that finished outside the top 25 in the regular season.

Though Alex Smith was arguably more of a game-manager than a touchdown-maker this season, he was efficient against the blitz. Smith had the fifth-best touchdown-to-interception ratio and seventh-best completion percentage against five-or-more pass rushers this season.

That record of success for Smith will be critical against the Saints, who have used such pressure an NFL-high 51.3 percent of the time this season (including playoffs).

If Smith can’t move the ball through the air, the 49ers will likely turn to their workhorse running back, Frank Gore, who ran for over 1,200 yards this season. Gore picked up 62.8 percent of his rushing yards prior to initial contact, the fourth-highest rate among running backs with 200 rushes.

However, the Saints are one of the best tackling teams in the league and have a good chance to limit San Francisco’s ground game. Opposing rushers have gained just 53 percent of their yards before contact, the fourth-best rate in the NFL.

Stats of the game
The Saints are 0-4 all-time in road playoff games and with a loss will match the Cincinnati Bengals for the worst road playoff record in NFL history.

The 49ers are 18-8 in home playoff games. With a win they will match the Dallas Cowboys and Oakland Raiders for the second-most home playoff victories.

A defensive struggle in the first half between the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons quickly turned into a Giants rout after halftime. The Big Blue offense erupted for 17 second-half points and the defense held the Falcons scoreless in final 30 minutes en route to a 24-2 win on Wild Card Sunday.

The Giants, who were making their NFL-record 31st postseason appearance, won their first playoff game since Super Bowl XLII vs the Patriots. It was also their first postseason win at home since beating the Vikings in the 2000 NFC Conference Championship.

With the loss, the Falcons fall to 0-3 in the playoffs during the Mike Smith/Matt Ryan era (since 2008). Ryan also becomes the sixth quarterback since the merger to begin his postseason career with three straight losses, according to Elias.

Why Giants Won
For the first time this season, the Giants passing and running games both clicked on the same afternoon. The Giants rushed for a season-best 172 yards and finished with 442 yards of total offense, their third-most in playoff franchise history.

Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw punished the Falcons defense all game long, piling up 155 combined yards on 28 carries.

Jacobs finished with a season-high 47 rush yards after contact and Bradshaw finished with 43. The 90 combined yards after contact were most for the duo in a game all season.

The Giants defensive line also shined as it shut down the Falcons ground game. They didn’t give the Atlanta running backs any space, allowing just 27 of the Falcons’ 64 rushing yards to come before initial contact. That’s the fewest rush yards before contact allowed by the Giants all season.

Turning Point
Deep in his own territory and facing third down late in the third quarter, Eli Manning dumped a short pass over the middle to Hakeem Nicks.

The former Tar Heel turned it into a back-breaking 72-yard touchdown catch to put the Giants ahead 17-2. The grab matched the longest touchdown catch in Giants postseason history, originally set by Earnest Gray in the 1981 playoffs.

Why Falcons Lost
Atlanta’s offense sputtered the entire game finishing with season-lows in points (2) and total yards (247). The last time the Falcons were held to two points or fewer was a 27-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004.

Two of the Falcons 11 drives ended with failed fourth-down conversions. The second failure led to Nicks’ 72-yard touchdown catch-and-run.

Situations like that were not kind to the Falcons during the regular season this year. Only the Rams had a worse conversion rate on third- or fourth-and-one attempts than the Falcons this year.

Stat of the Game
The Falcons are the first team in NFL history to finish a playoff game with exactly two points scored.

What’s Next
The Giants advance to face the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Playoff round. The Giants have a formidable task as they try to avenge a 38-35 loss to Green Bay in Week 13. The Packers were 8-0 at home this season and have a current 13-game win streak at Lambeau Field.

However, the Giants have had success recently on the road in the playoffs. They have won their last three road postseason games, including a win over the Packers in the 2007 NFC Conference Championship. That contest was coincidentally the last time the Packers hosted a playoff game.

After a relatively slow start, the New Orleans Saints offense finally got going, marching over the Detroit Lions with 35 second-half points en route to a 45-28 win.

Drew Brees completed 33 of 43 attempts for 466 yards -- the second-most in postseason history (Bernie Kosar had 489 in an overtime game in 1986) and the most in a playoff regulation game -- with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Saints tied a franchise playoff record with 45 points, gaining an NFL playoff-record 626 total yards.

