Drew Brees Shines, but Too Little, Too Late for Saints in 'MNF' Loss

On Monday night, quarterback Drew Brees did something he has done countless times in his New Orleans Saints career. He put the team on his shoulders and led a furious rally from a large deficit.

Unfortunately, Brees' effort wasn't quite enough to best the Detroit Lions on this particular evening. On a night when Brees became just the fourth quarterback in league history to pass for 60,000 yards, as noted by ESPN's Ed Werder, the resulting disappointment was monumental.

Brees finished the game 34-of-52 for 341 yards and three touchdowns. He committed no turnovers and he led the Saints to 24 second-half points. Every throw was not perfect, of course, but Brees consistently sliced through the Detroit secondary and repeatedly had New Orleans within striking distance on the scoreboard.

The problem is that a putrid defensive performance and a series of first-half miscues made it impossible for Brees to be enough to win the game.

The New Orleans defense was as firm as hot pudding in the first half, allowing the Lions to jump out to an early 21-3 lead. It got a stop on Detroit's first offensive possession, but allowed Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford to lead touchdown drives on each of the next three.

As a result, Detroit went into halftime with an 18-point lead.

The Saints might have closed the gap a bit, and might have even changed the course of the game, had they not wasted a prime scoring opportunity just before the midgame break. The offense had the ball with 1st-and-goal from the Detroit 1-yard line with just under a minute remaining in the second quarter.

However, the Saints twice had a touchdown called back due to penalty, and ended the half without putting any additional points on the board. Detroit's first possession after the half ended in yet another touchdown.

Therefore, Brees was looking up at a 28-3 deficit before he even got an opportunity to lead a second-half rally, which he did. The veteran signal-caller passed for three scores in the second half, and twice brought the Saints to within a score of Detroit. And he did all of it while injured.

The Saints quarterback seemed to suffer a right leg injury in the first half, only to play through it the remainder of the game. According to Bleacher Report's Jason Cole, Brees was spotted in a walking boot after the game:

"

#Saints QB Drew Brees in walking boot after game. Right foot. Expecting further word tomorrow he said. He played thru it. First half injury

— Jason Cole (@JasonColeBR) December 22, 2015"

“I don't know what we got going here,” Brees said after the game, per Nick Underhill of the Advocate. “We’ll know more tomorrow after the MRI. We’ll see.”

That he led such a flurry while playing with an apparent leg injury makes Brees' performance all the more impressive. 

Sadly, impressive isn't a word that could be used to describe the Saints defense in the second half. 

Brees put the score at 28-20 early in the fourth quarter, only to see the New Orleans defense give up a nine-play, 76-yard scoring drive on the Lions' next possession. That drive took up nearly five minutes of game time. 

Brees again brought the score to within eight points with just under two minutes remaining, but the ensuing onside kick attempt failed and the defense couldn't get the ball back for Brees with enough time to score again.

In all, the Saints defense gave up 396 yards of total offense, 35 points and forced just one turnover and three incomplete passes.

That's right. Of Stafford's 25 pass attempts, only three fell incomplete. If Detroit wanted to run up the score early, it probably could have. 

So yes, Brees was once again brilliant on Monday. Yet, Saints fans have recently become accustomed to seeing the team's defensive futility shine just as much as the team's quarterback.

Assuming Brees returns to finish his career with the Saints, this is a trend that must change if the Saints want to make the most of what brilliance Brees has left in the tank. Over the past two seasons, Brees has played at an incredibly high level, but he hasn't had success to show for it because of the shoddy defense. 

Brees finished the 2014 season with 4,952 passing yards, 33 touchdowns and a passer rating of 97.0. Pro Football Focus rated him second overall among quarterbacks for the 2014 season. The Saints defense that season? It was ranked 28th in points allowed (26.5 per game allowed) and rated 31st overall by Pro Football Focus.

Coming into Monday night, Brees had 3,794 yards, 25 touchdowns and a passer rating of 97.9. Even at 36 years old, Brees is rated 11th overall among quarterbacks by Pro Football Focus. This year's defense is ranked dead last in points allowed (30.5 per game) and 30th in overall defense by Pro Football Focus.

Brees may have a couple of strong years left in the tank, but if the Saints don't find a way to turn things around on defense (or allow Brees, who is under contract for 2016, to leave), then those years could be wasted.

The offense that Brees led against the Lions was definitely wasted, and that's a shame, because the offense played more than well enough to provide fans with a thrilling home victory.