DREW BREES SURROUNDED BY NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ROYALTY BEEFORE HIS PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY

"He deserves to be in, he deserves to be first ballot. He's the greatest Saint ever"

Saints legend Drew Brees arrived in Canton on Thursday, August 6 and attended several fan and media events, ending with an appearance at the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. AP Photo/New Orleans Saints

Canton, Ohio – If it takes a Pro Football Hall of Famer to know a Pro Football Hall of Famer, then Drew Brees was in perfect company Friday morning.

Brees, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday, was joined Friday morning by Rickey Jackson (Class of 2010, Saints player from 1981-93), Willie Roaf (Class of 2012, Saint from 1993-2001) and Morten Andersen (Class of 2017, Saint from 1982-94), while Brees made a promotional visit and worked a shift at Raising Cane's in Canton, Ohio.

"It was just a matter of time," Jackson said. "You know that he was going in. (Defensive end) Cam Jordan probably is the next one and hopefully, (Jahri Evans) makes it. I like to see Saints guys get in."

"The end of a great career," Roaf said. "The way he conducted himself on and off the field and the person he is – you know it was coming, it was just a matter of when he was going to lace the cleats up and finish his career."

"Drew's awesome," Andersen said. "Twenty years, 15 years with the Saints, Super Bowl, (Hurricane) Katrina – you can go on and on and on. What he was able to do with (Coach) Sean Payton and all the rest of the guys was a catalyst for excellence in New Orleans. He deserves to be in, he deserves to be first ballot. He's the greatest Saint ever."

Brees, the first Saint to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, has been in the midst of a whirlwind week in Canton, with little time to stop and savor the moment.

"(The Hall of Famers) warned me, they said it's going to be a blur," Brees said. "They said come back next year, you and your wife, and just sit and watch and go, 'Oh, these are all the things we missed.' You're in the fray. Just trying to take it all in. And honestly, every moment, I think it becomes a little bit more real.

"One of the things (Thursday) night was we did a toast with all the Hall of Famers in the bust gallery. So here you are, looking at all of the busts and then all of a sudden you're clinking glasses with Lawrence Taylor (Class of 1999) and it's like, 'Whoa. That just happened.' Willie Lanier (Class of 1986) is toasting you. It's pretty special."

It was one of many that has been special for Brees, when he has had time to exhale. The exclamation mark comes Saturday, during an induction speech that is supposed to last 10 to 12 minutes, but that Brees said likely will run past that mark. The ESPN/NFL Network broadcast starts at 11 a.m. central with Brees scheduled to be the last of the five players being inducted to deliver his speech.

"I've cried no less than 50 times writing the speech," Brees said. "Driving in my car – tears. Working out in the weight room – tears. On the plane the other day – tears. I've tried to put myself in the moment and just visualize their faces as I'm writing the things that I want to say about them and, yeah, I get super emotional about it.

"I'm trying to get it all out of the way so that it can be a nice, smooth speech, and not making anybody too uncomfortable. But that just comes with it."

SHOULDER NEWS: Brees said he likely will need shoulder replacement in the future. His right (throwing) shoulder required extensive repairs in 2006, following an injury in his final game with the San Diego Chargers. He joined the Saints as a free agent that year and played 15 more seasons while building his Hall of Fame resume, but said that Dr. James Andrews, the orthopedic surgeon who performed the surgery, advised him to "wear out the tires as much as you can, but know that you're on a fast track to a degenerative shoulder after this," Brees said.

"I'll probably have to get a shoulder replacement at some point. But I'm hanging on as long as I can."

- John DeShazier

CHIEFS' OFFENCE CRUISES PAST SAINTS IN MNF AS KC MOVE 5-0

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs soared past the New Orleans Saints in a 26-13 win on "Monday Night Football."

Kansas City entered the contest with questions at wide receiver, but WR JuJu Smith-Schuster had his best game of the season and finished with seven receptions for 130 yards. Meanwhile, the Saints struggled to score and quarterback Derek Carr exited the game in the fourth quarter with an oblique injury.

Here are keys to know from the game:

Kansas City Chiefs (5-0)

The Chiefs at long last won a game by a comfortable margin. After winning their past seven games dating back to last season's playoffs by a one-score margin, they didn't have to push to the end to beat the Saints on Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium.

