The proof arrived on Sunday afternoon, with three minutes and 52 seconds remaining in a thrilling NFL football game.
Saints receiver Michael Thomas got a step on Rams cornerback Marcus Peters, which Drew Brees saw almost instantly; the quarterback floated a football at the perfect trajectory to hit Thomas in stride. Realizing he’d been beat, Peters tried to high jump in place and swat the pass away, but no such luck. Thomas now had seven yards on the nearest defender, and he was about to jog into the end zone uncontested.
When he arrived, he held up his hands to fend off the nearest Saints players looking to celebrate with him—there was a plan.