Week 8 NFL Advanced Analytics Superstars

Quarterback: Drew Brees

Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
40 for 50, 511 Yards, 7 Touchdowns, 1 Interception
1 Rush, 1 Yards
NEP: +29.99

For any of you unable to see this weekend's 52-49 shootout between Drew Brees and Eli Manning, you missed a gem of a game. The third-highest scoring game in NFL history was largely fueled by Brees' career day, setting new personal records in passing yards (511), completions (40), and touchdowns (7).

Brees and Manning were both in a zone this weekend, as the pair of pocket passers exchanged big play after big play. Brees connected on touchdowns with Brandin Cooks (2), Willie Snead (2), Benjamin Watson (1), Marques Colston (1), and C.J. Spiller (1). Nine different receivers got involved in the passing game this week, and Brees was far more aggressive with a 9.1 aDOT (average depth of throw) this week compared to his season average 7.7 aDOT prior to this week's game per ProFootballFocus.

Brees' +29.99 is the highest single-week performance of the season and has raised his cumulative Passing NEP to 7th (from 12th last week) among all quarterbacks on the season. His 47.54 fantasy points (standard, four-points for touchdowns scoring) was not only the highest of the week, but it was also the highest fantasy scoring week of the season. In fact, Brees' 47.54 fantasy points this week has only been topped three other times in the entire history of the NFL.

Naturally, the second leading quarterback this week was Eli with his +24.94 NEP. Eli threw for 350 passing yards and 6 touchdowns as he torched the Saints' secondary. Carson Palmer, Tom Brady, and Derek Carr each threw for four scores this week, and their teams got the win. Our algorithms liked Peyton Manning's performance despite not being a gaudy fantasy outing. Converting on key third downs and moving the chains elevated his score by our metrics rounding out the best of the rest of the quarterbacks in Week 8.

Best of the Rest: