Brees breaks consecutive games TD record
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees earned himself a place in the pantheon of National Football League greats after breaking Johnny Unitas’s 52-year-old record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass.
A 40-yard pass to Devery Henderson in the first quarter of Sunday’s 31-24 win over San Diego gave Brees 48 straight games with a touchdown pass, putting him one clear of the mark set by Pro Football Hall of Famer Unitas in 1960.
Unitas is widely regarded as one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks, if not the greatest, a magnificent passer who combined a brilliant arm with great bravery and awareness, earning him the nickname “The Golden Arm” during a 18-season career.
Unitas may have played the game in a different era, the days of muddy fields, less quarterback protection and no comforts of air-conditioned stadiums, but that should not take anything away from Brees’s latest achievement.
“Johnny Unitas, arguably one of the best quarterbacks in this game, really revolutionized the position, everything that he stood for as a player, just a pioneer of this game,” said Brees, who broke Hall of Famer Dan Marino’s single-season record for passing yardage in 2011.
Gifted with a strong arm, outstanding vision and on-and-off the field intelligence, Brees is destined for the Hall of Fame himself and his latest record is testimony to his outstanding consistency.
Joe Unitas was at the Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday to witness his father’s record fall.