Quarterbacks Drew Brees and Eli Manning combined for an NFL-record 13 touchdown passes but it was Kai Forbath’s last gasp field goal that gave New Orleans a 52-49 win over the New York Giants on Sunday.
Forbath booted the 50-yard game-winner as time expired to punctuate the Superdome shoot-out just after Saints signal-caller Brees tied the contest at 49-49 with 36 seconds remaining with a nine-yard touchdown pass to running back C.J. Spiller.
With that TD, which capped an 80-yard, 14-play drive he became the eighth player to throw for seven touchdowns in a single game, the league record.
The drive was one of six New Orleans scoring marches that covered at least 80 yards.
The Giants ran three plays from the ensuing kickoff but gained only five yards. They punted, and the Saints ended up with the ball on the Giants’ 32 yard line with five seconds to play, setting the stage for Forbath.
Manning threw a career-high six TD passes in a game that yielded more than 1,000 total yards and 800 passing yards.
The aerial show surpassed the 12 combined touchdowns thrown by the then-St. Louis Cardinals and the Saints on November 2, 1969,
The 101 points tied for third-most in an NFL game.