NFL Heads Into Second Quarter of Regular Season, Saints Drew Brees Set to Become All-Time Passing Leader

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ABOVE VIDEO: Top 10 plays for the month of September in the NFL. 

(NFL COMMUNICATIONS)  –After an exciting Week 4 which saw seven games decided by three points or fewer, including three games in overtime, the NFL heads into the first Sunday of October and the second quarter of the regular season starting with the Patriots and Colts on Thursday Night Football.  

At least one game has gone to overtime in each of the first four weeks of the 2018 season, joining the 1979, 1983 and 2002 seasons as the only campaigns to feature at least one overtime game in each of its first four weeks since the regular-season overtime rule was adopted in 1974.

Five teams – Dallas, Houston, Oakland, Seattle, and Tennessee scored game-winning points on the final play of their respective contests last week.

Additionally, Cincinnati scored a go-ahead touchdown with seven seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Bengals a 37-36 win over Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium last week. This is the first time since Week 3 of the 2012 season (six) that at least six games had the game-winning points scored in the final 10 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime.

Close games and high-powered offenses have highlighted a thrilling first four weeks. Week 5 promises more of the same.
Two of the NFL’s all-time greats at the quarterback position – New England’s Tom Brady and New Orleans’ Drew Brees – enter Week 5 with their eyes on history.

With 201 passing yards on Monday night against Washington (8:15 PM ET, ESPN), Brees (71,740 passing yards) can surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre (71,838) and Peyton Manning (71,940) to become the NFL’s all-time leading passer. In Week 3, Brees (6,344 completions) passed Favre (6,300) for the most completions in league annals.

ABOVE VIDEO: A countdown of Drew Brees’s Top 10 Career Plays. Relive this deadeye quarterback’s greatest passes, tricks, and game-winning plays from his rookie season to the present day.

Brady, who ranks third in NFL history with 497 career touchdown passes, and Brees, whose 496 touchdown passes are the fourth-most in league history, can become the third and fourth quarterbacks to throw for at least 500 career touchdown passes, joining Manning (539) and Favre (508).

Brady will aim to reach the milestone on Thursday night (8:20 PM ET, FOX/NFL Network/Amazon) against the Indianapolis Colts, tonight at Gillette Stadium.

Through Week 4, passing figures league-wide continue to trend at historic rates, as the marks for completions (2,999), completion percentage (65.4 percent), net passing yards (32,215), touchdown passes (228) and passer rating (94.5) are all the highest in NFL history through the first four weeks of a season.

SEASON	COMPLETIONS		SEASON	COMPLETION PCT.		SEASON	TD PASSES
2018	2,999		2018	65.4		2018	228
2016	2,903		2014	64.3		2013	205

 

SEASON	NET PASSING YARDS		SEASON	RATING
2018	32,215		2018	94.5
2016	31,616		2014	91.5

Veteran signal callers and young quarterbacks on the rise have been performing at a high level from the onset this season.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, in his 15th season, leads the NFL with 1,414 passing yards, while Rams quarterback Jared Goff, who is in his third season, ranks second with 1,406 yards.

Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, who has made five career starts, leads the NFL with 14 touchdown passes through Week 4 with Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton, Tampa Bay’s Ryan Fitzpatrick, Goff, and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Phillip Rivers tied for second with 11 touchdown passes apiece.

Goff (127.3) and Mahomes (126.5) rank first and second, respectively, in passer rating this season with Brees (115.3) following closely behind.

ABOVE VIDEO: Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, who has made five career starts, leads the NFL with 14 touchdown passes through Week 4 with Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton, Tampa Bay’s Ryan Fitzpatrick, Goff, and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Phillip Rivers tied for second with 11 touchdown passes apiece.

Collectively, 11 quarterbacks have thrown for at least 1,200 yards through Week 4, the most in league history through the first four weeks of a season, surpassing the previous high of seven in 2011.

Five quarterbacks – Goff (465 passing yards), Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck (464), Oakland’s Derek Carr (437), Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins (422) and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan (419) – passed for at least 400 yards last week.

There have been 12 individual performances with at least 400 passing yards this season, the most in NFL history through the first four weeks of a sea¬son. The five individual 400-yard passing performances in Week 4 were the most in a single week in league annals.

Seven quarterbacks have thrown at least 10 touchdown passes in the first four weeks of the 2018 season, the most in league annals through Week 4. No other season has featured more than four such QBs through Week 4.

Ten quarterbacks have a passer rating of at least 100 (minimum 80 attempts), tied with the 2015 season for the most through the first four weeks of a season in NFL history.

NFL WEEK 5 SCHEDULE; THURSDAY, SUNDAY & MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 7-8

(All times eastern)
Bye: Chicago, Tampa Bay

Thursday, October 4

Indianapolis at New England, 8:20 PM (FOX/NFLN/Amazon)

Sunday, October 7 

Denver at New York Jets, 1:00 PM

Atlanta at Pittsburgh, 1:00 PM

Oakland at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 PM

Sunday, October 7

Minnesota at Philadelphia, 4:25 PM

Tennessee at Buffalo, 1:00 PM

Arizona at San Francisco, 4:25 PM

New York Giants at Carolina, 1:00 PM

Los Angeles Rams at Seattle, 4:25 PM

Miami at Cincinnati, 1:00 PM

Baltimore at Cleveland, 1:00 PM

Green Bay at Detroit, 1:00 PM

Jacksonville at Kansas City, 1:00 PM

Dallas at Houston, 8:20 PM (NBC)

Monday, October 8

Washington at New Orleans, 8:15 PM (ESPN)

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