Drew Brees was comfortable with falling just short of breaking the NFL single-season passing record.
The New Orleans Saints quarterback finished 15 yards shy of Dan Marino’s mark, but still led the league in passing for the second time in three years.
“When I sit back and look at it, that record’s stood for a long time. One of greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game owns it,” Brees said after losing 33-31 to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Brees passed for 5,069 yards this season, making him just the second player to top 5,000. Marino set the mark in 1984 with 5,084 yards.
The Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson led the NFL in rushing in just his second season in the league. He became the fifth player in league history to reach 3,000 yards in his first two years, joining Eric Dickerson (Rams), Edgerrin James (Colts), Earl Campbell (Oilers) and Clinton Portis (Broncos).
Peterson, second in the league in rushing last season, finished with 363 carries for 1,760 yards (a 4.8 average) and 10 touchdowns.
His feat was overshadowed some by his fumble problems late in the season: he had six in December.
The Houston Texans’ Andre Johnson had 1,575 yards receiving this season, the most in the league since 2003. He had 10 receptions for 148 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s 31-24 win over the Bears, setting an NFL record with his seventh 10-reception game this season.
