ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Drew Brees laughs when he's asked to rate how he played as a 23-year-old quarterback compared to the season Matthew Stafford has had at that age with the Lions.
Stafford and Brees are members of an exclusive club of quarterbacks who have passed for 5,000 yards in a season. Only four quarterbacks have done it, and only Brees has earned double points.
Brees, who has led the Saints into the playoffs four times in six seasons, passed for 5,069 yards as a 29-year-old quarterback in 2008. He set the NFL record of 5,476 this season at the age of 32.
Stafford has a six-year jump on Brees in reaching 5,000 yards. Stafford passed for 5,038 yards this season. He turns 24 next month.
The other two quarterbacks in the club are Tom Brady, with 5,235 this season, and Dan Marino, whose 5,084-yard season in 1984 stood for 27 years.
Brees and Stafford are making history in their matchup in the wild-card round of the NFC playoffs in New Orleans on Saturday night.
It will mark the first time two quarterbacks who have passed for 5,000 yards will play in the same game.
In a conference-call interview with the Detroit media earlier in the week, Brees was asked to compare himself with Stafford at the same age.
"He's a much better player than I was at 23," Brees said, laughing.
At 23, Brees was in his second season with the Chargers and his first as a starter. He was San Diego's second-round draft pick in 2001 and played in one game, without a start, as a 22-year-old rookie.
Brees started all 16 games in 2002 and showed promise, passing for 3,284 yards with 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He took a step back in '03. In 11 games, he passed for 2,108 yards with 11 TDs and 15 interceptions.
From 2003 on, Brees hasn't had anything that could be considered a down season. Some have been better than others, but he's played at a consistently high level.
Brees signed with the Saints as a free agent in 2006 after five seasons with the Chargers. In those six seasons, Brees has passed for 28,394 yards and 201 touchdowns. He led the 2009 Saints to Super Bowl XLIV and was voted the game's MVP.
Stafford isn't hoping for Brees to put on a passing clinic Saturday night but admires his style of play -- especially the way he commands the offense.
"He's great," Stafford said. "He's playing his position as good as you can possibly play it. He's completing a bunch of balls but still being aggressive.
"They throw short, throw deep. They do it all. He's fun to watch."
However he throws it, and whoever he throws it do, Brees does it with incredible accuracy. He set a record by completing 71.2 percent of his passes this season. He set the previous record of 70.6 percent in 2009.
Brees distributes the ball to a playmaker at every level.
Tight end Jimmy Graham led the Saints with 99 catches for 1,310 yards and 11 TDs. Running back Darren Sproles -- Brees' former teammate at San Diego -- caught 86 passes for 710 yards and eight TDs. Wide receiver Marquez Colston had 80 catches for 1,143 yards and eight TDs.
"He's probably the most accurate passer in the NFL," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "He's very good with pocket awareness. He's mobile, but he also moves around the pocket very well."
If Brees and the Saints need any extra motivation going into the playoffs, they've gotten it all season from the way their last two seasons ended.
They won the Super Bowl in 2010 but were knocked out in the wild-card round at Seattle last season. The Saints were 10-point favorites on the road against Seattle but were out-played and out-hustled.
"What we understand and what we learn from that is that once you get to the playoffs it doesn't matter what your record is or how you got there," Brees said. "It's all about how you're playing when you do get there and, obviously, who's able to rise to the occasion."
