Drew Brees became the NFL’s all-time leader in touchdown passes as the New Orleans Saints crushed the Indianapolis Colts 34-7 on Monday night.
In front of his home fans, Brees equalled former Indianapolis and Denver hero Peyton Manning’s record of 539 touchdown passes after connecting with Michael Thomas and Tre’Quan Smith in the first half.
Brees then broke Manning’s mark in the third quarter after hitting tight end Josh Hill for a five-yard score.
The 40-year-old made it 541 for good measure later in the quarter with a 28-yarder to Taysom Hill which made the score 34-0, with Indianapolis gaining a consolation touchdown from Jordan Wilkins in the last quarter.
While Brees holds the career touchdown pass record for now, the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady is only three behind at 538.
The Saints had already secured the NFC South divisional title, but the victory also keeps them in the running for one of the top two seeds in the NFC playoffs.
The Colts were officially eliminated from playoff contention, having now lost six out of seven.
▪️ 29/30, a single-game completion % record▪️ 307 yards from 9 different receivers▪️ 4 touchdowns, becoming the all-time TD leader Greatness.@drewbrees | #Saints pic.twitter.com/aOKONmQIOy — New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 17, 2019
Brees went into Monday’s game already holding NFL records for completions (6,792) and for yards passing (72,577).
To those numbers he added a record for completion percentage in a game, his 29 of 30 (96.7 per cent) before being rested in the fourth quarter breaking Los Angeles Charger Philip Rivers’ 28 of 29 (96.6 per cent) against Arizona last season.
While New Orleans led only by 3-0 after a tight first quarter, they piled on 17 points in the second quarter before adding a further 14 in the third to run out comfortable winners.
