The night could not have gone much better for Drew Brees and the Saints.
They have taken care of business, getting an all-time record while dominating Washington. New Orleans leads 26-13 on the back of Brees, though the Saints gave away a late touchdown.
Saints receiver Cameron Meredith lost a fumble that Washington linebacker Pernell McPhee scooped up and returned 24 yards to the New Orleans 16. Three plays later, Alex Smith scored on a 4-yard run with 26 seconds left in the half.
But the night has belonged to Brees.
He passed Peyton Manning on the all-time passing yards list with a 62-yard touchdown pass to Tre’Quan Smith with 2:36 remaining in the first half.
Brees completed 17 of 20 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. He entered Monday night’s game needing only 201 yards to top Manning’s record of 71,940 passing yards.
Mark Ingram has 10 touches for 43 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown run, in his return from a four-game suspension.
Smith has completed 11 of 21 passes for 131 yards. Adrian Peterson, who took a hard hit on Washington’s opening possession but returned on the team’s next series, has only 6 yards on four carries but also has 36 yards on two catches.