For the Lions, Calvin Johnson caught 12 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns in the loss, becoming just the third player since the merger with 200 receiving yards and two touchdown catches in a playoff game.

WHY THEY WON
The Saints offense overwhelmed the Lions in the second half. Of their 626 total yards, 370 came in the second stanza, or put differently, just 42 yards fewer than the Lions had for the game.

In addition the Brees, New Orleans ran the ball effectively, rolling up 167 yards on the ground. That included a season-high 92 yards after contact.

And for the most part, the Saints have simply been hard to stop at home.

The Saints have won five straight home playoff games, and have scored at least 31 points in each of their past five playoff games. Including the postseason, the Saints have scored at least 30 points in eight of nine home games this season.

TURNING POINT
The second half. The Saints scored touchdowns on each of their first five possessions in the second half, and ran out the clock on their sixth drive of the half.

WHY THEY LOST
The Lions entered halftime with a three-point lead, but it could have been more had they capitalized on New Orleans' two first-half turnovers.

But on each of New Orleans' two fumbles, the Lions came up empty, even going three-and-out following the second Saints turnover.

STAT OF THE GAME
A total of four playoff records were set in Saturday's tilt between the Lions and Saints: most passing yards in regulation game (Drew Brees, 446), most yards by one team (Saints, 626), most combined passing yards (846 by Brees and Stafford), and (courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau) most receiving yards in a playoff debut (Calvin Johnson, 211).

WHAT'S NEXT
Awaiting the Saints in the NFC Divisional Round are the San Francisco 49ers, owners of a similar 13-3 regular-season record.

For the Saints to advance to their third NFC Championship Game in six seasons, they'll have to do something they've never done before -- win a true road playoff game.

These teams have never met in the playoffs before. The Saints currently own a six-game win streak in the series dating back to 2002.

In their last meeting, back on Sept. 20, 2010, the Saints eked out a 25-22 win courtesy of a Garrett Hartley 37-yard field goal as time expired.

Sunday’s early playoff game features the 9-7 New York Giants, making their record 31st postseason appearance, playing host to the 10-6 Atlanta Falcons.

These teams got to the playoffs on their strength of their offenses, as both team’s defenses ranked outside the top 10 in points and yards allowed this season. So let’s break down the offensive matchups for this game.

Under Center
The Giants pass rush is the strength of their defense, as they finished tied for the third-most sacks this season in the NFL. However, they might want to consider bringing extra pressure against Falcons QB Matt Ryan.

In his last seven games, Ryan threw 12 touchdowns and no interceptions against four or fewer pass rushers. That was a change of pace from the first nine games, when Ryan threw nine touchdowns and eight interceptions against such pressure.

The Giants do routinely get after the passer with just four or fewer rushers, with 34 sacks this season when sending such pressure, the second-most in the NFL.

But if this game comes down to the fourth quarter, Eli Manning could take over.

Manning threw for 4,933 yards this season, with nearly 35 percent of those yards coming in the fourth quarter, a league-leading 1,715. Manning also set an NFL record by throwing for 15 touchdowns in the final quarter.

Going Deep
These teams feature two of the best big-play receivers in the NFL, Atlanta’s Julio Jones and New York’s Victor Cruz.

Manning has had a big advantage over Ryan throwing downfield this season, with 38 completions when throwing 21 or more yards downfield compared to 11 for Ryan. Manning was at his best going to Cruz in those situations, going 13-21 to Cruz and 17-53 throwing to other wide receivers.

Jones was the main big-play target for Atlanta, with seven receptions of 40 or more yards this season, tied for fourth most in the NFL. The rest of the Falcons had three such receptions this season.

Roddy White, the Falcons other top target, unexpectedly struggled this season, with an NFL-high 14 drops. Last season, White dropped just three passes.

In the Backfield
The 2007 Giants, who went on to win the Super Bowl, were fourth in the NFL in rushing during the regular season. Conversely, this season’s Giants enter the playoffs averaging 89.2 rush yards per game, fewest in the NFL, and the lowest by a Giants team since 1999.

So the advantage here goes to the Falcons and Michael Turner. The magic number is 100, as the Falcons are 22-3 when Turner rushes for at least 100 yards.

