Drew Brees passes Brett Favre for most career completions

ATLANTA -- Drew Brees has now completed more passes than any player in NFL history, and he is on pace to set the record for career passing yards in two weeks.

The New Orleans Saints quarterback broke Brett Favre's record with his 6,301st career completion in the second quarter Sunday at Atlanta -- a 17-yard pass to receiver Michael Thomas.

And he is now fewer than 700 yards away from Peyton Manning's mark of 71,940 career passing yards, which he should reach on Monday Night Football in Week 5.

Brees, 39, has tried not make a fuss out of his historic achievements, shrugging off a question about the completions record this past week. But he did acknowledge this summer that the accomplishments are meaningful for not only himself but everyone around the team who was a part of them.

"I try not to think about that," Brees said this offseason. "I'm just trying to think about obviously taking care of business one day at a time. Then when the season rolls around, you take it one week, one game at a time. Eventually those things add up, they stack up, then there you are in a position to do it.

"But there's so many people that are a part of that. There's so many things that come into play with that. I'd rather reflect on that stuff down the road."

Brees is no stranger to making history. He broke Johnny Unitas' record with a touchdown pass in 54 consecutive games from 2009 to '12. He broke Dan Marino's record for single-season passing yards with 5,476 in 2011 (before Manning later passed him). Brees also holds the NFL records for career completion percentage (67.1) and single-season completion percentage (72.0 percent in 2017).

Brees' completion percentage is well over 80 this season, too. When asked why he seems to be getting better in that category with age, Brees responded, "I mean, completions are good, right?"

"[It's a result of] trust and confidence in the guys I'm throwing to, getting time to be able to do it with the guys up front. That's everybody working together," Brees said. "Just time on task. Experience, wisdom, treachery. A little bit of all that stuff."