Drew Brees Passes Dan Marino for 4th on NFL's All-Time Passing TD List

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees eclipsed Dan Marino for fourth on the NFL's all-time passing touchdowns list with his 421st scoring toss in Sunday's Week 14 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

NFLonCBS reported the news of Brees' achievement:

Brees connected with Marques Colston on a second short TD toss of the day to surpass Marino. Only Peyton Manning (539 TDs), Brett Favre (508) and Tom Brady (423) are ahead of Brees on the list.

 Manning and Brady have rightly dominated the conversation for best QB of their era, but Brees deserves at least a mention among his two legendary contemporaries. He did beat Manning head-to-head in Super Bowl XLIV and took MVP honors and has produced at an elite level on a consistent basis during his epic tenure in New Orleans.

Ira Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune had the highest praise for Brees' precision:

The 36-year-old QB has his work cut out to move any more slots on the all-time TD pass list since Brady is still active and Favre and Manning are so far ahead as the only signal-callers over 500.

Brees has proved to be quite durable since joining the Saints and figures to have at least another couple of seasons under center. It would take something extraordinary to even get past Favre, much less keep pace with Brady and aspire to catch Manning, whose own career is winding to a close.

The Saints entered Week 14 dead-last in total yards and points allowed per contest. If they continue to struggle on that side of the ball in the years to come, Brees will be forced to air it out even more often, playing from behind, and could therefore further his reputation through the record books.