Saints' Brees Breaks Marino's Record
NEW ORLEANS (CBSMiami/AP) – New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has surpassed Dan Marino's record and is now the all-time single season leader in passing yards.
Brees set the NFL mark for yards passing in a season, breaking a record that Marino had held for nearly three decades, and New Orleans clinched the NFC South title with a 45-16 victory over the Falcons on Monday night.
Brees threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns, the last a 9-yard strike to Darren Sproles that set the record with 2:51 to go.
"Honestly, I was really trying not to think about the record or anything," Brees said. "I knew we were close. A couple guys mentioned stuff to me on the sideline. I didn't want to hear it. It's like a pitcher with a no-hitter, I guess."
It was Brees' final pass of the game and it gave him 5,087 yards passing — with one game still to play. Marino finished with 5,084 yards for the Miami Dolphins in 1984.
Minutes after Brees broke the record, Marino offered congratulations on his Twitter account.
"Great job by such a special player," Marino wrote.
Brees' four touchdown passes gave him 276 for his career, moving him ahead of Joe Montana (273) and Vinny Testaverde (275) for ninth all-time. He is the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 5,000 yards twice — he had 5,069 in 2008.
The Saints still have another game left for Brees to extend his record.
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