Watch for Turner to run to the left side. He averaged 5.6 yards per rush this season running to the left side, and just 4.0 when going up the middle or to the right. He could find room running left Sunday too, as the Giants allowed 4.7 yards per rush in that direction, 22nd in the league.

Saturday night’s Wild Card matchup between the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints features two teams that have had very different recent postseason results.

The Saints are just two seasons removed from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. That from a franchise that won just two playoff games in its first 42 years in the NFL.

Compared to the slump the Saints were once on, the Lions current drought seems brief. But the Lions had missed the playoffs for 11 straight seasons before this year, which was tied with the Buffalo Bills for the longest active streak.

Now, the Lions will try to snap a six-game postseason streak that dates back to the 1991 season. If Detroit drops Saturday night’s game, it’ll tie the Chiefs for the longest postseason losing streak in NFL history.

What these teams do have in common, however, is a propensity for throwing the ball. Both teams' quarterbacks, Drew Brees and Matthew Stafford, went over 5,000 yards this season.

The difference maker in this game could be on the defensive side of the ball. Especially how these teams rush the opposing passer.

When the Saints have it
Let’s face it, going up against Drew Brees is a tall order. Brees set NFL records this season in pass yards, completion percentage, completions, passing first downs, 300-yard games and consecutive 300-yard games.

Don’t think that dropping additional defenders into coverage will help the issue. Brees shredded opposing defenses for a 74.0 completion percentage and an 89.9 Total QBR when facing four or fewer rushers, both best in the NFL.

The Lions used four or fewer pass rushers on 78.9 percent of their opponents’ dropbacks this season, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL. In Week 13, Brees went 22-28 for 297 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Lions when Detroit sent four or fewer rushers.

When the Lions have it
Unlike the Lions, no team sent extra rushers after the quarterback more often this season than the Saints. New Orleans sent five or more pass rushers on 51.1 percent of dropbacks.

Stafford struggled this season when facing the extra pressure, with a 44.4 Total QBR and six interceptions against seven touchdowns.

No qualifying quarterback faced extra defensive pressure more often than Stafford this season, as he faced five or more pass rushers on 24.6 percent of his dropbacks. However, only four quarterbacks threw more interceptions in such situations than Stafford’s six.

Stafford finished the seasons with 16 interceptions, tied for the seventh-most in the NFL. However, that total could’ve been much higher. Opponents dropped six potential interceptions against Stafford this season, the most against any passer in the NFL.

Stafford is coming off a huge game, so momentum could be on his side. In Week 17 against the Packers, Stafford threw for 520 yards, fifth-most in NFL history, and the most since Boomer Esiason threw for 522 yards in 1996.

Two individual historic droughts could end this weekend in the NFL. Detroit Lions kicker Jason Hanson and Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez have played in a combined 549 regular-season games without a playoff victory, but both have the chance to end their droughts on Wild Card Weekend.

Both players' teams will have to win on the road in order to break their streaks, as the Lions head to the Superdome to face the New Orleans Saints Saturday night, while the Falcons play at the New York Giants at one eastern on Sunday.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Hanson (311) and Gonzalez (238) rank first and second in most regular-season games played without a playoff win in the Super Bowl era. Each has had multiple chances and letdowns in the playoffs over their careers.

Hanson has been with Detroit since 1992, the year after the Lions’ last playoff victory. Since then, he’s been to the postseason five times (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1999), yet come up on the losing end in all five.

However, he has come very close to postseason success. On Jan. 8, 1994, Brett Favre threw a game-winning touchdown pass to Sterling Sharpe with 55 seconds remaining to put the Green Bay Packers ahead of the Lions for good in a Wild Card matchup.

The very next postseason, Green Bay edged out the Lions yet again, 16-12 in Lambeau Field. In that game, Hanson missed a 30-yard field goal attempt with the Lions down, 10-0, in the second quarter. Later in the game, Hanson made a 38-yard field goal, but banked it off the upright.

Gonzalez has made a postseason trip on four occasions before this season, three coming with the Chiefs (1997, 2003, 2006) and last year with the Falcons.

Gonzalez’s best chance at a playoff win arguably occurred on Jan. 4, 1998 in the Divisional round. After finishing the year at an AFC-best 13-3, the Chiefs led the Broncos in the second half until Terrell Davis scored to give Denver the lead in the fourth quarter. A late Kansas City attempt at the game-winner was deflected in the end zone with 12 seconds left.

