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NFL-Brees reaches 60,000 yards milestone in Saints loss

Dec 21 (Reuters) - - Drew Brees became the fourth NFL quarterback to throw for 60,000 yards during the New Orleans Saints' 35-27 loss to the Detroit Lions on Monday, reaching the mark with a 27-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandin Cooks in the third quarter. With 60,168 passing yards, Brees now trails only Peyton Manning (71,871), Brett Favre (71,838) and Dan Marino (61,361), while his 424 touchdown throws are behind Manning (539), Favre (508) and Tom Brady (427). While Brees continues to pass milestones, the Saints continue to struggle. They fell to 5-9 with Monday's loss and will miss the postseason for the second straight year and the third time in their last four campaigns. Saints coach Sean Peyton and Brees led the Saints to a Super Bowl title in the 2009 season but those glory days are far behind them. The 36-year-old Brees has managed to shrug off ailments and niggles throughout his career but had the first injury-induced (shoulder) absence of his Saints tenure in September. (Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)