Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints: Tale of the tape

The quarterbacks

Thursday night will be a battle between two of the best quarterbacks in the game. In Atlanta’s corner is Matt Ryan, in New Orleans’ is Drew Brees. Over the years, Brees has been easily among the league’s elite and the better of the two passers, but this year it could be different.

The two have started the season well. Ryan has thrown for 1,456 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions in five games. Brees has thrown for 1,304 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.

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Brees has been a yards machine, leading the NFL in passing yards five times in his career. He was tied with Ben Roethlisberger for No. 1 last year with 4,952 yards. Brees has surpassed the 5,000-yard mark four times in his career.

Ryan has a new offensive coordinator this season, and with that will come occasional hiccups like we saw against Washington last week. But the new system will be a benefit of him long term, as Kyle Shanahan looks to use more play-action passes and bootleg plays to utilize Ryan’s mobility, which is underrated.

As ever, this should be a good contest between two Pro Bowl quarterbacks.

Next: The offenses