.@Saints @drewbrees can still elevate on these goal line and short yardage plays even when the opposition knows it’s coming . All you 40+ year olds who still wanna get after it…Can you do this? #whodat #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/DnkyAkCnqF
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) October 27, 2020
The New Orleans Saints needed a touchdown, and they needed it fast. With the offense lined up at the Carolina Panthers goal line and the clock winding down, they went with one of their signature play calls: a Drew Brees leap over the top of his offensive line, snapping the ball out ahead of him to break the plane. And it worked.
Those impressive hops from Brees earned a shoutout from NFL analyst Brian Baldinger.
“This guy’s been doing this exact same play for the last, basically, 17 or 18 years,” Baldinger said. “He steps up in these goal-line plays and short-yardage plays and elevates, I mean: that’s good elevation right there. he does this all the time. Even if you know it’s coming. [The defense] knows it’s coming.”
And it still works. The Brees leap has been successful for nearly two decades. Per Pro Football Reference, Brees has logged 14 rushing attempts from inside the 1-yard line since joining the Saints, and he’s scored a touchdown on 13 of those tries. The lone failure was a Brees fumble way back in 2008 against the Denver Broncos, recovered by a teammate. He’s scored on every other try in the following 12 years.
Hopefully this scoring leap isn’t the last one we’ll see from No. 9. It’s clear he still has some gas left in the tank.
