Atlanta Falcons vs New Orleans Saints Box Score on Dec 26, 2011

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 26, 2011

Drew Brees broke Dan Marino’s single-season passing yardage record and the New Orleans Saints clinched the NFC South title with a 45-16 victory over the visiting Atlanta Falcons on Monday night.

Brees threw four touchdown passes and completed 23 of 39 passes for 307 yards, giving him 5,087 for the season - three more than Marino’s mark set in 1984.

Marques Colston, Robert Meachem, Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles each caught a scoring pass for the Saints (12-3), who still have a shot at the No. 2 seed in the NFC. They are currently tied with the San Francisco 49ers (12-3).

Brees set the record on his final pass of the night, a 9-yard touchdown strike to Sproles with 2:56 left in the game.

The Pro Bowl quarterback did most of his damage in the first half, passing for two scores and going into the locker room needing just 75 yards to pass Marino’s 27-year old record.

Brees got 46 of those yards on the first two drives after the break but stalled over the next three, totaling one yard.

The game was in hand with a 38-16 lead and 5:08 on the clock but Saints coach Sean Payton and Brees clearly made the decision to go for the record, passing five times on the record-setting six-play drive to get into the end zone.

Matt Ryan passed for 373 yards and a touchdown for Atlanta (9-6), which has already clinched a playoff berth but will have to start out on the road.

Brees extended a pair of his own NFL records with his 12th game with over 300 yards this season and his 35th consecutive game with at least 20 completions.

He also threw a touchdown pass for the 42nd straight game, the second-longest streak in history behind Johnny Unitas' career record of 47.