With 2:46 to go in the second quarter of Monday night’s Saints-Redskins game in New Orleans, Drew Brees needed 35 yards to pass Peyton Manning (71,940 yards) and become the all-time passing yardage leader in NFL history.
ESPN’s Joe Tessitore was actually talking about this on the MNF broadcast at the time. On cue, Brees got the record, and he did it in extremely appropriate fashion. Brees connected with Tre’Quan Smith for a 62-yard touchdown:
The next few minutes basically turned into an in-game ceremony. Brees’ teammates congratulated him…
He got some laminated piece of paper from the NFL…
He had a special moment on the field with his family…
And he got hugs from longtime head coach Sean Payton…
ESPN also had Brees mic’d up for the record-breaking touchdown:
And Peyton Manning congratulated Brees in this interesting, prepared video: