Drew Brees can’t possibly enjoy his membership in this particular club. He certainly wouldn't like being in it twice.
The comeback he led in the final minute and a half against the Vikings in U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday night would have gone down in NFL lore and cemented his legacy even further. "This would’ve been one for the ages, if we had been able to pull it off," he said afterward.
If.
The Saints didn't, as the world knows and will never forget. So their drive from their own 25-yard line to the Vikings’ 25 for what almost was the game-winning, rally-capping field goal with 25 seconds left became a footnote.
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Like Tom Brady’s 80-yard drive for the go-ahead touchdown to give the undefeated Patriots the lead late in Super Bowl 42 … just before the Giants' legendary game-winning drive featuring David Tyree’s helmet catch.
Like Kurt Warner a year later in Super Bowl 43, when he connected with Larry Fitzgerald for 64 yards and the go-ahead score for the Cardinals, leaving the Steelers 2:37 to march the other way for the dramatic game-winning Santonio Holmes catch.
Like Aaron Rodgers’ Hail Mary to send the Packers’ 2015 playoff game against the Cardinals to overtime, only to see Fitzgerald break their hearts in overtime.
Like Dak Prescott seemingly exorcising decades of Cowboys' playoff ghosts with a drive for a tying field goal against the Packers last year, before Rodgers (again) pulled off the miraculous drive to a field goal to beat them.
Like Ken Stabler’s 30-yard scramble for the go-ahead touchdown to put the Raiders in front of the Steelers in the 1972 AFC playoffs … followed by the Immaculate Reception.
And … like the Brees-to-Jimmy Graham touchdown with 1:37 left to give the 13-3 Saints a 32-29 lead over the 49ers at Candlestick Park in January 2012. That play became moot with nine seconds left when Alex Smith hit Vernon Davis for the game-winning score and a 36-32 win.
Everybody who has followed Brees’ career in New Orleans thought of that Sunday night, including Brees. Even with a career as long as his, the odds of getting knocked out of the playoffs twice that way are long.
Not long enough, apparently.
"It’ll sting for a bit, especially as this season goes on for the next few weeks, feeling like that should be us, maybe that should be us," Brees said. "But I've been around long enough to know that, unfortunately, sometimes these things happen."
Then, he and the Saints thought they were good enough to get another Lombardi, and with the clock seemingly on their side, they thought they were one step closer. The same thing this year, Brees said.
"We felt pretty good about our odds of winning once we kicked that field goal," he said, adding, “We scored on every drive (in the second half). It’s hard to do that, on the road, (in the) playoffs against that defense, No. 1 defense in football right there.
"So I can’t say enough about our guys and the resolve of our team to battle back after being down 17-0, and I really felt like we should’ve won that game."
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Brees’ heroics Sunday won’t be forgotten. They just won't be remembered as well as what Case Keenum and Stefon Diggs created seconds later.
"Listen," Brees said, "sometimes, unfortunately, experience is a tough teacher."
Once, definitely.
Twice is an advanced degree.
This article has been updated to remove references to the top-seded Saints and the wild-card 49ers in their January 2012 playoff game.
