Tag: Record

Brett Favre has high praise for Sean Payton-Drew Brees duo

Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre commended New Orleans Saints passer Drew Brees for what he and coach Sean Payton have accomplished.

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Brett Favre may have went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a storied career with the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, and briefly the New York Jets, but his heart has always been with the team he grew up cheering for: the New Orleans Saints. Favre grew up in nearby Kiln, Miss., where he and his family remain ardent supporters of the black and gold. He still keeps up with the Saints, and he and his young grandson called Drew Brees to congratulate him after the Saints’ dramatic Week 1 victory over the Houston Texans.

Favre was watching again when Brees shattered the NFL record for career passing touchdowns — a record he once held himself, before Peyton Manning surpassed him. In an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio, Favre credited Brees for his personal success, and what he and Saints coach Sean Payton have accomplished together. He puts them up there against any other coach-quarterback duo in the league.

As far as that goes, Favre argues that Payton and Brees deserve the respect given to the New England Patriots. “Whether you like it or not, you just kind of expect (opponents to say), ‘Well, we can’t beat the Patriots ’cause they have (Bill) Belichick and (Tom) Brady.’ You know, you feel that way about Drew Brees, and I always like to include Sean Payton in this because I think that duo itself is by far the most prolific in history. It’s still writing their own record books.”

That’s some seriously high praise, and it’s coming from someone who knows a thing or two about what it takes to win in the NFL. Favre’s comments just speak to the kind of respect Brees and Payton have earned around the league, and what kind of company they’ve joined after sustaining success for so long.

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Drew Brees is NFC Offensive Player of the Week, up for other awards

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees earned recognition as NFC Offensive Player of the Week after breaking records in prime-time.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees turned in a stunning performance in prime-time against the Indianapolis Colts, and his efforts earned recognition as the NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Brees passed several milestones during Monday night’s game, including the all-time career touchdown passes record and the single-game completion percentage record. He completed 29 of 30 passes (96.7%) for 307 yards through the air, scoring four touchdowns along the way and raising his career total to 541. If those sky-high numbers for both efficiency and volume don’t encapsulate everything that makes Brees great, nothing will.

It’s the 25th time Brees has received this award. His Saints teammates have been recognized for these weekly awards on five different occasions in 2019:

  • Week 1: Wil Lutz, Special Teams Player of the Week
  • Week 3: Thomas Morstead, Special Teams Player of the Week
  • Week 6: Thomas Morstead, Special Teams Player of the Week
  • Week 13: Cameron Jordan, Defensive Player of the Week
  • Week 15: Drew Brees, Offensive Player of the Week

Additionally, Brees is up for consideration in the fan voting for the FedEx Air and Ground Awards. He’s up against some quality competition, with quarterbacks who either threw more touchdown passes (Lamar Jackson) or passed for more yards (Jameis Winston) crowding the Week 15 ballot. Saints fans can vote for Brees on NFL.com at this link.

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‘Baldy’s Breakdowns’ highlights all four of Drew Brees’ record-breaking TD’s

NFL analyst Brian Baldinger dug into “Monday Night Football” tape to find how New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees broke Peyton Manning’s record

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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees made NFL history on “Monday Night Football,” lobbing four touchdown passes against the Indianapolis Colts defense to win 34-7. That effort put him ahead of both New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and retired passer Peyton Manning, who left the game with an NFL-record 539 career passing touchdowns.

Now, Brees has raised the bar up to 541. And who better to dig into the tape and explain how the Saints did it than NFL analyst Brian Baldinger?

Baldinger featured Brees and his teammates during a “Baldy’s Breakdowns” segment on Twitter, in which he uses game tape from the coach’s angle to highlight big plays and underrated moments.

“The New Orleans Saints passing game is different than almost every other team,” Baldinger said while reviewing Brees’ first touchdown pass. “Now in part because of Drew Brees. It’s a timing and spacing passing game. Maybe I’m thinking too much about this, but watch the spacing of all three receivers as Drew Brees gets ready to throw this ball.”

Baldinger noted how well-rehearsed the Saints’ receiving corps have become, picking out where all three of Brees’ options on his opening touchdown pass were in relation to each other at the time of the throw.

He continued, “Now when he throws this, they all just hit the goal line together. And if you look at Josh Hill, Michael Thomas, and Tre’Quan Smith, they’re exactly equidistant apart. It’s math, right? But lets’s spread the seven defenders out as much as we can, and we’ll open the windows as wide as we can.”

