Drew Brees is a Hall of Famer, a Super Bowl champ, and for a time, he was the NFL’s all-time leader in touchdown passes and passing yards. Yet, for all that greatness, one huge piece of the puzzle is missing from his legendary career: an NFL MVP award. It’s wild to think about, right? A guy who rewrote the record books multiple times never got the league’s top individual honor.
The Stats Were There, The Award Wasn’t
Brees played in an era absolutely stacked with incredible quarterbacks, and he was often the odd man out in those MVP races. The guy led the NFL in passing yards an unbelievable seven times and in touchdown passes four times. And get this: he didn’t win an MVP in any of those seasons. That includes one year where he snagged a Super Bowl MVP, proving his individual brilliance in the biggest game, but still missed out on the regular season MVP. You gotta wonder how that happened. Sure, Rich Gannon, Cam Newton, Steve McNair, and Matt Ryan all got MVPs in the 21st century. Brees at his peak was better than all of them, but the award just never broke his way. A big part of the issue? The Saints’ record. Their defense completely cratered during the mid-2010s, pretty much taking Brees out of contention. It’s super rare for a quarterback on a single-digit win team to even sniff the MVP trophy, and that definitely hurt his case.
Two Blowout Losses That Stung
We can pinpoint a couple of seasons where Brees came agonizingly close, only to be denied. In 2006, Brees was the All-Pro First Team quarterback in his first year with the Saints. That usually screams MVP, but a quarterback didn’t win it that year. The award went to Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, and wow, did he put up numbers. Tomlinson exploded for 2,323 scrimmage yards and a mind-blowing 31 total touchdowns. Brees’ numbers were great, but they just didn’t “jump off the page” like that, and he finished a distant second in what was basically a blowout race against Tomlinson. Then came 2009, a season all about the Saints and Colts dominating. Brees was phenomenal: 70.6 percent completion, 4,388 yards, 34 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions. But he lost handily to Peyton Manning, who threw for 4,500 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. Both QBs lost just two games, and Saints fans still argue that race should’ve been way closer. Luckily, Brees got the ultimate last laugh, defeating Manning and the Colts in the Super Bowl.
So, while that MVP trophy is missing from his case, Brees is still a certified legend. He’s one of nine Hall of Fame quarterbacks without an MVP, a list that includes icons like Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman. But let’s be clear, Brees is a tier above a few of those guys, like Dan Fouts, Jim Kelly, and Warren Moon, who never won an MVP *or* a Super Bowl. That Super Bowl ring and those broken records speak for themselves. His legacy is set in stone, MVP or not.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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