:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/776279/20120713_rvr_se1_001.0.jpg)
From the NFL:
On Sunday night in New Orleans, Saints quarterback DREW BREES can make NFL history.
With a touchdown pass against the San Diego Chargers, his former team, Brees will surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer JOHNNY UNITAS (47 games) for the most consecutive games with a touchdown pass with a streak of 48 games in a row.
Comparable to JOE DI MAGGIO’s 56-game hitting streak, Unitas threw a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games from
December 9, 1956 to December 4, 1960 for the Baltimore Colts. Unitas surpassed the previous mark held by CECIL ISBELL (22 games) on November 30, 1958 and held sole possession of the record for 19,663 days before Brees tied the mark last Sunday with a three-touchdown performance at Green Bay.
Brees has thrown 114 touchdowns during his streak, 12 more than Unitas (102) did during his run. However, Unitas averaged 25.5 yards per touchdown pass while Brees has averaged 18.0 yards per TD. A look at each quarterback’s numbers during their 47-game streaks:
|
PLAYER |
ATT |
COMP |
YARDS |
TDs |
INTs |
RATING |
RECORD |
|
Johnny Unitas |
1,298 |
697 |
10,645 |
102 |
61 |
87.6 |
31-16 |
|
Drew Brees |
1,891 |
1,302 |
14,803 |
114 |
50 |
101.2 |
33-14 |
During their streaks, Unitas threw a TD pass to seven different players while Brees has connected with 15 players.
Among Unitas’ seven recipients were two Pro Football Hall of Famers (RAYMOND BERRY and LENNY MOORE) and a current NFL owner (Carolina’sJERRY RICHARDSON). Three players caught at least 25 touchdown passes from Unitas during his streak: Berry (38), Moore (27) and JIM MUTSCHELLER (25).
A breakdown of the seven players who caught a touchdown pass from Unitas during his 47-game streak:
|
PLAYER |
TDs |
|
PLAYER |
TDs |
|
Raymond Berry* |
38 |
|
L.G. Dupre |
3 |
|
Lenny Moore* |
27 |
|
Alex Hawkins |
3 |
|
Jim Mutscheller |
25 |
|
Jerry Richardson |
2 |
|
Alan Ameche |
4 |
|
|
|
*Pro Football Hall of Famer
Fifteen different players have caught a touchdown pass from Brees during his streak, led by wide receivers MARQUES COLSTON (22) and LANCE MOORE (20). Tight end JIMMY GRAHAM (19) and former Saints – and current Chargers – wide receiver ROBERT MEACHEM (19) have also caught at least 10 touchdowns from Brees during the streak.
A breakdown of the 15 players who caught a touchdown pass from Brees during his 47-game streak (current Saints are listed in bold/italics):
|
PLAYER |
TDs |
|
PLAYER |
TDs |
|
PLAYER |
TDs |
|
Marques Colston |
22 |
|
Reggie Bush |
4 |
|
Pierre Thomas |
3 |
|
Lance Moore |
20 |
|
Devery Henderson |
4 |
|
Darnell Dinkins |
1 |
|
Jimmy Graham |
19 |
|
Jeremy Shockey |
4 |
|
Heath Evans |
1 |
|
Robert Meachem |
19 |
|
Jed Collins |
3 |
|
John Gilmore |
1 |
|
Darren Sproles |
9 |
|
David Thomas |
3 |
|
Joe Morgan |
1 |
The quarterbacks to throw one or more touchdown passes in the most consecutive games:
|
PLAYER |
TEAM |
DATES |
CONSEC. GAMES W/ TD PASS |
|
Drew Brees |
New Orleans |
10/18/2009-present |
47* |
|
Johnny Unitas |
Baltimore Colts |
12/9/1956-12/4/1960 |
47 |
|
Tom Brady |
New England |
9/12/2010-present |
36* |
|
Brett Favre |
Green Bay |
11/4/2002-11/29/2004 |
36 |
|
Dan Marino |
Miami |
11/10/1985-11/22/1987 |
30 |
|
*Active streak |
|
|
|
Unitas surpassed the previous mark held by CECIL ISBELL (22 games) on November 30, 1958 and held sole possession of the record for 19,663 days before Brees tied the mark last Sunday. Brees has thrown 114 touchdowns during his streak, 12 more than Unitas (102) had during his streak. During their streaks, Unitas threw a TD pass to seven different players, while Brees has connected with 15 players.