Baldinger then circled back in a second video to review that first score from a different perspective, before stringing together each of the subsequent touchdown passes, including the record-breaker.

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Sean Payton appreciates Drew Brees’ record night, but he’s keeping his team focused

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton was happy for quarterback Drew Brees, but he’s focused on the importance of winning these big games.

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Few people were as happy to see New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees shatter the NFL’s all-time record for career touchdown passes as the coach who recruited and work with him. Sean Payton praised his quarterback’s performance on Monday night against the Indianapolis Colts, but he took a bigger view of his team’s 34-7 win rather than dwell on Brees’ personal accomplishments.

“Honestly, the win means a lot,” Payton replied when asked what Brees breaking the record meant to him as a coach. “There’s going to be a day where we all ride off into the sunset, but it’s not now. Like I said, there’s a lot at stake right now relative to these games.”

The NFC playoff picture is crowded, especially at the top. The Saints are locked into a three-way tie with the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers; because the Packers are in the mix, the Saints’ head-to-head tiebreaker over the Seahawks is thrown out in favor of in-conference records. That gives the Seahawks an edge over the Packers, who are then seeded above the Saints. It’s complicated.

Payton emphasized the importance of staying focused on their next opponent: the desperate Tennessee Titans, who have their backs against the wall and need to win to avoid elimination from the AFC playoff picture.

“When you look at the top of the NFC and we’re very competitive, we’re going to play another team in the hunt next week that has played real well,” Payton continued. “It’s something we’ve seen happen and I think (Brees will) tell you the same thing. It’s about winning. It’s about winning and winning and winning and trying to give yourself the best chance in the postseason. And that’s really the truth.”

So, sure, he took some satisfaction in seeing Brees shock the world from football’s biggest stage. But it’s something Payton has seen before. And his responsibility is to keep the big picture in mind, and to be mindful of what his team needs to see and hear from its leaders. And his message to them is clear: enjoy this, but don’t lose focus.

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Peyton Manning congratulates Drew Brees using his signature humor

Former Colts and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning had a funny reaction when Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke his touchdown record.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw four touchdown passes against the Indianapolis Colts on Monday evening, passing former Colts and Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning to become the NFL’s all-time leader in touchdown passes (541).

When Brees broke Manning’s yardage record last year, the quarterback created a playful video “congratulating” the Saints signal-caller with his signature sense or humor.

“Drew, for 1,000 days I’ve held the record for all-time passing yards in the NFL. I’ve gotta tell ya, it’s been the greatest 1,000 days of my life,” Manning said in the video.

“And thanks to you, that’s over now. You’ve ruined that for me. So, thank you very much. [Now] I have nothing left to look forward to except slicing my tomatoes, making dinner for my family, putting together this wedge salad.”

A man off-camera then reminded Manning that Brees was also set to break his TD record, prompting an early congratulations for that record as well.

“Let this serve as the congratulations for the touchdown record, because as you can see, I am very busy,” Manning said. “I don’t have time to keep doing these videos for you, congratulating you.”

The video was in good fun and Manning wrapped it up on a serious note.

“In all seriousness, Drew, congratulations on this record, you’ve done it the right way,” Manning said. “All your hard work and dedication paid off.”

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Tom Brady reacts to Drew Brees’ near-record-breaking touchdown

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady saluted New Orleans Saints passer Drew Brees after he nearly broke Peyton Manning’s record.

The New Orleans Saints were so close to pulling out all the stops for Drew Brees’ record-breaking touchdown pass, which would have been No. 540 in his career — surpassing both New England Patriots passer Tom Brady (538) and retired quarterback Peyton Manning (539), ranking for the most of any player in NFL history.

But a dubious offensive pass interference foul wiped it away, protecting Manning’s hold on the record. His thoughts on the near-historic moment aren’t clear, but Brady happened to be interviewing with Jim Gray of Westwood One Radio at the time, and shared his take.

“I know, a little anticlimactic,” Brady joked. “There might be some silver linings though. You actually get to celebrate the record twice. You know? You celebrated it once, maybe you’ll get to do it again here in the second half. He’s just playing incredible and that offense, once they get it rolling they’re pretty tough to stop.”

Brady also offered a hat-tip to Brees in his pursuit of the record and his performance on the year so far. It’s clear that there’s plenty of respect between Brady and Brees, and as fortune would have it, Brady was right: because Brees found tight end Josh Hill from five yards out to seal it early in the third quarter.

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Drew Brees makes NFL history, sets new record for career touchdown passes

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees surpassed both Tom Brady and Peyton Manning to set a new NFL record for career touchdown passes.

