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Peyton Manning throws No. 509, sets NFL record for career passing touchdowns

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer

DENVER – The Denver Broncos had a lot of fun with No. 509. 

After Peyton Manning threw his 509th career touchdown to pass Brett Favre on the NFL's all-time list for career touchdown passes, Manning went to get the historic ball from Demaryius Thomas, who caught the record-setting 8-yard score with 3:09 remaining in the second quarter of Denver's 42-17 blowout of the San Francisco 49ers.

Thomas and his teammates hilariously played keep-away.

Thomas tossed it to Wes Welker, with Manning in the middle, then the ball went to Emmanuel Sanders and eventually over to Julius Thomas, just like they were back on the first-grade playground with Manning trying to get it from them. Manning eventually got the ball, and a big hug from coach John Fox when he got to the sideline.

 

The Broncos practiced the routine over the week, Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson reported:

Manning hadn't said much about his march toward the NFL's all-time record for passing touchdowns, preferring in his normal news conference earlier this week to focus on the San Francisco 49ers and a big game for his Broncos. He rarely speaks in terms of himself and his numbers anyway, deflecting it to the next game he and his team has to prepare for.

But Manning's touchdown to Thomas was a special moment in a game that generally doesn't stop for any ceremony.

The game didn't really stop (except for the Broncos' keep-away game), as the extra point was kicked as the public-address announcer alerted fans to the record, like nobody at Sports Authority Field knew. During the commercial break, a short video was played with kind words from Manning's teammates, and a congratulations from Favre.

"I'm not surprised," Favre said as part of his pre-taped congratulations. "I wish you great success for the rest of the season, and the rest of your career."

Manning was playing his 246th game on Sunday night. Favre set the record in 302 games, or three-and-a-half more seasons than Manning took to get 509. Manning has lapped the field.

Manning moved past Favre in a rapid pace once he moved to the Broncos, after it looked like his career might be over. He missed a season due to multiple neck surgeries, then was cut by the Indianapolis Colts. He decided to sign with the Broncos, and that has worked out incredibly well. He had 399 touchdowns with Indianapolis. His record-breaking pass was his 110th in just 38 games with the Broncos.

How many touchdowns can Manning compile before he's done? As he showed against the 49ers – he hit Emmanuel Sanders for touchdown No. 507 and Wes Welker for No. 508 a little more than 12 minutes into the first quarter – he's showing no signs of slowing down. Is 600 possible? Maybe, considering he had a NFL record 55 last season and 15 through Denver's first five games this season. Even with the new rules helping quarterbacks, that would make the record tough to beat for a long time. Consider it this way: A quarterback would need to have 20 seasons of 30 touchdowns to reach that.

That's for another day. Sunday night was about No. 509 and celebrating Manning, the all-time touchdown king and one of the greatest players in NFL history, even if the Broncos wanted to have a little juvenile fun with the 38-year-old man after he made history.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!