Drew Brees completed 19 of his 27 pass attempts against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Jimmy Graham did not catch a single pass.

It marked only the second time since the 2010 season that Brees completed fewer than 20 passes and Graham was held without a catch in the same game. On October 13, 2013, the New England Patriots held Brees to 17 completions and Graham to zero catches to defeat the Saints.

Disrupting the Brees-to-Graham scoring connection would surely shut down the Saints’ high-powered scoring machine, right?

Wrong.

The Steelers must have underestimated the power of Brees. The 14-year veteran QB lifted the Saints with a vintage performance, throwing for five touchdowns and zero interceptions to defeat the Steelers at Heinz Field, 35-32.

With Graham commanding double coverage, Brees spread the wealth, connecting with five different Saints receivers for touchdowns.

Brees made all kinds of throws. He beat the Steelers on play action, deep balls and back shoulder passes. Even against the vaunted Steelers blitz, he completed 10-of-14 for 130 yards and three touchdowns.

Brees is not your traditional strong-armed quarterback. But what he lacks in size, he more than makes up for with intelligent training, performing rotational exercises that develop strength and power in his lower body and core muscles.

During the off-season, Brees performs Keiser Core Rotations, which mimic the rotation of his lower body and hips when he throws the football.

Whether Brees is airing it out long or tossing back shoulder passes, his ability to generate power and transfer energy to his throwing arm form the foundation for the strong and accurate throws that shredded the Steelers and secured for Brees STACK’s NFL Beast of the Week award.