The New Orleans Saints have allowed 29.5 points per game in their six victories this season, by far the highest figure in the NFL. They didn't claim those long-shot victories by accident. They won them largely because their quarterback, Drew Brees, has produced about as well as he ever has through 14 games in a season.
Brees' league-leading totals for passing yards and passing touchdowns were not enough for him to earn Pro Bowl honors Tuesday, making the veteran QB one of the more obvious snubs.
With input from NFL personnel evaluators, we take a look at 10 notable players who should've made the Pro Bowl team, starting with Brees and another NFC quarterback.
1. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
Brees is once again covering for a brutally bad defense, but he can do only so much. None of the other 508 teams in ESPN's data warehouse dating back to 2001 has allowed as many points in its victories as the 29.5 figure for the Saints this season. That is an exceptionally high bar for the Brees-led offense to clear. It shows how much the Saints ask from their quarterback in relation to what others ask from theirs.
Brees' 14-game total for yardage (4,559) is the second-highest for his career. He also has 34 touchdown passes, a figure Brees has surpassed through 14 games just twice in his career previously. Brees is averaging a league-high 42.1 pass attempts per game.