Before New Orleans Saints' quarterback Drew Brees, passed Peyton Manning for the all-time NFL record for touchdown passes on Monday, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady broke a separate record by Manning in their 34-13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. With his touchdown pass to James White in the first quarter, Brady notched his 17th season with at least 20 touchdown passes, surpassing Manning’s record of 16 seasons.
Brady made it 21 touchdown passes this season after finding rookie N’Keal Harry later in the game.
Brady’s total is now 538 touchdown passes, one behind Manning, who is now second to Brees in terms of passing touchdowns. Brees entered Monday third on the all-time list behind Manning (539) and Brady (538), but he surpassed them both after throwing four touchdown passes in the Saints’ 34-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football.
Brady said Brees’ records are tough to beat
In a tweet, Brady extended his congratulations to Brees, who now has 541 touchdown passes in his career. “Congrats drew!! Couldn’t be more deserving,” said Brady, adding that passing Peyton in anything is an incredible achievement for Brees. The 42-year-old Brady said that Brees’ records will be tough to beat, but he will at least try to eclipse them.
Brady, for his part, has a chance to move to No. 2 on the all-time list when the Patriots take on the Buffalo Bills on Saturday at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots (11-3) need to sweep their last two games against the Bills and the Miami Dolphins to clinch the AFC East. The Patriots clinched a playoff spot for a record 11th straight season with their win over the Bengals, but the Bills are just one game behind in the AFC East with a 10-3 mark.
Congrats drew!! Couldn’t be more deserving. Passing Peyton in anything is an incredible achievement and your records will be tough to beat! But it’s worth trying 😉
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) December 17, 2019
Patriots are 7-point favorite over Bills
After beating the Bills, 17-10, in their first clash in Week 4, head coach Bill Belichick will try to complete a season sweep against Buffalo to solidify their hold of the AFC East.
The Patriots are just 3-3 in their past six games while the Bills are 4-2. Despite this, the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas has picked the defending Super Bowl champions as 7-point favorite in the opening betting lines for Week 16, according to SuperBook VP Jeff Sherman.
The Patriots, who are 5-1 at home this season, are 8-6 against the spread (ATS) in 2019, but only 3-3 ATS at home. The Bills, for their part, have a 9-4-1 ATS record through 14 games, including a 6-0-1 ATS record on the road. The Patriots entered their Week 15 clash against the Bengals as a 9.5-point favorite, but they covered the spread with a 21-point win. The Bills, for their part, are fresh from their 17-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
