Gumbo
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- Mar 19, 2019
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No receiver has ever won the NFL MVP award. Saints receiver Michael Thomas is putting together the kind of season that will place him in serious contention to be the first.
On Sunday, Thomas became the first player this year to catch every ball thrown his way when targeted more than 10 times in a game. Quarterback Drew Brees threw the ball 11 times in the direction of Thomas, and he caught it every time — gaining 112 yards.
For the season, Thomas now has 73 catches for 875 yards. That puts him on pace for 146 catches (which would be a single-season record) and 1,750 yards.
“It’s just a blessing to be in position to be considered,” Thomas told PFT by phone after Sunday’s win over Arizona. “It wouldn’t be an individual award but a team award.”
Sunday’s performance came with Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson following Thomas almost exclusively. (Peterson’s interception came on a throw that didn’t go to Thomas.)
Thomas, who got a new contract in August after a brief holdout, agreed that the market-value deal has given him new determination to justify the faith the team has shown in him.
“I’m trying to lead by example,” Thomas said. “I want to keep my head down and work, and I want to be that example for the young guys coming up.”
An old guy came back on Sunday, but Thomas said there’s no difference between having Drew Brees or Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback. Still, with Brees in the game, Thomas is aware of the opportunity it presents.
“I don’t take for granted being in the huddle with a Hall of Fame quarterback,” Thomas said.
The Saints enter the bye at 7-1, with six straight wins since losing at L.A. in Week Two. So what would Thomas have said if he’d been told six weeks ago that the Saints would win five games without Brees?
“Do I play for the Saints?” he said with a laugh. “I would have said we will win all of them.”
Win all of them they did, and they remain squarely in the conversation for the best team in the NFC. Come Week 14, they’ll get a chance to prove it, in a game against the 49ers.