Instead, Kansas City claimed a 26-13 victory that pushed its record to 5-0. The Chiefs have now had a winning streak of at least five games in each of Andy Reid's 12 seasons as their head coach.

Silver lining: The Chiefs would not have signed Kareem Hunt had Isiah Pacheco not broken his leg. But Hunt is now helping the Chiefs stay afloat in Pacheco's absence and is playing well enough that he deserves significant playing time when Pacheco returns. Having both players available would give the Chiefs some nice depth. Hunt finished with 102 yards and one touchdown off 27 carries.

Describe the game in two words: Seeing red. The Chiefs were 2-of-6 scoring touchdowns inside the New Orleans 20. Kansas City lost a touchdown in the red zone when Smith-Schuster deflected a pass at the goal line that went for a New Orleans interception.

Most surprising performance: Smith-Schuster had just two catches in the Chiefs' first four games, but he had five against the Saints. Smith-Schuster filled the role Rashee Rice had been playing before his injury. He picked up a lot of his yards by running well after the catch (82 YAC). But he also deflected a pass at the goal line that went for an interception. -- Adam Teicher

Next game: at San Francisco 49ers (4:25 p.m. ET, Oct. 20)

New Orleans Saints (2-3)

Carr threw up a deep pass to wide receiver Mason Tipton on fourth down and got up slowly after it fell incomplete. He walked off the field clutching his hip, was evaluated in the injury tent and went to the locker room at the end of the fourth quarter with an oblique injury, capping a night for the Saints that went from bad to worse.

The Saints fell to the Chiefs after entering Monday night with a lengthy list of injuries. They needed to play a perfect game to match up with the Chiefs' offense. Instead, New Orleans fell into an early deficit after Carr threw an ugly interception six plays into the game, setting the Chiefs up for their first touchdown.

Although the Saints had some big moments, such as a 43-yard touchdown pass from Carr to wideout Rashid Shaheed, they couldn't muster the offensive output from their first two weeks, losing their third game in a row.

Pivotal play: The big-man pick. Saints defensive tackle Khalen Saunders had a number of friends and family in attendance to see him play his former team, including his brother Kameron, who is a backup dancer for Taylor Swift. The moves clearly run in family, as Saunders caught a one-handed interception in the end zone and ran it back 37 yards in the third quarter.

Troubling trend: Cornerback Paulson Adebo's penalties. Adebo had a late-game pass interference penalty against the Falcons last week that led to a game-winning field goal. He had another troubling late PI flag against the Chiefs that almost led to a touchdown late in the third quarter. Adebo's seven penalties are tied for fourth most in the league.

Biggest hole in the game plan: The Saints couldn't run the ball efficiently behind an injury-hampered offensive line. The Saints' offense has worked best this season when they're able to run the ball at will. They weren't able to do that with any consistency against the Chiefs, relying instead heavily on low-percentage deep passes to try to move the ball. Carr attempted nine passes with 15-plus air yards tonight. He was 2-of-9 for 64 yards with an interception and a touchdown on those plays.

QB Breakdown: Carr was up and down until he left with his injury, finishing 18-of-28 for 165 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Jake Haener entered the game in his absence for his first true snaps this season, finishing 2-of-7 for 17 yards -- Katherine Terrell

Next game: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday)

- Adam Teicher and Katherine Terrell

COWBOYS HOLDS OFF NFC EAST RIVAL GIANTS IN DEFENSIVE BATTLE

Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Entering Thursday night's game, the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys shared last place in the NFC East at 1-2, a game behind the 2-1 Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles.

The Cowboys scored two first-half touchdowns and limited the Giants to three field goals to lead 14-9 at the half. It was a defensive battle the rest of the way, as neither team scored a touchdown in the second half.

Dallas picked up their second win of the season with a final score of 20-15, but star edge rusher Micah Parsons was carted off the field late in the game to get an X-ray.

Here are the most important things to know from Thursday night for both teams:

Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott did not speak to the media prior to Thursday's game against the New York Giants. He said he would speak "post win." The Cowboys got the win, but it wasn't an artistic beauty. However, after the Cowboys were embarrassed in back-to-back home losses to the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens, the only thing that mattered was getting a win on a short week.

