When the New Orleans Saints play in Baltimore on Sunday, Drew Brees is going to have a chance to join one of the NFL's most exclusive clubs.
If the Saints beat the Ravens, Brees will become just the third quarterback in NFL history to beat all 32 teams. The only quarterbacks that have pulled off the feat are Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.
Of course, joining this club won't be easy and that's because Brees will be going up against a Ravens team that has one of the NFL's best defenses. Through six weeks, the Ravens rank first in total defense, giving up just 270.8 yards per game. To put that in perspective, no other team in the NFL is even under the 300-yard mark. The Ravens also lead the league in fewest points surrendered as they're giving up just 12.8 points per game. Every other team in the NFL is giving up at least 17 points per game, including the Saints, who are surrendering 28 points per game.
Brees has actually had a total of four chances to beat the Ravens in his 18-year career, but he's come up short every time, and usually the games aren't very close. As a matter of fact, only one of the four games Brees has played against Baltimore has actually gone down to the wire and that came all the way back in 2010.
In that game, the Saints and Ravens were tied 24-24 in the fourth quarter before Baltimore pulled away with two late field goals in a 30-24 win. Brees threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns, but got shut down on the Saints' final two possessions of the game.
In 2006, Brees got manhandled by a Ravens defense that picked him off three times. Although the final score was 35-22, the Ravens dominated the entire game and led by 28 points going into the fourth quarter.
Brees also got a crack at Baltimore when he was the Chargers quarterback in 2003, but that one didn't go well as he threw three interceptions in a 24-10 loss that was played in San Diego.
Brees' most recent shot at beating the Ravens came in 2014 in a setting where the Saints quarterback typically thrives. Not only was the game at home, but it was also in primetime on Monday Night Football. Although Brees lit up the Ravens' defense with 420 passing yards and three touchdowns, it wasn't enough to overcome a 182-yard rushing performance by Justin Forsett, as the Ravens escaped New Orleans with a 34-27 win.
Overall, Brees is 116 of 181 for 1,340 yards and nine touchdowns against the Ravens, but he's also thrown eight interceptions.
If Brees and the Saints do beat Baltimore, he could be the last quarterback for awhile to hit the 32-team milestone. Although there are three other active quarterbacks who have beaten 31 teams -- Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger -- those three won't be joining the list anytime soon unless the Steelers, Patriots or Packers decide to trade them or let them walk, and I'm guessing that's not going to happen.
One other thing to note is that Joe Montana and Fran Tarkenton are unofficial members of the 32-team club. During their playing days, there were only 28 teams in the NFL and both quarterbacks had at least one win against all 28 teams.
