Kurt Warner & Drew Brees Favored To Be Weekend's Top Passers

NFL News - January 14th, 2010 - Written by John

It seems preordained that the top passer in the upcoming playoff week will come from the New Orleans-Arizona game, doesnt it? After all, the Saints are the league's top scoring team and the Cardinals are coming in as survivors of the NFL's highest-scoring playoff game ever.

But don't sleep on Peyton Manning, who has been polishing his arm ever since Week 15, or Brett Favre, who led the league in passing two weeks this season, and was second in another.

Drew Brees and Kurt Warner are the favorites to come out of the divisional round with the most passing yards in Bodog's NFL Playoffs prop bet this week. Brees is receiving slightly better odds at 3/2, but Warner isn't far behind at 2/1, according to NFL Betting Lines.

Brees earned the NFC's starting quarterback spot in the Pro Bowl with 4,388 yards and 34 touchdowns. He finished as the league's top-rated passer and crossed the 300-yard mark seven times. Despite New Orleans' hiccup at the end of the year, he still managed to throw for 852 yards over the last three games, and has the support of the Superdome behind him.

Warner threw for 391 yards and five touchdowns in a 51-45 overtime win against the Green Bay Packers. He seemed poised to add to that total, but the Cardinals' offense never got the ball in overtime thanks to a handy defensive play by Mike Adams and Karlos Dansby.

Mark Sanchez is the longshot, and rightfully so, after he finished the first week with the fifth-lowest total. He completed 12-of-15 passes for 182 yards, but the team's run first philosophy will keep him from improving that total substantially.

But as is with the running backs, top passing total won't necessarily equate in a win. Aaron Rodgers blew everyone away with 423 yards last week, but lost, and joins Cincinnati's Cedric Benson, who led all rushers with 169 yards, on vacation.

Kurt Warner (ARI)2/1
Drew Brees (NO)3/2
Joe Flacco (BAL)12/1
Peyton Manning (IND)3/1
Tony Romo (DAL)9/2
Brett Favre (MIN)5/1
Mark Sanchez (NYJ)15/1
Philip Rivers (SD)6/1