Tom Brady is Too Much of a Class Act to Remind Drew Brees Who the Real TD Record Holder Is
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I think that, without an excess of hubris, I'm qualified to speak for most Patriots fans. And in speaking for them, I can, in all sincerity, congratulate Drew Brees for this accomplishment. Nobody in the history of organized sports has had the knack for setting huge records on prime time TV, first the Passing Yards record, and last night the Passing Touchdowns record. Bravo.
And in dramatic fashion, no less. Not only setting an NFL record by going an mind-boggling 29-for-30:
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… but doing it with a performance that wasn't even the best game of his career, statistically speaking. Don't ask me why a stat line of 29/30, 307 Yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs gets you a Passer Rating of only 148.9 when a perfect PR is 158.3. I once had the Passer Rating formula explained to me, but it's like learning the Periodic Table in school. You understand it for as long as you need to, and then move on with your life. And even though you know it does make sense, you'll be damned if you can explain it again. I'm still baffled by the fact that in Super Bowl XX, Tony Eason went 0 for 6 and still somehow ended up with a 39.6. It's science, I guess.
To put Brees' career in perspective, that game last night didn't even crack the Top 12 performances of his career. I'm not lying. He's posted a dozen higher Passer Ratings among his 273 games. Including one perfect one that is considered by some to be the best single game performance in NFL history. Against the Patriots in 2009:
18 for 23, 371 Yards, 16.3 YPA, 5 TDs, 0 INTs, 158.3 PR, 38-17 Win
That's the game that prompted this reaction from Bill Belichick:
So as a fanbase that has been on the pointy end of Drew Brees' pitchfork in the past, again I'll speak for all Pats fans when I say this is great. Well deserved. There's most definitely a mutual respect between New England and New Orleans. A kindred spirit born of the fact they both know what it's like to be victimized by a weaselly, thin-lipped ginger despot desperate to convince the world he's all about seeing justice done and not just a feckless, beady-eyed demon's spawn. The teams hold joint practices every August. Sean Payton Tweeted out a shot of the Tom Brady banner the Patriots hung on the lighthouse when he was serving his suspension. And the only people who enjoyed 28-3 as much as us, was them.
So it's only natural that Brady would be first to congratulate Brees for breaking the career record he came within one touchdown Sunday of breaking first:
Typical Brady. Just so very, very classy. Would he have loved to break that record first? Of course he would. He's a competitor. But Rex Burkhead ran in a 34 yard touchdown run to put Sunday's game into Victory Formation time, and there was no further opportunity. So I'm sure he's disappointed, but genuinely happy for his friend and co-competitor. As am I. As we all are.
So in that spirit, to follow the tone set by our Spirit Animal the GOAT, I too will congratulate Brees on a remarkable accomplishment. And only just in passing, kind of casually mention, just to keep the record straight, that the actual record for Passing Touchdowns in a career belongs to someone else. And no one, not even Brees, is going to approach it in this lifetime.
Most Touchdowns Career, Regular- and Postseason:
Brady, Tom: 611
Manning, Peyton: 579
Brees, Drew: 574
But sincerely, congratulations to the second best quarterback of all time.