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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.

Much has been made in this space about Tim Tebow’s numbers and how bad some of them have been in his first two years in the NFL.

However, Tebow showed last season that he could lead the Denver Broncos to come-from-behind wins, so he had to be doing something right.

Tebow’s ability to throw the ball has been questioned, but no one doubts what he can do as a runner, which could be one reason the New York Jets traded for Tebow.

The Jets have their starting quarterback in Mark Sanchez, signed Drew Stanton this offseason and also have Greg McElroy.

Perhaps Tebow fills the void that was left when Brad Smith signed with the Buffalo Bills last offseason. Since 2009, the Jets have run the third-most wildcat plays in the NFL. They averaged 6.5 yards per rush with Smith and 4.1 without him last season.

Last season, the Broncos called 84 designed rushes for Tebow, most among quarterbacks. He averaged 4.3 yards per rush with five touchdowns on those designed plays.

Tebow’s 12 rushing touchdowns also are the third-most by a QB in his first two seasons.

Tebow also proved in 2011 that he can finish drives. In 70 red zone plays with Tebow at quarterback last season, the Broncos scored 20 touchdowns. That was the highest TD percentage (28.6) of any quarterback with as many plays over the last two seasons.

Tebow's 27.2 Total QBR last season was the third worst among qualifiers, but he had his moments -- particularly late in games.

Including the wild card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tebow had six game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime last season. He posted the third-best Total QBR in the final 9:00 minutes of the fourth quarter last season -- better than Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Eli Manning in such situations.

1. Brandon Marshall Sets Touchdown Record
Marshall caught four touchdown passes. The touchdown catches came one per quarter and were thrown by three different quarterbacks (Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and two from Andy Dalton).

The four touchdown catches are the most by a player, rushing or receiving, in one game. Larry Fitzgerald caught three Touchdown passes in Sunday's game. Both he and Marshall are two of just six players to score three-or-more touchdowns in a single Pro Bowl.

It also marks the second time that two players have scored three-or-more touchdowns in the same Pro Bowl. Jimmy Smith and Mike Alstott each had three touchdowns in 2000.

2. The Defenses Rested
The two teams combined to score an even 100 points in the AFC's 59-41 win. The only Pro Bowl where more points were scored was in the 2004 game when the teams combined for 107 points.

The nine highest scoring Pro Bowls have all been since 2000.

Each of the six quarterbacks to play threw two touchdowns (Roethlisberger, Rivers, Dalton, Cam Newton, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees).

The teams also combined for a Pro bowl record 1,142 yards.

3. Can I Kick It? No, You Can’t
Shane Lechler was selected to his seventh career Pro Bowl. He had an uneventful Sunday though as the AFC never punted.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

If Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was looking for any further motivation regarding Sunday’s matchup with Eli Manning and the New York Giants, he can find it, at least statistically, in his omission from the NFC’s Pro Bowl roster.

Manning was selected over Romo despite Romo ranking eight spots ahead of him in the Total QBR rankings.

Romo’s Total QBR for the season is 72.4, fourth-best in the NFL and third-best in the NFC, behind Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers (85.2) and Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints (82.7).

Manning ranks 12th overall and among NFC quarterbacks, he also rates behind Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons (66.2), Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles (62.4), Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions (60.8), and Jay Cutler, who was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday by the Chicago Bears (59.5).

The biggest difference between Romo and his competitors is a big gap in the expected points he added in his pass attempts. He ranks fourth in that stat, (known as Pass EPA), adding 111.7 points to his team this season. Manning rates a distant fifth (85.9). A major reason for this is that Manning has thrown nearly twice as many interceptions (16) as Romo (nine).

Romo’s Total QBR was boosted by four games with a Total QBR of 90 or better, a 27-24 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2 (Total QBR: 93.9), a 23-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9 (Total QBR: 90.0), a 44-7 win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 10 (Total QBR: 99.3) and a 31-15 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 15.

In those four games, Romo was a combined 85-for-120 for 1,143 yards, with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions.

Manning only has one game this season that ranked in the Top 50, a 27-24 win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 6 (Total QBR: 91.4; 27th-best in the NFL this season).

He does have three others that rate very well, and it likely helps his cause among those selecting the Pro Bowl rosters, that two of those were in wins against the New England Patriots (Total QBR: 81.3) and the Cowboys (Total QBR: 77.1)

The Pro Bowl selections for the AFC were basically a match for the Total QBR rankings.

Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Philip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers, are first, third, and fourth in the conference in Total QBR, respectively. Injured Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub was second.

The next-best possible AFC quarterback by Total QBR, Matt Hasselbeck of the Tennessee Titans was actually just one spot below Manning, at 58.8, 13th-best in the NFL.

Another season of Monday Night Football is complete, with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees providing a fitting finale by breaking the NFL's single-season record for passing yards.

Brees isn't the first to break a record of note and he won't be the last. Here's a look back at other notable marks that were broken on Monday Night Football.

December 3, 1973 -- Dick Anderson intercepts 4 passes vs Steelers
Anderson tied an NFL record by intercepting 4 passes against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He became the 14th player with 4 interceptions in a game but the first (and only) to do it on Monday Night Football.

January 3, 1983 -- Tony Dorsett runs for 99-yard TD vs Vikings
In the final game of the 1982 regular season, Dorsett ran for a 99-yard touchdown in the 4th quarter. It remains the only 99-yard rushing play in league history. Dorsett finished with 153 rushing yards in the Dallas Cowboys loss.

