When Dan Marino set the NFL passing record back in 1984 at 5,084 yards little did he know it would last for 27 years. Quarterback Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints managed to break Marino’s mark on Dec. 26 in a 45-16 victory over the Atlanta Falcons when he threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to teammate Darren Sproles.
After the game, Brees admitted that he knew he was getting close to the record, but he wasn’t consciously thinking of breaking it during the game. He said a couple of players mentioned it to him on the sidelines, but he didn’t really want to hear about it in case it jinxed him. However, when Sproles scored, Brees pumped his fist in the air to celebrate the new mark while the crowd in the Superdome went nuts and his teammates chased after and then mobbed him.
Carl Nicks reached Brees first, but his attempt to hoist Brees up onto his shoulder failed. Nicks said he wished he could have gotten Brees up there and he would have paraded him all around the stadium because that’s what he deserved. He added that everybody cares about and loves Brees and you could tell that from the reaction by the fans and players when he broke the record.
Marino was watching the game and tweeted his congratulations to Brees after the play, calling him a special football player. Brees went into the game with 4,780 passing yards and needed 305 more to break the record. He passed for 307 yards against the Falcons and now has 5,087 for the season.
Hitting the 300-yard mark seems to come naturally for him as Brees has reached that number a dozen times this season, which is also an NFL record, and still has a game left to add to it. The win over Atlanta was his sixth straight 200-yard performance, which ties a league record that’s shared by Kurt Warner, Rich Gannon, and Steve Young.
The 32-year-old Brees came close to eclipsing Marino’s record back in 2008, but he finished the season just 15 yards short of it at 5,069. He did join Marino that season though as being the only two quarterbacks to reach 5,000 passing yards in a season. Some people feel it’s easier to gain passing yards these days because the league rules favour receivers. It’s doubtful that Brees’ record will last as long as Marino’s and there’s a good chance he could even set a new mark himself next season.
However, he’s still accomplished something nobody else ever has and it’s likely that he’ll be rewarded with a healthy new contract when his current deal expires shortly. Brees has done a lot for both the city of New Orleans as well as the football franchise, but he said the ultimate goal will be to win the Super Bowl this season.
