with tom brady continuing to break all-time career and season records for quarterback, there are few lists without his name appearing somewhere. However, legends like Peyton Manning and Draw Brees also have quite a few accolades still intact. Here are the top three QBs in all-time QB career records, season records, and rookie records to show who the best in the game truly are.
nfl qb season records
nfl season passing yards leader
- 5477 — 2013, peyton manning (age 37)
- 5,476 — 2011, drew brees (32)
- 5,316 — 2021, Tom Brady (43)
- 55 — 2013, peyton manning (37 years old)
- 50 — 2007, Tom Brady (30)
- 50 — 2018, patrick mahomes (22)
- 471 — 2016, drew brees (age 37)
- 468 — 2011, drew brees (32)
- 456 — 2014, drew brees (35)
- 87,325 — Tom Brady
- 80,358 — drew brees
- 71,940 — peyton manning
- 636 — Tom Brady
- 571 — drew brees
- 539 — peyton manning
- 7,545 — tom brady
- 7,142 — drew brees
- 6300 — brett favre
- 4,374 — 2012, andrew luck
- 4,336 — 2020, justin herbert
- 4051 — 2011, newton cam
- 31 — 2020, justin herbert
- 27 — 2018, baker mayfield
- 2012 26, russell wilson; 1998, peyton manning
- 396 — 2020, justin herbert
- 379 — 2016, carson gonz
- 354 — 2010, sam bradford
Drew Brees and Tom Brady were the first to break QB Dan Marino’s season record of 5,084 passing yards in 2011. Marino’s record from 1984 stood for 27 years, which is no small feat. Since that crazy 2011 season, seven other QBs have surpassed Marino, including current record holder Peyton Manning. Manning had 5,477 yards and broke the single-yard record in 2013 when he was with the Denver Broncos, just two years after Brees.
This surpassed Manning’s previous record of 4,700 yards set in 2010 with the Indianapolis Colts. he also had 4,727 yards with the Broncos in 2014, giving him three top-40 all-time seasons.
last season, tom brady was able to move up this list when he passed for 5,316 yards with the tampa bay buccaneers at age 43. As impressive as the names on this list are, Brady can accomplish what he did at that age is almost unbelievable. he fell just 150 yards away from breaking the season passing yards leading record even though he was six years older than manning at the time.
Marino’s 1984 qb passing yards record, once impossible, is now 10th on the all-time list. this shows how happy the league has become in the last decade. It also shows how impressive a Marine was in his day, doing things in the NFL that would take decades to do again.
nfl leader in touchdown passes
Brady’s 50-touchdown performance in 2007 is one of a kind and was supposed to last forever, but Manning’s 2013 season was also a sight to behold. Mahomes shooting for 50 at the age of 22 was also thoroughly impressive, surpassing Marino’s 48 outing in 1984 when he, too, was just 22. definitely a good company for the new kid on the block.
nfl pass completion leader
unlike the other qb records, draw brees owns only this qb record. Brees actually has six of the top nine full seasons total and nine of the top 24. Brees has basically been the iron man to stay on the field and the king of short passes.
One important thing is that Warren Moon’s record of 404 completions set in 1991 stood for over a decade until Rich Gannon broke it with 418 in 2002. In other words, of the top 30 complete seasons, only two it happened before 2008, with the other 28 all coming in the last 12 years. another sign that the game has really changed over time.
all-time qb career records
nfl all-time leader in passing yards
nfl qbs mount rushmore definitely includes these three signal callers. the first active player listed is matt ryan. The fact that Brady is still active and already leads this list by over four thousand yards just goes to show how impressive his numbers are.
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QB’s top three in this category of passing yards records show how hard it is to stay on top of the NFL. all three have Super Bowl victories and all three have played for at least 17 seasons. that’s something that could be harder and harder to do as the game speeds up. however, without a doubt, the first 20 years of the 2000s have been truly magical for nfl fans.
nfl all-time passing touchdowns leader
again, brady continues to find himself at the top of most of these records. With nearly 60 more touchdown passes than Brees in his career, this record will likely stand for quite some time. The only active player near the top of this list is Aaron Rodgers with 449 TDs.
nfl all-time leader in career completions
nfl rookie records qb
nfl rookie passing yards leader
Now, let’s move on to rookie records. that means brees, brady and many others will not be on these lists.
the surprise name in this category is justin herbert. As a rookie, the Los Angeles Chargers QB was just 38 yards behind Andrew Luck’s 2012 rookie record for passing yards this season. Furthermore, herbert only played in 15 regular season games.
cam newton’s 2011 season broke peyton manning’s 1998 record of 3,739 yards by 312 yards, only to get lucky and crush him by 323 yards the next season. Herbert is the only quarterback to even come close to Luck’s QB record as a rookie. to me, this is something that is being overlooked when we look back on the season as a whole.
nfl rookie leader in touchdown passes
Another surprise here is the ease with which justin herbert took the rookie td title. herbert broke the record set by cleveland browns qb baker mayfield. Mayfield barely beat the previous record of 26, held by Russell Wilson and Peyton Manning, but Mayfield did it in just 14 games.
nfl leader in rookie completions
herbert nearly holds the rookie record for passes and easily won the rookie record for touchdowns, so seeing his name here isn’t a surprise. Throwing 396 completions is no mean feat, even if Herbert played in a Chargers offense that he frequently played from behind. he also had ample short passing options to shoot, which also increased his numbers.
carson goingz and sam bradford rank second and third on this list, respectively, but neither have had long runs at the top. Goz was benched with pulling pains this year, and his future as a starter in the league is in doubt.
bradford only played in 14 or more games three times before retiring after his ninth nfl season. If Herbert can keep up this kind of pace for 15+ seasons, he too could start to be a name we see on career record lists.