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Drew Brees needed three touchdowns to reset the NFL’s record for career scoring passes, and he got them on Monday night against the Indianapolis Colts. It initially looked like he would have gotten it done in just a half of football, but a weak offensive pass interference penalty on wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith wiped out the would-be scoring play.

But Brees wasn’t going to let that sort of shortcoming slow him down. He came out of the halftime break roaring, and scored again — and without a shadow of a doubt — with a 5-yard throw to backup tight end Josh Hill. Let’s recap each of his touchdown throws.

The first score tied Brees with New England Patriots icon Tom Brady, who finished his game Sunday 538 career touchdown passes. Brees found superstar wide receiver Michael Thomas in the heart of the Colts defense from 15 yards out, which extended the Saints’ lead and matched Brady’s mark:

The next touchdown pass went to second-year pro Tre’Quan Smith. Brees initially gave Smith a chance from 28 yards out, but the young receiver was interfered with and unable to go up and make the catch. So Brees hit him again from 19 yards away; Smith caught it this time, and rumbled two more yards into the end zone. This scoring play saw Brees’ career total climb to 539, matching the record set by retired legend Peyton Manning.

But records are made to be broken. Nobody knows that better than Brees, who has broken so many in his storied NFL career. And with history on the line, the Saints quarterback stepped up and delivered with a five-yard strike to Hill; not do-it-all quarterback Taysom Hill, but the backup tight end. Who else could?

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Drew Brees in position to surpass Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and break TD record

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees can make football history on Monday Night Football, and surpass both Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

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Fortune kept giving New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady opportunities, but he just couldn’t seize them. When New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees missed five games with an injury to his throwing hand, sidelining him from their race to unseat Peyton Manning as the NFL’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, Brady failed to take control of the race and held the door open long enough for Brees to catch up to him.

Again, in Week 15, Brady had a shot at breaking the record before Brees. He was playing one of the NFL’s worst teams a day before Brees would take the “Monday Night Football” stage, and just needed rack up some scores on the lowly Cincinnati Bengals. But he couldn’t get it done.

Now, Brees is set to star in prime-time and surpass Brady and Manning both. Brees will take the field against the Indianapolis Colts with 537 career touchdown passes to his credit, trailing Brady (538) and Manning (539) for the record. A single passing touchdown will tie him with Brady. Two will match the mark with Manning. Three or more rewrites the NFL record books.

The enormity of this record can’t be summed up just by comparing Brees to those two all-time greats, though. Before Brett Favre broke the record Dan Marino set in 1999 (ending his career with 420 career passing touchdowns; Favre shattered that total with 508), the record stood for nearly a decade. When Marino broke it himself, he did so after Fran Tarkenton retired with 342 career touchdowns passes — back in 1978. It took 17 years for anyone to best the mark Tarkenton established.

And it might take that long for anyone to break the record Brees could set, once it’s all said and done. Though he’s tied with Brady for now, they could both retire in the next year or two and not shock anyone. Whoever ends up winning this record will hold onto it for a long, long time. Many of the active quarterbacks behind Brees and Brady are closer to retiring themselves than playing in their prime. Here’s how the standings shake out among them, with ages in parentheses:

  1.  Tom Brady (42), 538 touchdown passes
  2. Drew Brees (41 in January), 537 touchdown passes
  3. Philip Rivers (38), 395 touchdown passes
  4. Eli Manning (39 in January), 366 touchdown passes
  5. Ben Roethlisberger (37), 363 touchdown passes
  6. Aaron Rodgers (36), 362 touchdown passes
  7. Matt Ryan (34), 319 touchdown passes
  8. Matthew Stafford (31), 256 touchdown passes
  9. Russell Wilson (31), 224 touchdown passes
  10. Joe Flacco (35 in January), 218 touchdown passes

Of the names on that list, only Rodgers, Ryan, Stafford, and Wilson feel like they may have the staying power (and secure starting jobs) to challenge Brees (or Brady) someday. But even that’s pushing it; if each of them averaged 30 touchdown passes a year (a tall order considering only two quarterbacks have done so this year, with two games remaining), here’s how old they would be when they get to 540 or more career passing touchdowns:

  • Aaron Rodgers (42, six years)
  • Matt Ryan (42, eight years)
  • Matthew Stafford (41, ten years)
  • Russell Wilson (42, eleven years)

So, yeah: if there’s any realistic challengers to the throne Brees (or Brady) will one day sit on, it will take them almost a decade or more to close the gap, and that’s with them playing at a sustained, high level. That isn’t a guarantee especially for players with frequent injury issues (Stafford), or who are stuck in run-first offenses (Wilson), or who are simply cursed to never win anything due to playing for the Atlanta Falcons (Ryan). Maybe Rodgers catches up, but he doesn’t feel like the type of fanatical competitor who will want to continue playing football deep into his forties.