Being 2-2 is so much better than 1-3. Had the Cowboys lost, it would have marked the first time they lost three September games since 2001, and they would have been in last place in the NFC East.

Prescott was sharp, especially in the first half with touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb (55 yards) and Rico Dowdle (15 yards). The defense finally stopped the run and stiffened in the red zone, holding the Giants to five field goals.

Prescott has now won 13 straight against the Giants. His last loss came in 2016 as a rookie. He tied the second-longest win streak by a quarterback against a single opponent since quarterback stats were first tracked in 1950. Tom Brady beat the Buffalo Bills 13 straight times from 2003 to 2010, and Steve Young beat the Rams 13 straight from 1987 to 98. He will get a chance for No. 14 on Thanksgiving.

Promising trend: When Lamb has some sideline issues, the best seems to come out of him. During last year's loss at San Francisco, Lamb kept to himself on the sideline and then followed with six games with at least 11 catches and seven games with more than 100 yards. In last week's loss to New Orleans, Lamb had a spat with Prescott and did not speak to the media after the game. On Tuesday, Lamb was apologetic and said he would be better. In the first half alone, he had six catches for 94 yards (both season highs) and a touchdown.

Eye-popping stat: Brandon Aubrey has played 21 games for the Cowboys. He has three field goals of 60 yards in his career, including a 60-yarder in the third quarter against the Giants. That's one off the NFL record held by Brett Maher, who made four with the Cowboys over two different stints. Aubrey made a 60-yarder last week against the Ravens. He is 2-for-2 from 60 yards this season. The rest of the league is 0-for-2, according to ESPN Research.

Silver lining: The Cowboys will have 10 days to get ready for the presently undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers. The time will help because there is still a lot that needs to be corrected, even with the win. In the past three games, opposing quarterbacks have missed on only 19 passes. Against the Saints and Ravens, that was understandable because both teams were so dominant on the run. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones had too much time to throw for much of the game after previously being tormented by the Cowboys, who sacked him 24 times in eight games prior to Thursday. Oh, and they were penalized nine times in the first half alone. --Todd Archer

Next game: at Pittsburgh Steelers (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday, Oct. 6.)

Luke Hales/Getty Images

New York Giants

The Giants kept it close against the Cowboys, but they still didn't come away with a win. After last season, when the Giants were outscored 89-17 in their two meetings with the Cowboys, this has to be viewed as progress, right?

Sure there are no moral victories in the NFL, but this was the third straight step in the right direction for the Giants (1-3) after an ugly opener.

The gap, at least to some degree, has narrowed between the division rivals. Dallas still owns the Giants. It has won 14 of the past 15 matchups, and Prescott has beaten them 13 straight times. New York still isn't quite there yet, but this proved its at least improving.

QB breakdown: Jones was efficient, completing 29 of 40 passes (73% completion) for 281 yards with an interception on a Hail Mary in the finals seconds. But the Giants were kept out of the end zone and Jones was short on most of his deep throws. It's especially notable considering this was a problem early in training camp. There was a lot of good for Jones, but it was not quite enough. Jones is clearly playing better since the opener. Having rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers (12 catches for 115 yards) certainly helps.

Eye-popping stat: Nabers keeps adding to his records. He became the first player in NFL history with at least 25 receptions and three touchdowns in his first four career games when he caught a 3-yard pass early in the second quarter. He now has 35 receptions for 386 yards and three touchdowns in four games.

Troubling trend: Giants top cornerback Deonte Banks has been the nearest defender on four touchdown passes already this season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Banks was beat again on Thursday night, this time by Lamb for a 55-yard score in the second quarter. The Giants were hoping Banks would step into the CB1 role this season. Instead, it has been a struggle so far.

Biggest hole in the game plan: The Giants weren't able to get anything going in the running game against the league's worst run defense. Dallas came into the contest allowing 185.7 yards on the ground per contest. The Giants came into the game thinking they would have success, but had only 29 yards rushing in the first half -- and they finished with 26 yards on 24 carries. -- Jordan Raanan

Next game: at Seattle Seahawks (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday, Oct. 6)

- Todd Archer and Jordan Raanan