Peyton Manning breaks Brett Favre’s mark with 509th TD pass

Peyton Manning’s receivers played keep-away with his milestone memento and the NFL’s new leader in career touchdown passes toyed with the San Francisco 49ers in the Denver Broncos’ emphatic 42-17 victory on Sunday night.

Manning went into the showdown two TDs shy of Brett Favre’s record of 508 and threw four touchdown passes, giving him 510.

“It is quite an honour,” Manning said. “I do have great appreciation for quarterbacks who played this game throughout the years. It’s very humbling, has taken a lot of hard work, a lot of people helped me get to this point.”

Manning surpassed Favre’s mark with an 8-yard strike to Demaryius Thomas late in the second quarter. As he went to retrieve the football, his teammates decided to have some fun.

Thomas tossed the historic ball over Manning and to Emmanuel Sanders, who then lobbed it to Wes Welker. From there, Welker dished it back to Sanders, who then flipped it to Julius Thomas – all of Manning’s favourite targets getting into the act.

“I heard whispers about something,” Manning said. “Those guys are all great athletes and my vertical leap isn’t what it used to be. I haven’t played keep-away since I was eight years old. That is something I will always remember.”