Brees sets NFL career record for touchdown passes in Saints win
New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees became the NFL's all-time touchdown pass leader on Monday, throwing four scoring tosses in the Saints' 34-7 rout of the visiting Indianapolis Colts. The 40-year-old signal caller, who guided New Orleans to the 2010 Super Bowl, now has 541 career touchdown throws, two more than the old mark by retired legend Peyton Manning and three better than 42-year-old New England Patriots starter Tom Brady. "Pretty incredible moment," Brees said. "This is a special night and one I will always remember." Brees set the mark with 7:08 remaining in the third quarter on a five-yard scoring toss to tight end Josh Hill, his third touchdown throw of the game. "I can think of no better guy to catch it than Josh," Brees said. "He does a lot of the dirty work, blocking and catching." The record came for Brees on his 20th completion in a row, which set a new career consecutive completions high for him and gave the Saints a 27-0 lead. Brees, already the NFL all-time leader in passing yardage and completion percentage, stretched the new career TD record with his final touchdown pass, a 28-yarder to Taysom Hill late in the third period. Jordan Wilkins scored for the Colts on a 1-yard run late in the fourth quarter to avert a shutout, but a fourth consecutive loss ended any playoff hopes for Indianapolis (6-8). Brees completed 29-of-30 passes for 307 yards to set another NFL record. His one-game completion percentage mark of 96.7 percent broke the old record of 28-of-29 (96.6 percent) set last season by Philip Rivers. "That one may haunt me for a little while," Brees said. The Saints (10-3) have already clinched a playoff berth but needed the victory to join fellow National Conference co-leaders Green Bay and Seattle on 11-3 atop the fight for home-field playoff advantage. Brees, who turns 41 next month, would not ponder his place among NFL immortals, his focus on adding another Super Bowl title in February. "I'm trying to focus on the present, stay in the moment and enjoy every moment as they come," Brees said. "As for me, it's on to the next opportunity, the next challenge. There is still a lot more out there for me to play for. "But it's a special moment and one I'll remember the rest of my life." Brees reached the mark in 273 games, seven more than Manning played in setting the record. Brees made two touchdown throws in the second quarter to match the old Manning mark of 539. - Thomas sets NFL record - He appeared to have broken the record with seven seconds remaining in the second quarter, but receiver Tre'Quan Smith was penalized for offensive pass interference for pushing off a defender's back. The Saints settled for a 26-yard Wil Lutz field goal and a 20-0 half-time lead. Brees completed 20-of-21 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Brees matched Manning's mark with 6:11 remaining in the second quarter on a 21-yard scoring strike across the middle to Smith just over the goal line for a 17-0 advantage. Brees made his first touchdown pass, a 15-yarder over the middle to Michael Thomas, just 2:23 into the second quarter for a 10-0 lead, New Orleans having scored first on a 33-yard Lutz field goal. Thomas made a five-yard reception from Brees early in the third quarter to reach 10 or more catches for an eighth game this season, breaking the one-season NFL record he had shared with Andre Johnson and Wes Welker. Thomas entered with an NFL-best 121 catches this season for a league-high 1,424 yards. He added 12 catches for 128 yards against Indianapolis. He's now 10 shy of matching former Colt Marvin Harrison's one-season mark of 143 receptions from 2002 with two games remaining. New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees celebrates his 540th career NFL touchdown pass, which came against Indianapolis and broke the all-time record he had shared with Peyton Manning
