Going the distance: Brees breaks National Football League mark for yards passing
- by Israel Caldwell
- in Sports
- — Oct 9, 2018
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees set the National Football League all-time passing yardage record on Monday, breaking Peyton Manning's old mark on a 62-yard touchdown pass against the Washington Redskins.
The dismantling of the Redskins wasn't just on one side of the ball.
After the Saints extended their lead to 13-3 on a drive that included numerous costly penalties on the Redskins, Alex Smith and Adrian Peterson once again began working to put points on the board. They became the first pair of backs to exceed 1,500 scrimmage yards in a season (and to have 1,300-plus yards and 10 touchdowns).
"A total team debauchery and I'm the one in charge of it and I take responsibility for it".
The loss leaves the NFC East wide open while New Orleans' victory pushed it past Carolina for the top spot in the NFC South.
The Washington Redskins were outplayed and out-coached on national television, losing to the Saints 43-19. They committed dumb penalties - safety Montae Nicholson shoved a Saints player after a Ryan Kerrigan sack that would have forced a punt.
Brees completed 26 of 29 passes and threw three touchdown passes, giving him 499 for his career. So far, he's been his usual, efficient self with a 68.8 completion percentage and four touchdowns, compared to just one pick. Smith, the rookie on the receiving end of Brees's record-setting throw, finished with three catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
The two-time Pro Bowl running back quickly silenced that talk.
After a long bye week, the Washington Redskins return to action in a Monday Night Football matchup against the New Orleans Saints. It was the first time in his career that he's been away from a team at any level, and he made his presence felt when he returned to the field. No other quarterback has more than one such campaign. The 53-yard kick was the sixth make over 50 yards in his career. They weren't. Washington's vanilla offense couldn't keep up with the pace set by Brees and his elite unit and the Redskins defense couldn't stop it.
The Redskins blitz and get home on first down, sacking Drew Brees for a six-yard loss.
With the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants all losing a day earlier, the Redskins entered the game with the chance to extend their lead in the NFC East to a game and a half. The San Diego Chargers took the 6-foot Brees at the beginning of the second round of the 2001 draft, but allowed him to leave in free agency after a major throwing shoulder injury at the end of the 2005 season.