That’s just added motivation for Brees to go out and break Manning’s record (which was Favre’s record, and Marino’s record, and Tarkenton’s record), and cement himself among the greatest quarterbacks to ever spin a football. Sure, it’s not something that will be actively on his mind during the game, but this record and the implications it carries have to be something Brees is aware of. As his career continues winding down and becoming the stuff of legend, it’s records like this that will pad out his Hall of Fame-worthy resume. Saints fans should take every opportunity to enjoy Brees and what he’s done while he’s still wearing shoulderpads.

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On this date in Broncos history: Brandon Marshall sets big NFL record

Former Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall set an NFL record with 21 receptions in a single game on Dec. 13, 2009.

On Dec. 13, 2009 — one decade ago today — former Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall set an NFL record with 21 receptions in a single game. That record still stands today.

Marshall’s record-breaking performance came in a losing effort as Denver fell to the Indianapolis Colts 28-16 on the road. The Peyton Manning-led Colts jumped up to a 21-0 lead before former Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton connected with Marshall for two scores to make things interesting.

Denver got within five points (21-16) in the fourth quarter but Manning sealed the game with a third touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Clark with 2:25 remaining, ensuring the Broncos wouldn’t have enough time to catch up.

“I believe it was one of those games where, whenever you accomplish something like that, it definitely feels good,” Marshall said after the loss. “But we have goals, and our only goal is to win games. I’d definitely trade in a couple of those catches for a win.”

Marshall spent the first four years of his career with the Broncos — 2009 ended up being his final season in Denver. Former coach Josh McDaniels benched the receiver in Week 17 for being late to a physical therapy session and then traded Marshall to the Miami Dolphins in April.

Marshall went on to spend time with five more NFL teams before retiring after the 2018 season. The six-time Pro Bowler caught 970 passes for 12,351 yards and 83 touchdowns during his 13-year career.

Marshall’s 327 receptions with Denver rank 10th in franchise history and his 25 touchdown catches rank 13th, just below Emmanuel Sanders (28).

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Drew Brees overtakes Tom Brady in search of Peyton Manning’s record

The race for Peyton Manning’s career touchdowns record is heating up between New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees and Patriots passer Tom Brady.

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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees turned in a vintage performance against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, lobbing five touchdown passes and turning in another one on a goal-line leap over the top. It was enough to raise his career total to 537 touchdown passes, putting him ahead of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (536) as both living legends compete for the record Peyton Manning set (539) before his 2016 retirement.

Brees has to throw three touchdowns in his final three games to break Manning’s record, while Brady has to complete four scoring throws in his three games. Here’s who each quarterback will play to close out the regular season:

Drew Brees’ final opponents

  • Week 15 vs. Indianapolis Colts
  • Week 16 at Tennessee Titans
  • Week 17 at Carolina Panthers

Tom Brady’s final opponents

  • Week 15 at Cincinnati Bengals
  • Week 16 vs. Buffalo Bills
  • Week 17 vs. Miami Dolphins

While Brady’s receiving corps has been horrific this season — so bad that he couldn’t even build a significant lead on Brees in the five games he missed with a thumb injury earlier this year — he could absolutely break the record against the Bengals on Sunday. What’s curious is that Brees is in position to break that record during Monday night’s game with the Colts. Would the NFL stop the Patriots-Bengals game to recognize Brady’s accomplishment (as they did when Brees broke Manning’s career passing yards record last year) and then do the same a day later? Godspeed to the NFL game day operations crew.

Whoever ends up winning this record before Brees and Brady both retire will probably hold onto it for a decade. Either of them could retire at any time and not really shock anyone, and the active quarterbacks behind them have so much ground to make up that it could reasonably take six or seven years to even challenge the new high-water mark. Here’s what the standings look like among the NFL’s top ten quarterbacks in career passing touchdowns:

  1. Drew Brees, 537
  2. Tom Brady, 536
  3. Philip Rivers, 394
  4. Ben Roethlisberger, 363
  5. Eli Manning, 361
  6. Aaron Rodgers, 361
  7. Matt Ryan, 317
  8. Matthew Stafford, 256
  9. Russell Wilson, 222
  10. Joe Flacco, 218

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