Peyton Manning says Drew Brees ‘deserves’ to break his NFL passing records

By the end of 2018, Drew Brees will have taken the NFL’s all-time passing yards record away from Peyton Manning. By the end of 2019, he could own the all-time touchdown passes mark as well. Those are two well-deserved accolades for one of the game’s most consistent and prolific passers — and Manning is prepared to see his records broken by a fellow future Hall of Famer.

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s a matter of if. It’s just a matter of when,” Manning told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “He deserves it. He’s been a great player for a long time.”

“Credit to him for playing as long as he has at such a high level,” Manning added. “He’s just been a great model of consistency, what he and (Saints head coach) Sean (Payton) have been able to do together for (12) years now.”

At the start of the 2018 NFL season, Brees will be just 1,495 yards from catching Manning atop the passing yardage leaderboard. He’s 51 touchdowns from matching the former Colts and Broncos star at 539 passing TDs.

It’s high praise for a player who once extinguished Manning’s hopes of bringing a second NFL title to Indianapolis. Brees outdueled his cross-conference foe in Super Bowl XLIV, throwing for 288 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-17 Saints victory. Manning also had a pair of touchdowns in the game — though one was to New Orleans defensive back Tracy Porter late in the fourth quarter.

Despite any on-field rivalry, Manning was reverent to Brees when talking with the Louisiana newspaper. When it comes to individual records, Manning suggested his touchdowns mark was more meaningful than overall yardage.

“Obviously, you never play for individual records of any sort, and I know Drew feels the same way, I think touchdowns probably has a little more meaning to a quarterback, because it means that you got six points, and it means you were doing something good for your team. Yards, as you all know, [doesn’t] necessarily mean winning games. I think Drew’s had a couple of big yardage seasons, and maybe they haven’t been winning games, so I think that can be a little bit misleading.”

But neither Brees nor Manning could wind up holding those records for long. Tom Brady is the only other active quarterback in the top five of either category. While the five-time Super Bowl champion lags behind Brees in passing yards, he is tied when it comes to touchdown passes. Brady is also more than a year older than the Saints QB, and his desire to play until he’s 45 could leave him with both records by the time 2021 rolls around.

But for 2018, the NFL’s all-time passing yard record will be Brees’ to break. And if he does, Manning will be totally cool with it.