Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Beall, Flickr Creative Commons
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning added a monumental record to his collection on Sunday night after throwing four touchdowns against the San Francisco 49ers, surpassing Brett Favre’s career touchdown pass mark of 508.
Manning’s second touchdown pass of the night, a 39-yard pass to wide receiver Wes Welker, tied Favre’s record. The record-breaking touchdown throw was hauled in by wide receiver Demaryius Thomas on the edge of the endzone.
Along with the four touchdowns, Manning threw for 318 yards against the injury plagued 49er defense, which struggled all evening to get pressure on him.
Although a terrific milestone, Manning stayed characteristically modest and team-oriented.
"It's quite an honor. I have great appreciation for the quarterbacks that have played this game throughout the years. It's very humbling and it took a lot of hard work. Football is the ultimate team game," Manning said in a postgame interview with NBC’s Michele Tafoya.
Regarding Favre, Manning said, “He’s known for a while that he’s one of my favorite players, he played the position with so much passion… I’m honored to join this club with him.”
Manning currently sits at 510 career touchdowns only seven weeks into the 2014 season.
The 508th touchdown, which tied the record, came 5,887 days after Manning’s first career touchdown dating back to September 6, 1998, which was a six-yard score to his former go-to guy during his time with the Indianapolis Colts: Marvin Harrison.
Manning suffered a nearly career-ending neck injury that kept him out the entire 2011 season, leading to his departure from Indianapolis.
In March 2012, Manning signed a five-year deal with the Broncos.
Manning is now the holder of 40 individual NFL passing records and currently sits only 5,026 yards behind Brett Favre's all-time record for career passing yards.
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