FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — He re-entered Gillette Stadium a few spirals shy of the NFL’s career passing yardage record. The prevailing hope was, Foxborough’s favorite son would slap a bow on this subplot by the second or third commercial break.
Tom Brady obliged, with a 28-yard toss over the middle to Mike Evans late in the first quarter. On a rainy autumn New England night, the lanky icon who spent two decades delivering in this yard did so again.
That completion gave Brady 80,359 yards for his 21-plus seasons, eclipsing the NFL regular season mark owned by Drew Brees (80,358).
The Bucs called a coincidental timeout after the play, but action wasn’t halted otherwise. As the timeout ended, a brief acknowledgement of the feat flashed on the stadium video screens, eliciting a cheer from the audience of more than 65,000.
“I’m a firm believer that records are meant to be broken,” Brees, spotted chatting briefly with Brady before the game in the bowels of the stadium, said on a media teleconference earlier in the week.
“And I can’t think of a guy who has invested more into his career, into his preparation and kind of what he’s meant for the game. It’s definitely a special record because it speaks to the longevity that he’s been able to experience and the level that he’s been able to play at.”
