Quarterback Outlooks: Cam Newton and Drew Brees

With the exception of Tom Brady against the Philadelphia Eagles, no quarterback has a finer matchup than Cam Newton against the New Orleans Saints. The Saints are awful, and there's no other way to word it. They will undoubtedly blow up the entire defense at season's end, but until that day, let's take a look at how Newton will fare against them on Sunday. He should enjoy one of the finer days of the season in New Orleans, continuing a string of dominance he's enjoyed throughout the entire year.

Newton has totaled 70 fantasy points in his last three games, a span where he's also scored eight touchdowns without turning the ball over a single time. He's the main reason the Panthers are the only undefeated team left in the NFL, and he's playing at an MVP-caliber level. When Carolina faced New Orleans at home in Week 3, Newton went off for 348 total yards and three touchdowns to equal 30 fantasy points in standard scoring leagues. The Saints rank 31st in passing defense by allowing an average of 284 yards per game, and their 30 passing touchdowns allowed are the most in the league, five scores ahead of the next-to-last place Philadelphia Eagles. This is a prime matchup for Newton and the Panthers, who are well on their way to a first-round bye in the postseason.

It's been an up-and-down season for Drew Brees. At times, he's looked like the Brees of old by finishing with 300-yard, multi-touchdown games at home, but he's also been awful on the road, as the Saints have been throughout the entire season. Brees finished with 75 fantasy points during the Saints' two home games in Weeks 8 and 9, but finished with just 19 points in his last two road games, including his seven-point performance last week in Houston. It was Brees' worst fantasy week of the season, and now he'll have to face a Panthers defense that has allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this year, according to ESPN. Brees plays much better at home than he does on the road, but it seems like a gamble starting him against the stingy Panthers defense.