Payton and Brees Have 117 Regular Season Wins Together

New Orleans head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees made NFL history Monday and their defense is to thank for it.

The two have now won 117 regular season games together following the Saints 12-9 victory Monday night over the Carolina Panthers. With the win, the two passed Don Shula and Dan Marino to move into second place amongst coach and quarterback combos since the start of the Super Bowl era.

Payton and Brees now trail just New England’s Bill Belichick and Tom Brady who with the Patriots have won 205 regular season games together.

New Orleans is now 12-2 on the season and needs just one victory in it last two regular season games to clinch the NFC No. 1 seed, which is very important as the Saints offense has struggled the last three weeks on the road.

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Brees passed for only 203 yards with one interception and no touchdowns Monday and had a two-point conversion intercepted as well that was returned for Carolina for a two points early in the final quarter. The loss for Carolina was its sixth straight dropping the Panthers to 6-8 on the season.

Brees told reporters after the game that the offense had several missed opportunities with mistakes such as penalties that hurt them, but the team made the plays that were needed near the end of the game and walked away with another win thanks to the defense.

Brees added that there was much to be said for that as great teams find ways to win and believe in themselves.

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Brees may have had his hopes of winning the MVP dashed a bit after averaging 177 yards passing per game the last three weeks losing to Dallas and defeating Tampa Bay and Carolina. In that span, Brees has thrown just two touchdowns with three interceptions.

The Saints defense has stepped up and has become one of the best in the NFL the last six weeks holding its last six opponents to 17 or fewer points. Since the fourth week of the season, the Saints lead the league in points allows at 17.2 per game and over that span have 39 quarterback sacks and 21 takeaways.

Payton and Brees are now 117-71 during the regular season with both arriving in 2006 with the Saints.