Brees owners feel right at home

IF THE EAGLES performed at home as Drew Brees does in the Superdome, they'd be 9-1.

At some point, the Saints probably should replace Mercedes-Benz as the stadium's title sponsor and rename it the Brees Bowl. He practically owns the joint.

In five games in the iconic dome this year, Brees has 18 touchdown passes, two interceptions and five victories. He has thrown between 332 and 413 yards in each. The only guys who do better at home are Bob Vila and Ron Jeremy.

But Brees and the Saints face their stiffest test when San Francisco comes calling this week.

The 49ers are ranked sixth in total defense, ninth against the pass and should get more out of pass-rusher Aldon Smith, playing in his second game after a 5-week absence. San Fran beat the Saints in the BreesDome last year, though that was when head coach Sean Payton was serving a bountiful suspension.

"With so many weapons that [Brees] has around him and his talent and ability," said 49ers cornerback Carlos Rogers, "it's like playing against two head coaches - him and Payton."

San Fran is 3-1 on the road this year, but the only decent quarterback they've faced is Seattle's Russell Wilson. But even when the Seahawks were hammering the 49ers in Week 2, Wilson was held to 142 yards and one touchdown. Brees gets that in a quarter at home.

There's always a catch and the drawback for Brees' homefield dominance these first 3 months is that after this week, four of his final six games are on the road. Away from the Superdome, Brees is 2-2 this year with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Those are Jake Locker numbers.

"I think that there is an element that every team has to playing at home starting with the crowd noise," Payton said. "I think that is significant in our case because of the indoor stadium, but I think if you are going to be a good team you have to play well on the road, and it is something that we have been able to do especially seasons that we have been a playoff team. Our record has been pretty good, so a lot of it depends on the team you are playing. Is there an advantage to playing at home? I think there is."

Not necessarily at Broad & Pattison, coach.

Ronald King, of Northeast Philadelphia, won our Nick Foles contest from last week.

We asked how many touchdowns Foles would throw against Green Bay - a week after he tied the record with seven against Oakland. Lots of readers pegged him to throw for three scores.

The tiebreaker was Foles' passing yardage, which is where King's guess of 275 came closest to Foles' actual total of 228. King will receive a Daily News fantasy football t-shirt for his effort.

A special tip of the fantasy cap to Brett Smithson, who wrote into us from Neosho, Mo. He correctly forecasted that Riley Cooper would catch two touchdowns against Green Bay.

* Quarterback: Peyton Manning was officially listed as limited in practice yesterday, but he's safe to play this week against the Chiefs. Cleveland's Jason Campbell is the only quarterback to throw for multiple touchdowns this year against KC. He had two in Week 8 . . . San Fran's Colin Kaepernick passed for 412 yards in Week 1, but has topped 200 yards just once in the eight games since. Yuck. But he's getting tight end Vernon Davis back after last week's concussion and is playing at New Orleans, where the 49ers should figure on throwing the ball frequently . . . Robert Griffin III has one rushing touchdown in his last 18 regular-season games.

* Running back: That 116-yard effort in Week 9 against the Chiefs appears to have been a mirage for Buffalo's C.J. Spiller. He followed it with 23 yards on eight carries last week against Pittsburgh and is no more than a RB3 against a Jets defense that hasn't given up more than 72 yards to a back all season . . . Baltimore is considering giving more work to Bernard Pierce, which obviously would mean even less for Ray Rice. The Ravens fired offensive coordinator Cam Cameron after Week 14 last year and went on to win the Super Bowl, so anything is in play for 4-5 Baltimore . . . Hate to put the malooks on Adrian Peterson, but two of the three running backs to rush for 100 yards against the Seahawks this season are now out for the year. The Rams' Zac Stacy has a bye, and is OK. But not so for Houston's Arian Foster (back) and Tampa's Mike James (ankle).

* Wide receiver: We'll see what sort of answers Atlanta comes up with for Tampa Bay's Vincent Jackson, who had 10-138-2 in their first meeting. Jackson was targeted by rookie QB Mike Glennon an astonishing 22 times that day. In his most recent two games, he has five catches on 12 targets . . . Didja see where Bucs offensive lineman Donald Penn caught a TD last week? That gives the 305-pound Penn as many touchdown receptions as Miami's Mike Wallace . . . Atlanta's Roddy White (shoulder) was limited in practice yesterday. With Harry Douglas battling an unspecified knee injury, this is a good week to stay away from Falcons WRs . . . Use Seattle's Percy Harvin as a flex with high upside against the Vikings, his former team.

After watching the Cowboys run defense give up 242 yards to the Saints, how nice does that Week 17 matchup look for LeSean McCoy. All fantasy owners have to do now is make it to their championships.

Ed Barkowitz, who has had better luck with the Obamacare web site than with his teams this year, has been writing about fantasy football in the Daily News since 2001.

On Twitter: @EdBarkowitz