The pigskin has been flying all over the place this fall as the NFL single season mark of 5,084 passing yards, set by the Miami Dolphins’ Dan Marino in 1984, is no more. New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees, the pride of Purdue Boilermakers football, is the new king of the air attack. The record stood for 27 years.
Brees did it in the second half versus the rival Atlanta Falcons on a 9 yard touchdown pass to Darren Sproles with 2:51 left in the game. It gave Brees 5,087 yards for the game and put the Saints up 45-16.
The PA played “When the Saints go Marching In” the jazz tune that gave the NFL franchise it’s nickname in celebration of the record.
Fun things usually happen in Falcons-Saints game (MC Hammer was on the sidelines for the 1991 Playoff meeting between the two teams). And earlier in the first quarter, Saints running back Pierre Thomas pulled out a Saints colored gold bow, and stuck it on the football before handing it to a lucky fan in the stands (watch video here).
Tom Brady of the New England Patriots should also break Marino’s record next week, and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, along with the Detroit Lions Matt Stafford and the New York Giants Eli Manning should come close to 5,000 as well. But the new mark will likely belong to Brees- as he broke the record first, and he’ll probably finish with the largest amount of passing yards once 2011 is over.
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