The Broncos not only won that game, but would go on to beat the Packers in the Super Bowl, despite finishing a game behind Gonzalez's Chiefs in the AFC West.

Both players will be on the road this weekend with a chance to end records they want no part of.

2011 was truly the year of the quarterback.

Three players threw for over 5,000 yards, with Drew Brees leading the way with a record-breaking 5,476 and Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford following behind after only two quarterbacks in history had done it before.

Though these quarterbacks were all successful, 2011 also showed that yards aren't necessarily what leads to wins. The 15-1 Green Bay Packers allowed more yards than they gained. Teams that won the yardage battle only won 65 percent of their games. Because yards can be undone by turnovers and can also be generated in meaningless situations, 2011 was the year that we introduced Total QBR to improve the statistical evaluation of quarterbacks and tell better stories.

What follows are snapshots of only a few of the many stories from the season. ESPN bloggers have done numerous stories this year and we will do a season wrap up in the lead up to the Super Bowl.

The Importance of the QB to Winning
Total QBR can be used to quantify just how important the quarterback position has become to winning in the NFL. In 2011, the team with the higher Total QBR in the game went 223-33 (.871 win pct), including 63-1 over the last 4 weeks.



Who Should Be MVP?
It looked like Aaron Rodgers had wrapped up the NFL MVP race just a few weeks ago, but that was before the Packers lost their undefeated record and Matt Flynn lit up the Lions while Rodgers sat out in Week 17.

Not only that, but Drew Brees has made the MVP conversation a legitimate debate with excellent play down the stretch, posting a ridiculous 91.7 Total QBR over the last eight weeks of the season to close the gap in the season rankings.

Brees still finished behind Rodgers in Total QBR for the season, but both quarterbacks' ratings are 1-2 among all qualifying QB seasons since 2008. For some perspective, Tom Brady led the NFL in 2010 with a 75.8 Total QBR, a full eight points behind both Rodgers and Brees this season, on his way to winning a unanimous NFL MVP award.

Rodgers even surpassed Brady’s 84.5 Total QBR from that record-setting 2007 season when the Patriots went 16-0, with Brees finishing just half a point behind that mark.

Tebowmania Heads to Playoffs
The 2011 season might also be remembered as the launching point for Tebowmania. It wasn’t just that Tim Tebow helped the Denver Broncos to a division title, but how he won some of the games.

However, Tebow’s performance wasn’t outstanding throughout entire games, as he finished the season with a Total QBR of 27.2, the third-worst among the 34 qualifying quarterbacks this season, ahead of only Curtis Painter and Blaine Gabbert.

Since 2008, the timeframe in which Total QBR has been tracked, Tebow’s regular season QBR is the lowest for any quarterback that started for a playoff team.

The previous lowest mark belonged to Mark Sanchez, with a 30.9 mark in 2009. Sanchez, however, had a 74.4 postseason QBR, taking the Jets to the AFC Championship.

Rookies Excel, Struggle
Cam Newton and Andy Dalton both played well in their rookie season. Newton finished in the top half of the league in QBR, helping justify his first-overall selection by the Carolina Panthers, while Dalton led the Cincinnati Bengals to an unpredicted playoff berth.

From 2008-10, the eight rookie quarterbacks who qualified had an average Total QBR of 38.6. Newton had a 56.6, while Dalton totaled a 47.3 this season.

Over the last four seasons, only one rookie quarterback had a better Total QBR than those two, Matt Ryan with a 72.6, when he led the Atlanta Falcons to an 11-5 record in 2008.

On the other end of the spectrum was Blaine Gabbert, who finished a rough rookie campaign with a 21.1 QBR, the worst among all qualifiers this season.

Over the last four seasons, it’s the fourth-lowest single-season Total QBR among qualifying passers. What’s worse is that Gabbert didn’t even post an average Total QBR (50) in any of his games this season.

On the day the NFL traditionally calls Black Monday, for the inevitable firings that occur, the first two head coaches axed were St. Louis' Steve Spagnuolo and Tampa Bay's Raheem Morris.

Both coaches came from defensive backgrounds, and defense ultimately played a big role in their firings.

