New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees’ groove goes far beyond another NFL record

 A quick glance at items of interest as Week 16 kicks off in the NFL …

Who’s hot: Drew Brees. After making more history on Monday night in surpassing Peyton Manning to become the NFL’s all-time leader for career touchdown passes (which comes with a built-in race with another thrower: Brees, 541; Tom Brady, 538), the Saints icon could more significantly cement his legacy by guiding his team to another Super Bowl crown after the blown chances of the past two years. Stay tuned.

Nonetheless, beyond the showers of adulation for the big record, Brees heads into Sunday’s game at Tennessee in a serious groove. In seven games since returning from his fractured hand, Brees has a sizzling TD-to-INT ratio of 19-to-2. And his 115.3 efficiency rating is a hair under last season’s career-best mark (115.7). More tangibly, the Saints offense in December has looked a lot more like the high-powered units of the past, which could make them so lethal in January.

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Pressure’s on: Doug Pederson. Unlike the last time in gearing up for Dallas, the Eagles coach hasn’t generated any “interpreted guarantees” about beating the Cowboys. But the stakes are even bigger now that they were in Week 7, when the Eagles left egg on Pederson’s face by getting dogged 37-10 in Texas. The Cowboys (7-7) can clinch the NFC East crown by winning on Philly’s turf, while the Eagles (7-7) – who nearly blew it at Washington last weekend after a slip-up in Miami – merely hope to stay alive. Pederson is pressed to buck a trend. He’s just 2-5 against the Cowboys since taking charge in Philadelphia and the Cowboys have won two in a row at The Linc. Pederson needs to make a statement, which could start with devising some rhythm for his embattled quarterback, Carson Wentz.

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Key matchup: Shaquil Barrett vs. Laremy Tunsil. Fresh off the announcement that both are selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time, a neat game-within-a-game between premier pass-rusher and blindside-protector adds spice to a contest at Tampa on Saturday where the Texans (9-5) can clinch another AFC South title with a victory. It’s a sack story as potential harbinger. Barrett leads the NFL with 16 ½ sacks. Tunsil, obtained in a Miami fire-sale trade, is arguably the biggest reason Houston’s protection for Deshaun Watson has equated to one fewer sack per game after giving up an NFL-high 62 sacks per outing last season. In three of their losses, Watson was sacked six times. In five of Houston’s wins, he was dropped no more than once.

Next man up: Mike Boone. With Vikings star running back Dalvin Cook appearing iffy, due to a shoulder injury, the second-year pro is poised to make his first NFL start in the showdown against the Packers on Monday night. Cook’s primary backup, Alexander Mattison, might not go, either, as he nurses an ankle injury. Boone, a University of Cincinnati product, has logged just 32 NFL carries. But what a time for a breakout. The better news for the Vikings' offense is that Packer-killing-receiver Adam Thielen made it back last weekend after missing the previous four games (and 5 of 6) with a hamstring injury. 

Rookie watch: Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. The first-round pick from Oklahoma hasn’t had a 100-yard game since Week 1 while deployed in a run-first Baltimore offense that is averaging more than 200 yards per game on the ground and is on pace to set an NFL record for rushing yards in a season. But Brown can’t be ignored as the Ravens try to wrap up the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs with a win at Cleveland. It’s the speed that stretches the field. He was one of the fastest players in the draft, and with defenses undeniably needing to focus on the containing the threats that Lamar Jackson, Mark Ingram, et al, possess in the running game, that sets up downfield opportunities for Brown. Several other rookie receivers have produced more receptions and yards than Brown, but just one, the Giants’ Darius Slayton (8), has topped Brown’s 7 receiving scores. But it’s interesting note, as The Baltimore Sun analyzed, the 170-pound Brown has had even more impact working the middle of the field on slants and crossing patterns than on the go routes. He doesn’t run in fear.

Stomach for an upset: Jaguars at Falcons. After upstaging the farewell party for the Raiders last weekend, Jacksonville players have their own reason to celebrate after draconian football chief Tom Coughlin was fired this week amid brushback from the NFL players union – advising players not to sign with the team because of the excessive and petty fines stemming from Coughlin. No, Coughlin wasn’t the coach. But with the Jags a 7-point underdog, maybe coach Doug Marrone can get another spirited effort from his players. Several weeks ago, Jacksonville would have been favored, especially given Atlanta’s troubles. But the Falcons, who scored their own Bay Area upset last weekend by stunning the 49ers, have maintained a pulse in winning two in a row and four of their past six games.

If the playoffs were today… The Patriots (11-3) would have another bye. New England has secured one of the AFC’s top two seeds – and thus, the week off – for nine seasons in a row … essential on the path to five Super Bowl appearances during the 2010s. Lose to Buffalo on Saturday and the chance for a bye would hinge on Kansas City (10-4) losing one of its final two games. And Saturday is hardly promised, with the emerging Bills (10-4) hanging tough with New England in Week 4 … until quarterback Josh Allen was knocked out with a concussion.

Did you notice? Titans running back Derrick Henry, named to his first Pro Bowl this week, has ripped off more big runs than any running back in the league this season. He’s had 38 runs of 10-plus yards, a total topped only by (who else?) Lamar Jackson with 43 such jaunts. It’s also true that Henry, second in the NFL with 1,329 rushing yards, has had more cracks at long runs than anybody in logging a league-high 271 carries.

Stat’s the fact: Chiefs star Travis Kelce, who leads NFL tight ends with 86 receptions, heads into the Sunday night game at Chicago needing four catches to hit 1,000 in his career. He would be the fastest tight end in NFL history to reach that milestone, beating the pace Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow established (101 games) a generation ago. Last weekend, Kelce became the first tight end to post four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.