Saints' Drew Brees to Undergo MRI, X-Rays on Rib Injury Suffered vs. 49ers

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees will undergo an MRI and X-rays after suffering a rib injury during the first half of Sunday's 27-13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, head coach Sean Payton announced.

Brees told reporters after the game he did not feel he would have been able to be effective had he tried to play through the injury:

Jameis Winston replaced the 41-year-old Brees, who was ruled questionable to return, to start the second half.

Brees never returned to the field on Sunday, with Winston—who went 6-of-10 for 63 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions—finishing the game under center.

Brees missed five games in the 2019 season after tearing a ligament in his right thumb. Backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater filled in admirably in his stead, leading the team to a 5-0 record in his starts. But Bridgewater is in Carolina now, and potentially losing Brees again to injury is a huge blow to the Saints' 2020 Super Bowl aspirations.

The veteran quarterback has maintained a high level of play, even into his 40s. In the 2019 season he threw for 2,979 yards, 27 touchdowns and just four interceptions, completing an incredible 74.3 percent of his passes, breaking his own NFL single-season record.

it was his fourth straight season—and fifth overall—completing at least 70 percent of his passes. He's thrown at least 30 touchdown passes 10 times and 40 or more touchdown passes twice. He threw for 4,000 yards 12 straight seasons between 2006 and '17. He's also thrown for 5,000 or more yards five times in his career.  

Suffice to say, Brees will be an easy selection to the Hall of Fame. But it appears as though his age might finally be catching up to him, as the famously durable quarterback—he missed just four games between the 2004 and '18 seasons, an incredible run—has two injuries in the span of two seasons. Before last year you had to go back to 2003 to find the last time Brees didn't play in 15 or more games in a season.

So the Saints turn to Winston and human Swiss Army knife Taysom Hill. And with Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas and a stout defense, they still remain a contender. 

But without Brees, their margin for error diminishes significantly.