NEW ORLEANS — One of the N.F.L.’s more incontrovertible contentions, supported by more than a decade of empirical evidence, is that good things tend to happen to the New Orleans Saints when the football leaves Drew Brees’s hand.
That hand has thrown for more yards and touchdowns than anyone else who has played for the Saints, elevating them to prominence and delivering a Super Bowl. This season, that hand threw the second-fewest passes since Brees arrived in New Orleans, and instead continually thrust the ball into the bellies of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara, the running backs responsible for transforming the Saints’ identity.