Drew Brees Fantasy Football Week 9 Projection

By Kelly Anderson on October 29, 2014

If you know anything about fantasy football, or just football in general, then you are already aware of the fact that the New Orleans Saints struggle when they play on the road. For some reason, people seem to think that the Saints can still play well in away games as long as the game is played on turf versus grass, but when you look at the numbers, you can see that all they really do on turf is simply lose in a more dramatic fashion.

Drew Brees mirrors his team’s performance on the road. His numbers on the surface may appear to be better when he plays away games on turf, but in reality they aren’t.

This week, he is taking his show on the road in a big division showdown against the Carolina Panthers. This is a game the Saints need to win in order to keep their playoff hopes alive, and that’s a remarkable statement given the fact they are a 3-4 team. So expect Brees to approach this week with laser focus on the task at hand. But with that said, I wouldn’t expect too much from him this Thursday night based upon his history.

I would never suggest benching Brees and I am not doing so this week either, but just take a look at his numbers on the road this season. I’ll start with his one game on grass since that’s the surface he’ll be playing on this week. Against the Cleveland Browns, he threw up 237 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Not a terrible game, but certainly not what you expect from Brees.

If you look at the other three games he’s played on the road (all on turf), he has put up similar numbers, averaging 338 yards per game with a total of five touchdowns and three interceptions. So, you can expect him to turn the ball over almost as much as he scores when the Saints bumble and stumble their way through a game away from the Superdome.

The one hope you do have is that they are playing against an overrated Panthers defense. Just looks at the numbers they have allowed elite quarterbacks to put up against them: Aaron Rodgers had 255 yards with three touchdowns as the Green Bay Packers put up 38 points, and Ben Roethlisberger had 196 yards and two touchdowns as the Pittsburgh Steelers put up 37 points.

Even second tier quarterbacks had decent games as Matthew Stafford had 291 yards and a touchdown, and Jay Cutler had 289 yards with two touchdowns.

As you can see, since he is facing a defense like this on Thursday night, there is a good chance that Brees won’t totally lay an egg in this game. However, I wouldn’t expect too much

Projection: 270 yards, two touchdowns and one interception

Kelly Anderson is a blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @bgipp01 or add him to your network on Google.