Drew Brees Downplays Idea He's Declining as QB After Saints' Loss to Raiders

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees laughed off a question Monday about the "narrative" that his performance is beginning to decline in his 20th NFL season. 

"Well, my job is to execute the offense," Brees told reporters after a 34-24 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. "... My job's not to have the most air yards or throw the ball down the field most or anything like that."

He completed 26 of his 38 attempts for 312 yards with one touchdown and one interception as the Saints dropped to 1-1 on the season.

"I think I've always evaluated myself on being a great decision-maker. And so, at the end of the day, I'll throw the ball to the open guy, move the ball down the field, score points, help us win football games. So that's my job," Brees said. "My job's to help us win. My job's to help put everyone around me in the best position to succeed."

Brees was playing without Michael Thomas, his top target, in Monday's loss because of an ankle injury.

The 41-year-old Purdue product has almost exclusively relied on short and intermediate passes through two weeks, including a 34-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1.

ESPN Stats and Info noted the average air yards on his passes through two weeks is the lowest of any quarterback in more than a decade:

Favre was playing his second-last NFL season in 2009, and Peyton Manning saw a similar decline during his final season with the Denver Broncos in 2015. His 6.8 yards per attempt that year was his lowest mark since his rookie campaign in 1998.

Brees benefits from being the most accurate passer in NFL history with a career completion percentage of 67.6, per Pro Football Reference.

Yet defenses are going to take note if the Saints aren't able to showcase a vertical passing game and adjust accordingly, cramming the line of scrimmage and bringing the safeties up to clog those short- and mid-range passing lanes.

Brees explained those type of deep throws are still being called. They just haven't materialized.

"We called a shot play or two today—and just got the wrong coverage on both of them," he told reporters. "So what could've been big-play opportunities, what could've been throws down the field unfortunately had to be checked down."

In all, the Saints rank 14th in passing yards per game (250.5) through two weeks after ranking seventh in that category (265.3) in 2019.

Brees and Co. will look to get the aerial attack back on track Sunday night when they welcome Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for a prime-time clash.