Drew Brees breaks Dan Marino's passing record

There is a new single season passing yardage king, and his name is Drew Brees.

Brees broke Dan Marino's record for most passing yards in a single season (5,084 yards) that stood for 27 years when he completed a nine yard touchdown pass to Darren Sproles, giving him 5,087 yards on the season, as the Saints destroyed the Atlanta Falcons 45-16. The Saints captured the NFC South title in the process.

The Saints still have something to play for next week against the Carolina Panthers. They need a victory and a 49ers loss to capture the second seed.

Brees needed 304 yards to tie the record. He threw for 307. For Brees, it completes what has another chapter in a brilliant career. A guy who is not the tallest quarterback in the NFL: he's only 6'0"; he has built a career using his mobility in the pocket and deadly accuracy to become one of the leagues' top passers alongside Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers.

What makes this story so great is not only the fact that someone broke the record, but who broke it. Brees was basically an unwanted quarterback when he was a member of the San Diego Chargers, a guy who wasn't given much of a chance in San Diego, as the team drafted Phillip Rivers in 2004. Yet, Brees found ways to overcome. He had a great season in 2004, throwing 27 TD's to 7 INT's and took San Diego to the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

In 2005, Brees was having another great season, but a shoulder injury in the season's final day, ended his career in San Diego. The Chargers wanted to go with Rivers, now they had reason.

So Brees ended up in New Orleans, a city recently decimated by Hurricane Katrina and home to possibly the worst franchise in the NFL, the Saints, or as their fans called them, the 'Aints. Brees embraced New Orleans, and New Orleans embraced him. He has taken the team to two NFC title games, and a Super Bowl Championship in his first five years in the land of the Gumbo.

Now he has the Saints on the precipice of another playoff run, with a likely date against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC title game on the docket.

Brees not only resurrected his career, he resurrected a franchise. It's fitting that in an era in sports where we have seen cheaters win and break records that the NFL's classiest and smallest quarterback is now the owner of the most prestigious passing record in the NFL.

Granted Tom Brady might catch Marino as well next week, but the record will always belong to Drew Brees.