The two worst point differentials in the NFL this season belonged to the Rams (-214) and Buccaneers (-207), continuing a trend that has plagued both teams since Spagnuolo and Morris took over before the 2009 season.

In the last three seasons, the Rams and Bucs have the two worst point differentials in the league, and it's not close. The Rams have been outscored by 514 points since 2009; that's 174 points worse than the Buccaneers, who are 60 points worse than any other team.

St. Louis has surrendered 1,171 points since 2009, seventh-most in the NFL, but the Rams have major offensive problems as well, scoring only 657 points (13.7 PPG) in three seasons, by far the fewest in the league.

The Buccaneers issues have been largely defensive, allowing a league-high 494 points this season and a total of 1,212 points in the last three years, second-most behind Detroit's 1,250.

Spagnuolo bracketed a promising 7-9 record in 2010 with a combined three wins in 2009 & 2011. His win total of 10 ties the second fewest by any coach in his first 48 games. Only future NFL commissioner Bert Bell had fewer, with the Eagles in the 1930s.

Morris and Tampa Bay also had a promising 2010 campaign, going 10-6 and missing the playoffs on tiebreakers. The Bucs then started 4-2 this season before completely collapsing and going winless in their final 10.

The big culprit for Tampa Bay was turnovers. The Buccaneers had a +3 turnover differential in their first six games but were -19 over their final 10 games, finishing with a league-worst -16 differential. Josh Freeman particularly regressed, committing a league-high 27 turnovers this season, three times as many as he had in 2010.

Brees (97.2 Total QBR) Finishes with Another Spectacular Performance
Drew Brees continued his end-of-season tear in Week 17, going 28-35 for 389 yards with five touchdowns in a 45-17 blowout of the Panthers. He did throw one interception, but 21 of his 28 completions went for first downs including 10 that traveled at least 15 yards through the air.

Brees led the Saints to seven scores (six touchdown, one field goal) on their first eight possessions, as they scored 40+ points for the third straight game.

It was his eighth straight game with a Total QBR above 80. Since Week 9, Brees has a ridiculous Total QBR of 91.3, not only the highest in the league in that span, but the highest November-and-after regular-season QBR by a significant margin for any QB in any season since 2008.

Another Disappointing Finish to a Season for Tony Romo (11.0 Total QBR)
Tony Romo’s line from Sunday’s game – 29-37, 289 yards, two touchdowns, one interception – don’t look so bad, but a deeper look shows how those numbers are deceiving.

In the first half, Romo led the Cowboys to zero points as they dug a 21-point hole they couldn’t climb out of. He took three sacks – two on third downs that ended drives – and completed only two passes that went more than 10 yards in the air, both on the final drive of the half in which the clock was running down.

Romo played better in the second half, but took three more sacks, threw an interception in the third quarter with the Cowboys trying to cut into a 14-point lead, and failed to convert on a sneak on 4th-and-1 from the Giants’ 10-yard line early in the fourth quarter.

His Total QBR of 11.0 on Sunday was his lowest of the season and second-lowest in any of his 51 games – regular or postseason – since 2008 (min. 10 action plays). His lowest single-game QBR in that span was a 4.2 on Dec. 7, 2008 at Pittsburgh.

Tim Tebow (2.4 Total QBR) Runs Out of Magic against the Chiefs, But Broncos Still Make Playoffs
Tim Tebow had a rough outing Sunday against the Chiefs, going 6-22 for 60 yards through the air and carrying the ball six times for 16 yards on the ground.

Only one of his incompletions was a drop by the receiver, and only three of his rushes or passes resulted in a first down.

Tebow fumbled with the Broncos driving down the field for a possible game-tying touchdown early in the second quarter, and the Broncos’ other 11 drives ended with nine punts, a field goal and an interception (though the pick was in “desperation time”).

Tebow finished with his lowest single-game score as a starter. It was also the fourth-lowest single-game rating of the season (minimum 30 action plays).

It’s a good thing for the NFL that the regular season comes to an end tonight, since there will be a lot of new records when the league prints out a new version for next season.

Lambeau Field legends
The year of the passing attack continued, and even though the Green Bay Packers rested Aaron Rodgers, Lambeau Field was center stage for the onslaught.

In his second NFL start, Matt Flynn set Packers records for passing yards (480) and touchdowns (six) in a game. According to Elias, he’s the first quarterback in NFL history with at least five TD passes in one of his first two NFL starts.

