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NFL Week 2: Top 5 quarterback battles fans will want to watch

By Peter Panacy

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 22: Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons speaks to Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers after the NFC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome on January 22, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Falcons defeated the Packers 44-21. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 22: Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons speaks to Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers after the NFC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome on January 22, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Falcons defeated the Packers 44-21. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – AUGUST 22: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots drops back to pass during the first quarter of a preseason game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on August 22, 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – AUGUST 22: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots drops back to pass during the first quarter of a preseason game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on August 22, 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Tom Brady (NE) vs. Drew Brees (NO)

Two future Hall of Famers going at each other. It’s hard to get much better than that, at least for quarterbacking fans.

OK, so the Saints defense isn’t exactly top notch. As noted earlier, Vikings QB Sam Bradford had little trouble carving up this group, likely meaning Tom Brady won’t have an issue at all on the road in New Orleans.

On the flip side, Saints quarterback Drew Brees is coming off a solid losing performance on the road in Minnesota. Comparing the two, Brees finished Week 1 with a 104.7 passer rating and Brady’s was 70.0.

Advantage: Brees? Yeah, probably not.

Drew Brees

If only Brees’ passes could play defense. That’s likely going to be the story with New Orleans all season.

Yes, this group made some adjustments to improve, but it hasn’t shown. So that puts more pressure on Brees and the passing attack to open things up for an already prolific Saints offense.

Oh, and that offense probably doesn’t include veteran running back Adrian Peterson, who saw just six carries in his return to Minnesota last week. Peterson could be off the roster by midseason.

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Back to Brees, though. I’m wondering if the offseason trade of wide receiver Brandin Cooks — to the Pats, nonetheless — winds up hurting Brees’ numbers this year. Saints wideout Michael Thomas is a player I’m watching to fill the void, but let’s see it happen.

Still, Brees is always a fun watch on Sundays.

Tom Brady

Brady’s 16-of-36 line from Week 1 — yes, that’s 44.4 percent — simply doesn’t look Brady-ish.

Then again, we’ve seen Brady bounce back from horrendous performances before. Just flash back to 2014 against the Chiefs on Monday Night Football — a game in which Brady tossed two interceptions and finished with a 59.9 passer rating.

Brady subsequently went 23-of-35 the following week against the Cincinnati Bengals, tossing two touchdowns and posting a 110.7 rating in the process.

Oh, and New England went on to win the Super Bowl that year.

The Patriots quarterback is more than capable of bouncing back. We know this. And we shouldn’t doubt it, even if he’s 40 years old.

Next: Week 2 NFL power rankings: 32-team overreactions

And against a weak Saints defense, Brady will be eager to silence the critics.