September 5, 1994 -- Jerry Rice breaks Jim Brown’s record for career touchdowns
Rice scored three times in the Monday Night Football season opener. His third touchdown, a 38-yard pass from Steve Young in the fourth quarter, was the 127th of his career, breaking a tie with Brown for the most touchdowns in NFL history.

October 11, 2010 -- Brett Favre throws his 500th touchdown pass
Favre became the first player in NFL history to reach 500 career passing touchdowns when he found Randy Moss for a 37-yard score in the third quarter. Favre threw two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter but the Vikings lost to the Jets 29-20.

December 20, 2010 -- Devin Hester sets record for combined kick return touchdowns
Hester’s 64-yard punt return TD in the third quarter gave the Chicago Bears a 27-7 lead over the Vikings and broke a tie with Brian Mitchell for most combined punt and kickoff return touchdowns in league history. It was the 14th of Hester’s career.

September 11, 1995/September 12, 2011 -- Favre and Brady: 99-yard touchdowns
Favre tied the NFL record for longest pass play with a 99-yard touchdown throw to Robert Brooks against the Chicago Bears in 1995. Tom Brady matched it with a 99-yard pass to Wes Welker in the Monday Night Football season opener this year.

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.

Both the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons have already clinched playoff berths, but the season finale of Monday Night Football at 8 ET on ESPN tonight still has major postseason implications for the two NFC South teams.

With a win, the Saints can wrap up the division title. The Falcons need a victory to stay alive for the division title and keep themselves out of the sixth seed in the conference.

History2W4
The other major storyline in this game is Drew Brees’ chase for history. Brees leads the NFL with 4,780 passing yards and needs 305 to break Dan Marino's single-season record of 5,084 set in 1984.

Brees has averaged nearly 300 yards per game in 12 career matchups with the Falcons, and has reached the 300-yard mark in each of his last three games vs Atlanta.

If he does set the record this week, it will also be his sixth straight 300-yard passing game, which would match the NFL record shared by Steve Young (1998), Kurt Warner (2000) and Rich Gannon (2002).

Matchups2W4
Part of Brees’ success this season is due to his exceptional performance on deep passes. He has thrown 10 touchdown passes and just one interception on throws of more than 20 yards downfield, compiling a near-perfect Total QBR of 99.9. Against the Falcons in Week 10, two of his three completions on such throws found the end zone.

The Falcons have been vulnerable to the deep pass this year. Their Total QBR allowed of 97.8 on throws of at 21 yards downfield ranks 24th in the league.

Only three teams have allowed more touchdowns on such throws than the six that Atlanta has allowed. And the only other team besides the Falcons that has failed to intercept such a pass is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The best defense against Brees might be a strong running game that can control the clock and keep the Saints offense on the sidelines. However, Michael Turner has struggled over the last four weeks, averaging just 60 yards per game, a drop of nearly 30 yards from his average during his first 10 games.

Recently he has been unable to get to the sidelines with the explosiveness that he showed at the beginning of the season, averaging five fewer yards per rush outside the tackles in his last four games compared to his first 10 games.

Tonight’s game against the Saints might be the perfect opportunity for Turner to break out of his slump. New Orleans has allowed the second-most yards per carry (6.5) on rushes outside the tackles this season.

Against the Saints in Week 10, Turner rushed for 52 yards on five carries outside the tackles, and his 10.4 yards per rush average was his second-best of the season.

Stats2Know
• According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Falcons have lost their last nine Monday Night Football road games, matching the Chicago Bears (1970-85) for the longest road losing streak in Monday Night Football history.

• Elias also tells us that the Saints have won their last six Monday Night Football games, the longest active winning streak on Monday Night Football.

Monday night on ESPN, the New Orleans Saints will square off against the Atlanta Falcons in a game with massive NFC playoff implications. While the Saints have dominated the series 11-2 dating back to 2006, the Falcons are looking to avenge their Week 10 overtime loss to Drew Brees and company.

A key situation in which Matt Ryan must excel in order to beat the Saints is handling added pressure, specifically on third down.


The Saints send five or more pass rushers 54 percent of the time, more than any other team in the NFL. On third down, Gregg Williams’s defense dials up the blitzes even more by sending five or more rushers 60 percent of the time (eight percent more often than the next closest team, the Denver Broncos).

Not only do the Saints like to bring the heat, they happen to be very good at it. They've recorded 21 sacks this season, second-most in the league, and they hold opposing quarterbacks to a 45.0 QBR (10th best in the league). Comparatively, when they’ve sent four or fewer pass rushers, they’ve recorded only six sacks (the fewest in the league) and have allowed a 66.9 QBR (20th in the league).

The differences are even more drastic on third down.

However, Gregg Williams may want to reconsider sending additional pass rushers on third down because Matt Ryan has had success this year when dealing with pressure.

Ryan ranks in the top 10 among quarterbacks this season in QBR (67.8), yards per attempt (8.0), yards (1,259), and completions (92) when facing five or more rushers. And the pressure has not been getting to him as he has taken only four sacks, tied with Matt Hasselbeck for fewest in the league.

On third down, Ryan gets even better when facing pressure. Not only is he tied with Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning for the most passing first downs with 28, but he is also second in the league in completions (33), fourth in yards (455), and tenth in yards-per-attempt (8.1).

When facing four or fewer rushers on third down, Ryan’s numbers are much more pedestrian. He averages 1.4 fewer yards per attempt and has been sacked a league-high 13 times. All three interceptions Ryan has thrown on third down this season have been when defense drop seven or more into coverage.

The Saints effectively contained Ryan in their previous matchup, however his QBR was 47.2 points higher against added pressure. Ryan must replicate and improve upon that effort on Monday, as he’s sure to face plenty of pass rushers.