Drew brees record passing, Quite a night for Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints -- a record and a rout.

Brees set the NFL record for yards passing in a season, breaking a mark that Dan Marino had held for 27 years, and the New Orleans Saints clinched the NFC South title with a 45-16 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night.

Brees threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns, the last a nine-yard strike to Darren Sproles that set the record with 2 minutes 51 seconds 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."

Brees' final pass of the game gave him 5,087 yards passing -- with one game still to play. Marino finished with 5,084 yards for the Miami Dolphins in 1984.

"Great job by such a special player," Marino wrote on Twitter, congratulating Brees.

Brees' four touchdowns 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

Brees' first scoring pass went for eight yards to Marques Colston and the second for nine yards to Jimmy Graham. Graham's TD catch was his 10th of the season, a franchise high for a tight end. In the third quarter, Brees hit Robert Meachem for a score from 24 yards, giving New Orleans (12-3) a 28-10 lead.

Atlanta (9-6) is headed to the playoffs as a wild card. Matt Ryan had 258 yards passing and one TD, including a 21-yard scoring strike to Julio Jones for a 10-7 Falcons lead late in the first quarter.



Source: latimes