Peyton Manning sets record with 51 touchdown passes

Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year has made NFL history.

Peyton Manning uncorked a perfect 25-yard pass to Julius Thomas to break Tom Brady's single-season record of 50 passing touchdowns.

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NFL Replay
will re-air Peyton Manning's record-setting performance in the Denver Broncos' 37-13 victory over the Houston Texans on Tuesday, Dec. 24 at 3:30 p.m. ET. It will re-air as an "NFL Replay Game Of The Week Special" with Peyton Manning wired for sound by NFL Films on Thursday, Dec. 26 at 9 p.m. ET.

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Outside of a scoreless third quarter in which he was harassed by the Houston Texans' defensive front, Manning was on point all afternoon. He had tied the record just minutes earlier by dropping one in the bucket from 20 yards out, right into Eric Decker's waiting hands.

Manning added a pinpoint 35-yard toss to Decker and beat double coverage to squeeze a 36-yard touchdown into Demaryius Thomas' arms.

Already the only team in history to feature four players with double-digit touchdowns, the Broncos added a fifth behind Decker's two scores Sunday.

The fourth-quarter onslaught, featuring three touchdowns in nine minutes is illustrative of Manning's historic season. Even when this offense is held in check for a significant portion of the game, they repeatedly have shown the ability to pull away with a flurry of touchdowns.

Manning is up to 5,211 passing yards on the season, just 265 behind Drew Brees' single-season record. Denver also needs 18 points in the season finale to break the 2007 Patriots' scoring record.

The Broncos wrapped up the AFC West and a first-round bye Sunday. Unless the Patriotslose at Baltimore, however, they still will have to play to win at Oakland next week to lock up the AFC's No. 1 seed.

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