It’s never been easier to score in the NFL.At the midpoint of the season Authentic Drew Brees Jersey , the league is on pace to set records for most points, touchdowns and touchdown passes in a single season. Teams have scored 6,440 points, 736 touchdowns and 473 TDs in the air through Week 9.The increase in offensive production follows the lowest-scoring season this decade. Teams averaged 21.7 points per game in 2017. That’s up to 24 points this season. A total of 12 teams are averaging at least 27.5 points per game led by the Chiefs (36.3), Saints (34.9) and Rams (33.2).There are several reasons scoring has soared. A combination of new rules and rule adjustments over the past few years favor offenses. The league has banned helmet-to-helmet contact, implemented a defenseless receiver rule and a body-weight rule against players making sacks, outlawed low hits on quarterbacks and emphasized illegal contact penalties.There’s also been an influx of innovative, offensive-minded coaches — Sean McVay, Doug Pederson, Kyle Shanahan — and talented young quarterbacks — Patrick Mahomes, Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, among others.Five quarterbacks — Mahomes http://www.neworleanssaintsteamonline.com/vonn-bell-jersey , Goff, Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers — are on pace to throw for 5,000 yards. That only happened nine times previously in league history. Ten QBs have a passer rating over 100, double the total last season.Games are not only featuring more scoring but there’s been plenty of close, down-to-the-wire action. Seventy-one games were decided by one score, eight points or less. That’s the fifth-most through nine weeks. Thirty-seven games have been decided by a field goal, which was fourth-most at this point. Ten games have reached overtime and 36 teams have rallied to win or tie after trailing in the fourth quarter or overtime.Close, high-scoring games are exciting for fans, especially the millions who spend billions of dollars to play fantasy football. All of it is good for the league’s television ratings, which are up after declining in 2016 and 2017.More folks are also watching by live streaming. According to a recent study from Conviva, a real-time measurement platform, NFL live viewing was up 72 percent in plays and 83 percent in viewing hours over the same time frame last year.Conviva’s data shows mobile NFL plays were up 95 percent and prime-time NFL saw 109 percent growth in plays and 97 percent growth in viewing hours.Here’s a look inside the numbers from the first half:PASSING KING: Drew Brees broke Peyton Manning’s record for career passing yards last month. Brees has 72 http://www.neworleanssaintsteamonline.com/tyeler-davison-jersey ,781 yards passing and counting. Manning had 71,940.KICKING KING: Adam Vinatieri broke Morten Anderson’s record for most points and most field goals. Vinatieri has 2,550 points and 573 field goals. Anderson had 2,544 points and 565 field goals.THE 500 CLUB: Brees and Tom Brady joined Manning and Brett Favre as the only players to throw 500 TD passes. Brees has 506, one more than Brady. Manning had 539 and Favre had 508.PATRICK THE GREAT: Mahomes has 29 TD passes and 3,185 yards passing yards, the most in both categories through the first 10 games of a player’s career. He also has thrown for at least 300 yards in eight straight games, one away from setting the record he currently shares with Andrew Luck.THIELEN’S CHASE: Adam Thielen became the first player to have eight 100-yard receiving games to start a season, tying Calvin Johnson for the longest streak of such games. The former undrafted wide receiver has 78 catches for the Vikings. He’s on pace to challenge Marvin Harrison’s single-season record of 143.GURLEY GETS IN: Todd Gurley has 16 touchdowns — 12 rushing and four receiving — for the Rams. He’s on pace for 28. The record is 31 by Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson.KIRK COMPLETIONS: Kirk Cousins became the first player to complete at least 30 passes in four consecutive games. Before the season, Cousins became the first player to sign a fully guaranteed contract when the Vikings gave him $84 million for three seasons.FIRST MISS: Justin Tucker had made all 222 extra points in his career before he missed one at the end of Baltimore’s 24-23 loss to New Orleans in Week 7. He hadn’t missed any kick 33 yards or shorter in 300 tries his career. Drew Brees made Atlanta pay for losing track of his inexperienced receivers, and New Orleans' defense halted several promising Falcons drives with forced fumbles they could not afford.Tommylee Lewis and Austin Carr each caught his second career touchdown pass, rookie tight end Dan Arnold