This article is part of our NFL Observations series.
That was an especially good game to consume in the 40-minute version -- I shudder to think how dull it would have been in real time. At least I had the Saints minus nine. After a week of getting destroyed against the spread, it was nice to collect an easy one.
• Dink and dunk artist Drew Brees got 10.2 YPA. How? He completed 29 of 30 passes, setting an NFL record in the process. You don't need to throw down the field if you never miss. Brees incidentally broke Peyton Manning's career TD pass record, too, but that was a foregone conclusion. Poor Tom Brady will have to hang around 12 more years to make sure he finishes ahead of Brees in all the key career categories. Brees looked like he was in his prime Monday night, too, moving well in the pocket and having plenty of zip on his throws.
• Michael Thomas went 12-12-128-2, giving him 133 catches on the year with two games to play. It's already the fourth most catches in NFL history, and he'll smash Marvin Harrison's record of 143, possibly with a week to spare. He's also caught 83.6 percent of his targets, by far the all-time catch rate record for 100-target receivers, that is, if you exclude his 85 percent mark from last year.
I know his Twitter handle is @Cantguardmike, but if I were an opposing defensive coordinator, I'd probably make sure to guard him. I'd love to see the Saints play the Patriots, who specialize in taking away the opponent's top option, and see how they defended the Saints.
• Alvin Kamara hasn't been nearly as effective since returning from a mid-season injury, but he looked more spry last night even if he didn't have much fantasy production to show for it.
• There's not much to say about the Colts except it was pretty cold how they handed the easy TD to Jordan Wilkins rather than Marlon Mack.
