New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke the NFL record for touchdown passes last night, beating Peyton Manning's previous benchmark.
The 40-year-old helped his side to a 34-7 thrashing of the Indianapolis Colts in the process, to round out Week 15 of the American Football season.
A five-yard touchdown pass to Josh Hill in the third quarter at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome was the 540th of his career, which saw him leap above Manning's record.
Brees ended the game 29 of 30 for 307 yards and four touchdowns, setting a new record for the highest single-game completion percentage in the process.
He finished the night with a 96.7% completion percentage. The previous NFL record was 96.6 percent, set by the Los Angeles Chargers' Philip Rivers when he went 28 of 29 on November 25th, 2018.
He was understandably pleased with his display afterward.
▪️ 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
"It was efficient, with the exception of the one pass. Listen, I go out there with the expectation that the ball shouldn't touch the ground, unless I'm throwing it away or occasionally they're going to make a play, you know? You have that expectation. You work for that. You expect that."
"It was special, everything about the night. I don't know how they pick them, right? 'Monday Night Football,' we're playing the Colts, the team we won the Super Bowl against 10 years ago, so the whole Super Bowl XLIV is back for the 10th anniversary and obviously national television, big game. And now that record in the balance as well.
"Just kind of makes you shake your head, like are you kidding me? I'm not sure how we got here.
"It just kind of makes your whole life and career flash before your eyes because I never thought I would've had the chance to be a part of something like this."
Brees said he would give up any records to earn another Super Bowl ring, having picked up the Vince Lombardi trophy with the Saints back in 2009.
He earned an MVP nod in his side's 31-17 win over the Colts in that game in Miami.
"I'd trade (the records) for another one of those and that experience with this team, this group of guys."
