Many New Orleans Saints fans were skeptical of the team’s decision to start quarterback Drew Brees during their Week 8 game with the Arizona Cardinals, just five weeks removed from thumb surgery. Concerns surrounded exposure to injury in a somewhat-meaningless game; the Saints had won all five of their previous games with backup Teddy Bridgewater managing the offense. On top of that, the Saints were one game away from their bye week, theoretically giving Brees more time to finish healing up.
But Brees turned in a performance that almost looked vintage. He left some points on the field early, showing signs of rust on a gambling deep pass to fullback Zach Line with wide receiver Michael Thomas open on an underneath route, which led to an interception.