MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The way Drew Brees is playing as the heart and soul of the New Orleans Saints, nothing is safe.

Not Dan Marino’s single-season passing record, not Aaron Rodgers’ presumed MVP award, and perhaps not even the label for best team in the NFC.

Brees threw for 412 yards and five touchdowns to lead the surging Saints to their sixth win in a row, 42-20 over the free-falling Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

“I’d definitely vote him MVP,” Saints guard Carl Nicks said. “But I don’t think what I say goes, and I’m definitely biased, but he’s not going to get it. This is the year of the quarterback, him, Rodgers, (Tom) Brady. He might break the yardage record and Rodgers might break the touchdowns record. What do you value more?”

The answer is clear in the Big Easy.

Brees completed 32 of 40 passes to help the Saints (11-3) overcome a slow and sloppy start to stay two games ahead of Atlanta in the NFC South. They turned the ball over twice deep in their own territory in the first half, botched a surprise onside kick and had a 40-yard TD pass called back because of a penalty.

But Brees threw two touchdowns to Lance Moore and one each to Darren Sproles, John Gilmore and Jimmy Graham in just over three quarters of work to keep the Saints steamrolling toward another NFC South title.

The 412 yards gives Brees 4,780 yards for the season, putting him 304 away from Marino’s single season record set in 1984 with two games to play.

“I’m aware that we’re close,” Brees said of Marino’s hallowed mark. “I just know if we keep doing what we’re doing all of that stuff will take care of itself.”

 

He also has already set a career high with 37 TD passes and on Sunday became the first player in league history to throw for more than 400 with five TDs, and complete percent of his passes with no interceptions in a game.

“I’m as comfortable now in this offense as I’ve ever been,” said Brees, who led the Saints to a Super Bowl win in 2009.

The much-maligned Saints secondary held the Vikings to 102 net yards passing and sacked rookie Christian Ponder four times.

Ponder completed 14 of 31 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns to Toby Gerhart, but most of that production came in the final six minutes of garbage time.

The Saints outgained the Vikings 573-207 and Brees had his fifth TD pass and was out of the game before Ponder had his fifth completion.

Adrian Peterson rushed for 60 yards in his return from a three-game absence, but the Vikings dropped their sixth straight game. Their depleted secondary lost cornerback Asher Allen to a concussion in the first half and they had no chance once Brees and the Saints got rolling.

“You can break down every player — good, bad or ugly — but we just aren’t good enough as a team, as a group,” Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway said.