5 NFL Stats to Know Through Week 9

Drew Brees Leads the NFL With 43.38 Passing Attempts Per Game

With 347 passing attempts, Drew Brees currently trails only Derek Carr for the most passing attempts this season, and Brees has played one less game. If Brees can keep up this pace over his final eight games, his 694 passing attempts will rank second all time behind Matthew Stafford's mark of 727 set in 2012.

On a per-game basis, Brees also leads the NFL with 336.13 passing yards, trails only Tom Brady with 2.63 touchdown passes, and is tied with Matt Ryan for second (behind Brady) with 23.3 fantasy points per game. He is on pace for the second-most passing yards of his career, which would mark the fifth time he has thrown for more than 5,000 yards. No other player has accomplished that feat more than once.

His current touchdown rate puts him on pace for the third-best mark of his career and would make him the first quarterback to surpass the 40-touchdown mark three times. 2011 was the only year in which he averaged more fantasy points per game than his current pace, and this would mark his sixth straight season with more than 300 fantasy points.

His 0.31 Passing NEP per drop back ranks fourth this season among all quarterbacks with 50 or more attempts, and it would be tied for the third-best mark of his career.

Keeping up this high level of play will not be easy in Week 10 against the Denver Broncos, who have allowed the fewest fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks all season.