and rookie receiver Keith Kirkwood each grabbed their first, and the Saints won their 10th straight game with a 31-17 victory Thursday night that eliminated Atlanta from contention in the NFC South.All four players entered the NFL as undrafted free agents within the past three years."I love that stat Authentic Patrick Robinson Jersey ," Brees said. "That's one of my favorite ones."They also had combined for zero touchdowns this season before Carr caught the first of his career last Sunday."It says a lot about taking advantage of the opportunity," Brees said. "It's fun to watch them grow and gain confidence. We're building chemistry, which typically takes time, right? But they've been thrust into this role."Meanwhile, the Falcons (4-7) lost three fumbles inside the Saints 20 鈥?tough for any team to overcome against streaking New Orleans (10-1) this season.Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan was stripped by safety Marcus Williams on a third-and-2 from the Saints 3 and Williams recovered to end Atlanta's opening drive. Julio Jones was stripped by linebacker Alex Anzalone after a catch on the New Orleans 17, and safety Vonn Bell recovered in the final minute of the second quarter to preserve a 17-3 lead going into halftime.New Orleans' defense, which had a season-high six sacks, continued to come up with big plays in the second half. Anzalone broke up a fourth-down pass in the third quarter and linebacker A.J. Klein intercepted a pass tipped by defensive tackle Tyeler Davison in the fourth."I do love the way that we played today," said defensive end Cameron Jordan, who had two sacks. "I do love the four turnovers. I do love the sacks. I do love the pressures. I do love the quarterback hits. For all terms and purposes, we had our Thanksgiving."Klein's interception gave the Saints possession on the Atlanta 22, setting up Kirkwood's diving 4-yard TD catch.With about four minutes left, cornerback Marshon Lattimore stripped Calvin Ridley on the Saints 1 after a 29-yard completion that looked as though it would end in a touchdown. Defensive back Eli Apple recovered that one."When you have one turnover (in the red zone) http://www.neworleanssaintsteamonline.com/thomas-morstead-jersey , it feels like a lot," Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. "We had three down there and that was the real story of the game."KEY STATSRyan was under pressure all night from a Saints defense that was bolstered by the return of first-round draft choice Marcus Davenport from a toe injury that sidelined him for three games. Marcus Williams, P.J. Williams, Sheldon Rankins and Demario Davis each had a sack.Ryan finished 35 of 47 for 377 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. But little came easy. His first TD pass, to Ridley, came on fourth down from the 2 late in the third quarter.Atlanta rushed for just 26 yards. New Orleans finished with 150, led by Alvin Kamara's 89 and Mark Ingram's 52.Statistically, Brees did not have one of his more impressive games, completing 15 of 22 passes for 171 yards with his second interception of the season. The pick was snagged by Damontae Kazee, his NFL-leading sixth this year.NEW TARGETSBrees' ability to play to the strengths of unheralded receivers allowed the Saints to cash in on scoring opportunities. A week earlier, he found rookie Tre'Quan Smith 10 times for 157 yards and a TD, but Smith was ruled out against Atlanta with a foot injury. Another receiver Womens Ryan Ramczyk Jersey , Ted Ginn Jr., has been out with a knee injury since Week 5.Lewis, a third-year pro, was in his first game back after nine weeks on injured reserve and had not caught a pass all season before getting wide open for his 28-yard grab that made it 7-0. Carr is a second-year pro who played in only one game without a catch as a rookie. He, too, was wide open after Falcons defenders bit on a fake to Ingram. Kirkwood made his NFL debut three games ago, when Arnold had his first career catch."Obviously, Drew is someone who is very confident in the preparation, confident in players around him. There's a lot that goes into that," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "I'm excited for those guys that got opportunities."DIRE STRAITSThe Falcons' dimming playoff hopes hang on catching up in the wild-card race, and they trail Minnesota (5-4-1) by two games for the last spot."It's rough right now for us. You don't want guys to quit," Jones said. "This is the time you get to see what guys are really like."INJURIESFalcons linebacker Kemal Ishmael was helped off the field in the third quarter after a punt.UP NEXTFalcons host Baltimore Dec. 2.Saints visit Dallas on Thursday night. nflshopoutlet.com