Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees Have Had Some Classic Battles

Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints have played against each other as starters three times.

The Packers won two of those three games, with both of those contests being played at Lambeau Field. The last time the Packers played the Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the Saints won 51-29 on a Monday night in 2008.

In that game, the Saints were only up 24-21 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.

When the teams meet Sunday, the game will also be in New Orleans, and it will be at night.

In the two games at Lambeau Field, both contests came down to the last possession of the game, as the Packers won 42-34 in 2011 and 28-27 in 2012.

Overall in those three games that Rodgers and Brees have faced each other, the Saints scored 112 points (37.3 points per game), while the Packers scored 99 (33 points per game).

The Packers have been on a roll as of late, winning four straight games by a combined 145-68 margin, while the Saints have a 2-4 record and basically gave away a game to the Lions in Detroit last Sunday.

One thing that you can be sure of this Sunday night is that both Rodgers and Brees will be putting the ball in the air.

Rodgers is having a phenomenal season throwing the football, as he has thrown for 1,674 yards and 18 touchdown passes to just one interception. That adds up to a 117.3 passer rating, which is second in the NFL, behind only Peyton Manning's 118.2 mark.

The Green Bay offense is also averaging 28.4 points per game, which is the fourth-best average in the league.

Rodgers will be going up against the Saints' 28th-ranked passing defense.

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

No. 12 has always had success against New Orleans. Rodgers has thrown for 879 yards and nine touchdown passes compared to four picks in his career against the Saints. That adds up to a 102.3 passer rating.

Brees leads an offense that is ranked second in the NFL in total offense and second in passing offense.

Even with those team statistics, Brees has not performed up to his usual standards so far this season. No. 9 has thrown for 1,916 yards and 11 touchdown passes compared to seven interceptions. That adds up to a passer rating of 91.7.

On the surface, that rating doesn't appear all that bad compared to most NFL quarterbacks, but it's below the career passer rating of 95.1 that Brees has put together in his 14 years in the NFL.

Brees will be going up against a Green Bay team ranked sixth in passing defense, plus it's second in the NFL in interceptions with 10.

Over the course of his career in the NFL, Brees plays very well against the Packers. In five games, the former Purdue Boilermaker has thrown for 1,905 yards and 14 touchdown passes against just two interceptions. That adds up to a passer rating of 110.0.

In the the three games in which he has faced Rodgers, Brees has thrown for 1,188 yards and 10 touchdown passes without a pick. That adds up to an astounding 126.3 passer rating.

Bottom line, expect to see a very fast-paced game on Sunday night with both Rodgers and Brees dropping back to pass more often than not.

Based on their recent history against one another, also expect to see one of the more exciting games of the NFL season thus far in 2014.