Flynn had most of his success passing outside the numbers. He was just the third quarterback this season to attempt 17 or more passes outside the numbers in a game while completing at least 82 percent of his passes. The others? Rodgers and Tom Brady.

Detroit Lions quarterback Matt Stafford matched Flynn throw for throw until a late interception sealed the Packers win. Stafford set a franchise record with 520 pass yards, the fifth highest total in NFL history. He became the third quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards this season, joining Drew Brees and Brady.

It was the first game in NFL history where both quarterbacks threw for at least 400 yards and five touchdowns. The teams combined for 971 pass yards, easily eclipsing the previous NFL record set in Week 1 this season by the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins.

While the records were all passing related, they weren’t all positive marks. The Packers finished the season allowing 4,796 pass yards, the most in NFL history. This year’s Patriots briefly held the record after finishing their game with 4,703 pass yards allowed this season. Before this year, the 1995 Atlanta Falcons held the futility mark with 4,541 pass yards allowed.

Saints march into record book
The New Orleans Saints will be responsible for much of next year’s reprinting costs as well, courtesy of Drew Brees. Brees threw for 389 yards and five touchdowns and finished the year with NFL single-season records in pass yards, completions, completion percentage and 300-yard games.

Brees finished the season with seven straight 300-yard passing games and 43 straight games with a touchdown pass. The former is a new NFL record, while the latter leaves him four games behind the record of 47 straight games with a touchdown pass held by Johnny Unitas.

Brees’ marks weren’t the only records set at the Superdome on Sunday. Darren Sproles finished the year with 2,696 all-purpose yards, breaking Derrick Mason’s single-season record by six yards. Jimmy Graham spent the day batting for the record for receiving yards in a season for a tight end, eventually falling 17 yards short of Rob Gronkowski of the Patriots.

Two Carolina Panthers also set records on Sunday. Cam Newton became the first rookie to throw for 4,000 yards in a season, while Steve Smith set the franchise record with 699 receptions, passing Muhsin Muhammad.

With the NFC South title on the line in New Orleans, all eyes were on Drew Brees and his pursuit of Dan Marino’s 27-year old record for most passing yards in a season.

Brees broke the record with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Darren Sproles with 2:51 left in the fourth quarter. Three minutes later, the New Orleans Saints had clinched the NFC South title and the party was on in the French Quarter.

With one game left to play in the 2011 season, Drew Brees has thrown for 5,087 yards. That’s three yards ahead of Marino and 190 ahead of Tom Brady, who also has a chance to pass the old record this season.

Brees finished with 307 pass yards and four touchdowns through the air. He extended his NFL record for 300-yard pass games in a season with his 12th. It was his sixth straight 300-yard passing game, which pulled him even with Rich Gannon, Kurt Warner and Steve Young for the most in NFL history.

With four touchdown passes, Brees increased his season total to 41. It’s the seventh time in NFL history that a quarterback has thrown for at least 40 touchdowns in a season. With at least one TD pass in 42 straight games, Brees is five behind Johnny Unitas for the all-time NFL record.

Brees success hasn’t been limited to one type of pass this season. He has thrown for at least 1,600 yards on throws of fewer than 5 yards, 6-14 yards and 15 or more yards. He leads the NFL with 21 TD on throws of fewer than 5 yards and 15 TD on throws of 15 or more yards and also tops the league in completion percentage over both distances.

It wasn’t just a record breaking day for Brees.

Sproles ran for 67 yards to become the 2nd player in NFL history with 500 rush yards, 500 receiving yards and 1,000 combined return yards in the same season. The only other player to reach those marks in single season was Dick Christy for the 1962 New York Jets.

Both the Falcons and Saints are streaking in Monday Night Football games. The Saints have the longest active winning streak, with seven straight victories. The Falcons are heading the other way, setting a record with 10 straight road losses on Monday Night Football.

Julio Jones recorded his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season, tying Anquan Boldin for the most 100-yard receiving games by a rookie since the NFL merger in 1970.

Both teams are heading to the playoffs this season, but each has something to play for in Week 17. The Saints can claim a first-round bye with a win and a loss by the San Francisco 49ers, while the Falcons can pass the Detroit Lions for the fifth seed with a win and Detroit loss.