Well, that didn’t take long.
Peyton Manning hit Demaryius Thomas on an 8-yard out route in the second quarter Sunday night for his 509th career touchdown pass, moving him ahead of Brett Favre as the NFL’s all-time leader.
Manning entered the Denver Broncos’ game against the San Francisco 49ers just two touchdowns shy of Favre’s record and wasted little time making history. On Denver’s opening drive, the 38-year-old found Emmanuel Sanders for a 3-yard TD. With three minutes to go in the first quarter, Manning connected with former New England Patriot Wes Welker on a deep ball down the sideline to tie Favre with 508 touchdown passes.
Then, with 3:09 remaining in the first half, Manning fittingly hit Thomas — who has caught 29 of the quarterback’s TD passes in just three years — for the record-breaking score.
The usually stoic Manning broke out in a smile and gave Broncos head coach John Fox and several teammates a hug after his historic pass. The crowd then gave Manning a rousing ovation as the PA announcer at Sports Authority Field announced the news.
UPDATE (10:15 p.m.): Favre, who said earlier in the day that he didn’t care if Manning broke the record, tweeted his congratulations.
[tweet https://twitter.com/Favre4Official/status/524017475835691009 align=’center’]
Photo via Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports Images
