Sunday, A Day of Celebrations

Peyton Manning’s seven-yard toss to Julius Thomas near the end of the first quarter Sunday meant more than just increasing the Broncos lead over the Arizona Cardinals; it marked the 500th time Manning connected with a receiver for a touchdown. Only one other NFL quarterback has ever hit that mark: Brett Favre, who holds the league record with 508—a figure that seems bound for second-placedom seeing that Manning had notched 503 by the end of Sunday’s 41-20 rout of the Cardinals.

But perhaps even more impressive than the eardrum-rattling roar that went up when Peyton hit his man, was that fact that an equally loud cheer erupted from Sports Authority Field at Mile High when Wes Welker caught a somewhat meaningless five-yard flip on third down just before halftime. The snatch was the 5-foot-9 receiver’s 850th career reception, a new record for an undrafted receiver. With the catch, the Texas Tech alum broke former Bronco Rod Smith’s record.

Follow senior editor Kasey Cordell on Twitter @KaseyCordell.