Drew Brees and Tom Brady are locked into a tight battle for second place on the list of passing touchdowns in NFL history.
For now, that title belongs to Brees.
After throwing two on Monday night against the Houston Texans, the 40-year-old Saints quarterback passed Brady, 42, by a pair at 522 touchdown passes. Peyton Manning holds the record with 539 touchdowns, a mark that figures to be passed by both veteran quarterbacks in 2019.
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The touchdown that Brees used to pass Brady was an unconventional one to say the least. The former Purdue quarterback found Taysom Hill, his backup quarterback, split out wide as a receiver in the end zone for a 9-yard completion. The second touchdown pass of the day was a go-ahead score to Tre'Quan Smith from 14 yards out that gave New Orleans a 24-21 lead against the Texans in the fourth quarter.
Though Brees moved into second place in passing touchdowns, it was perhaps his final drive on Monday that will be most remembered. After the Texans scored a go-ahead touchdown with 37 seconds left to take a 28-27 lead, Brees took his team 35 yards down the field in 37 seconds, completing three passes and spiking the ball twice before handing the game to kicker Will Lutz for the chance to win it with a 58-yard field goal. Lutz drilled the kick as time expired to send the Mercedes-Benz Superdome into a frenzy.
While Brees now takes an edge in regular season passing touchdowns, the total record belongs far and away to Brady. A winner of six Super Bowls and the record-holder for playoff wins, Brady has 593 total passing touchdowns between the regular season and playoffs. Brees sits at 553, 26 behind Peyton Manning and 40 behind Brady.
