Apparently, it wasn’t enough for Drew Brees to break Peyton Manning’s record for career regular-season touchdown passes with 540 and 541 in a 34-0 beatdown of the Colts. The win, which set the Saints to 11-3 on the season and very much in the conversation for the top playoff seed in the NFC, was historic for more than that obvious record-breaking moment.
On November 25, 2018, Philip Rivers riddled the Cardinals with 28 of 29 passes for 259 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in a 45-10 win. Rivers’ completion rate of 96.6% was the highest for a single game by any quarterback in NFL history with at least 25 pass attempts.
Rivers may have taken Brees’ job with the Chargers years ago, but this time around, it was Brees who one-upped his one-time teammate. In this game, Brees completed 29 of 30 passes for 307 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions for a single-game completion rate of 96.7%. He completed his last 22 passing attempts.
Brees becomes the fifth quarterback with at least 25 passing attempts in a game to complete over 90% of his passes. Rivers did it, Tom Brady (92.9%) did it against the Jaguars in 2008, Kurt Warner (92.31%) did it for the Cardinals against the Jaguars in 2009, and Derek Carr (90.6%) did it for the Raiders against the Broncos.
Brees came as close as any quarterback ever has to another 90% game — against the Redskins last October, he completed 26 of 29 passes for 363 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions for a completion rate of 89.67%.
It should come as no surprise that coming into his game, Brees was already the most accurate passer in NFL history with a 67.5% career completion rate, and he has the three most accurate passing seasons in NFL history — 74.4% last season, 73.6% in 2016, and 72.0% in 2017. As for this season, he already led the league with a 73.6% completion rate, and Monday’s game put him up to 75.6%.
To be one of the most prolific quarterbacks in NFL history is one thing. To combine such numbers with the kind of accuracy no other quarterback has ever been able to claim in so many different categories is truly remarkable. It’s what has always set Drew Brees apart.
