Marino Watch, Week 16: Kurt Warner Bows Out, Drew Brees Bears Down

Going Deep

While each quarterback has regressed in his chase of Marino leading up to Week 16, the two went different directions -- Brees, with the aid of a woeful Lions secondary, put himself back in a doable range. Warner, on the other hand, buckled under the snow and pressure in New England and took himself out of the race.

The Cardinals really had no shot -- they've been bad out of division all season long. Throw in the dreaded early game/cross-country trip and snowy conditions that go against everything the Cardinals are built for, and it's easy to see Warner struggling. But 30 yards and a relief appearance by Matt Leinart? Not the way you want to approach breaking a record (or entering the playoffs, for that matter). Still, it's over now, and Warner is out of the race, as so clearly depicted above.

Brees, on the other hand, carved out a nice chunk of the gap between he and Marino with a dominant performance over the Lions. Of course, it was the Lions, so all caveats apply, but a record is a record and Marino played some creampuff secondaries on his way to the mark, too. Humorously enough, when the game was well out of hand, Sean Payton kept calling pass plays -- it's obvious he and Brees want to get the record with nothing else to play for this season. Though a very good game will net the record against the Panthers, they won't be as accomodating as the Lions were.

Who's On Tap

Drew Brees: vs. Carolina (201.3 yards per game allowed -- 11th)
Kurt Warner: vs. Seattle (253.5 yards per game allowed -- 32nd)