Mark Craig goes beyond NFL Week 17

BY THE NUMBERS Drew Brees' record completion rate (75.3%)

Saints quarterback Drew Brees is on pace to break the single-season completion percentage record for the third time in three seasons and the fourth time since 2011.

Since coming back from a broken thumb that sidelined him for five games, Brees has topped 71% in seven of eight games, including a single-game record 96.67% (29 of 30) in a win over the Colts.

If Brees breaks the record this year, it will be the fourth straight year it has happened.

Sam Bradford set the mark at 71.6% while with the Vikings in 2016. Brees then took the record back with marks of 72% in 2017 and 74.4% in 2018.

Did you know? Stats of the week

Wilson could pass Brady's win pace

Tom Brady set the NFL record for regular-season wins by a quarterback in his first eight seasons. The mark is 86 victories. But if Seattle beats the 49ers on Sunday night, Russell Wilson will move out of a tie with Brady and into first place with 87. Wilson already has led the Seahawks to the postseason for the seventh time in eight seasons. He also became the first quarterback to lead his team to a winning record in each of his first eight seasons.

McCaffrey within reach of CJ's mark

Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 2,294. He needs 216 to surpass the league record of 2,509 set by Chris Johnson in 2009. McCaffrey has nine games of at least 150 yards from scrimmage this season. In NFL history, only two other players have done that nine or more times in a season. Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk did it nine times in 1999 and 2001. Johnson did it 10 times in 2009.