The New Orleans Saints are beginning a stretch of games without Drew Brees.
The Seattle Seahawks are hoping to continue a stretch that has them off to their best start since their Super Bowl championship season.
Teddy Bridgewater is expected to start in place of the injured Brees when New Orleans visits Seattle on Sunday afternoon — though Saints coach Sean Payton has yet to officially name a starter. Brees was scheduled to undergo surgery Wednesday to repair a ligament in his throwing thumb that injured early in a 27-9 loss at the Rams last week.
Brees underwent surgery Wednesday, and he pronounced it a “complete” success later in the day. He is expected to miss about six weeks after missing just one game due to injury in his previous 13 seasons in New Orleans.
Brees’ injury begs the obvious question of whether the Saints are built to withstand the absence of the NFL’s all-time leading passer.
“We’re getting ready to find out,” Payton said when asked that question.
Bridgewater completed 17 of 30 passes for 165 yards after replacing Brees. The Saints hope he can recapture the form he had in Minnesota when he earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2015 before a severe knee injury the following preseason set him back.
“We have 53 people on our team. Drew is a huge part of that,” New Orleans defensive end Cameron Jordan said. “You can’t replace Drew, but at the same time we don’t know exactly what Teddy brings to the table. It’s been (over) two years since he has really had a complete Pro Bowl season that he had over in Minnesota.
“At this point, I can’t tell you whether we can withstand without Drew.”
Payton wouldn’t confirm that Bridgewater would start, instead suggesting that Taysom Hill is also in the mix. Hill plays a variety of positions on offense and special teams and has replaced Brees on occasion at quarterback, particularly when Payton goes with a run-pass option.
Brees’ absence wasn’t the only problem the Saints had in Los Angeles in the rematch of last season’s NFC Championship Game. Their offensive line was beaten consistently and the team rushed for just 57 yards on 20 carries. New Orleans was penalized 11 times for 87 yards.
The Seahawks also want to cut down on their penalties. They have been penalized 18 times, including 10 for 93 against Pittsburgh last week.
If they continue to play close games, having beaten Cincinnati by one point in the opener and prevailing by two at Pittsburgh last week, the rash of penalties could prove costly.
“Our hands have got to get cleaner,” coach Pete Carroll said. “That’s just being sloppy with their hands, and we have to do better. We’re not there yet, we’re not on it yet. Our conscience isn’t right about it, and I hope this hit hard enough this week. I hope the lessons are strong enough that we can make an impression on our guys.
“We’ve got to get it done. We’re a good third-down team. Everything beyond that, we stink, and that’s going to continue to be difficult and those happen because of sacks or because of penalties and we’re getting third and fifteens and stuff. We have to clean that up.”
Meanwhile the Seahawks don’t have any quarterback concerns as Russell Wilson has led them to their first 2-0 start since their championship season in 2013.
Wilson used his arm and his legs to key a 28-26 victory at Pittsburgh last Sunday, a week after Seattle opened at home with a one-point win against Cincinnati.
Against the Steelers, he completed 29 of 35 passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns. He also scrambled three times to help keep alive a clinching drive that consumed the final 5:34 of the game.
“It’s hard to imagine that someone can keep getting better when you’re in year eight,” Carroll told SeattlePI.com. “How can that happen? But it is. We’re watching it.”
