Philadelphia and Minnesota both had top-4 defenses in the regular season – both points and yards. But this weekend they’ll be going against proven veteran quarterbacks, and that could be the difference.
Drew Brees and Matt Ryan are good quarterbacks, and they’ve shown they can perform at a high level in the playoffs.
In NFL history, only four quarterbacks (with at least 150 pass attempts) have passer ratings over 100, and these are two of them, clocking in just behind Bart Starr and Kurt Warner.
Brees is 7-5 as a postseason starter, averaging 326 passing yards, with 26 touchdowns and 7 interception. That kind of production isn’t likely against the Vikings (who are really strong defensively) but an upset is possible.
| DREW BREES IN THE POSTSEASON | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opponent | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Rating |
| 2004 | NYJ (L 17-20) | 74% | 319 | 2 | 1 | 101.2 |
| 2006 | Phil. (W 27-24) | 63% | 243 | 1 | 0 | 96.2 |
| 2006 | at Chi. (L 14-39) | 55% | 354 | 2 | 1 | 83.2 |
| 2009 | Ariz. (W 45-14) | 72% | 247 | 3 | 0 | 125.4 |
| 2009 | Minn. (W 31-28) | 55% | 197 | 3 | 0 | 106.5 |
| 2009 | Ind. (W 31-17) | 82% | 288 | 2 | 0 | 114.5 |
| 2010 | at Sea. (L 36-41) | 65% | 404 | 2 | 0 | 95.4 |
| 2011 | Det. (W 45-28) | 77% | 466 | 3 | 0 | 134.4 |
| 2011 | at S.F. (L 32-36) | 63% | 462 | 4 | 2 | 93.5 |
| 2013 | at Phil. (W 26-24) | 67% | 250 | 1 | 2 | 75.7 |
| 2013 | at Sea. (L 15-23) | 56% | 309 | 1 | 0 | 86.3 |
| 2017 | Car. (W 31-26) | 70% | 376 | 2 | 1 | 115.2 |
Ryan played a role in frittering away the Super Bowl last year, but he’s finished with a passer rating over 100 in five straight playoff games, with 13 TDs and only 1 interception.
Since losing his first three playoff games, Ryan is 4-2 as a playoff starter. In his nine starts, he’s averaged 274 passing yards, with 19 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
| MATT RYAN IN THE POSTSEASON | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opponent | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Rating |
| 2008 | at Ariz. (L 24-30) | 65% | 199 | 2 | 2 | 72.8 |
| 2010 | G.B. (L 21-48) | 69% | 186 | 1 | 2 | 69.0 |
| 2011 | at NYG (L 2-24) | 59% | 199 | 0 | 0 | 71.1 |
| 2012 | Sea. (W 30-28) | 69% | 250 | 3 | 2 | 93.7 |
| 2012 | S.F. (L 24-28) | 71% | 396 | 3 | 1 | 114.8 |
| 2016 | Sea. (W 36-20) | 70% | 338 | 3 | 0 | 125.7 |
| 2016 | G.B. (W 44-21) | 71% | 392 | 4 | 0 | 139.4 |
| 2016 | N.E. (L 28-34) | 74% | 284 | 2 | 0 | 144.1 |
| 2017 | at LAR (W 26-13) | 70% | 218 | 1 | 0 | 101.8 |
—Ian Allan