NFL Week 3: Drew Brees reportedly set to undergo thumb surgery, miss six weeks

The New Orleans Saints pulled off a memorable victory over the Houston Texans in Week 1 with Drew Brees leading a game-winning field goal drive in the final seconds. Unfortunately, the new reality for Sean Payton and company will not include Brees as the team's signal-caller for the next six weeks, with both Ian Rapoport of NFL Network and Adam Schefter of ESPN reporting that the veteran quarterback will undergo surgery to correct a torn ligament in his thumb. 

Brees exited the team's Week 2 game against the Los Angeles Rams after his throwing hand struck Aaron Donald while attempting to throw a pass. From there, Teddy Bridgewater assumed the reins of the Saints offense and New Orleans struggled to find consistent footing on the way to a relatively lopsided defeat. 

Bridgewater is universally seen as an upper-echelon backup quarterback in the NFL and, in short, the Saints have plenty of weapons, headlined by Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas. Still, there is trepidation as to how New Orleans might look without Brees for an extended period of time and the six-week timetable could be tricky to navigate. 

The Saints face a tough challenge with a road game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3 and there is difficult sledding beyond that. New Orleans must face the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4 and, while there is a slight reprieve against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers i Week 5, that is followed by back-to-back road tilts against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears. 

SportsLine data scientist Stephen Oh estimates that the Saints will finish with 9.9 wins if Brees indeed misses six weeks. With Brees available, that projection would be 10.9 victories and the team's Super Bowl chances decrease from 10.9 percent to 7.9 percent without Brees for six weeks.

It is important to note that the Saints have not announced plans for surgery at this juncture but, with every reason to trust the reporting, New Orleans will move from NFC South favorites to a placement much less certain. Prior to Week 2, the Saints faced 12-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, with the expectation that those odds could change for the worse on the heels of this injury news.