Tom Brady set to pass Peyton Manning on NFL all-time passing yards list, could move to No. 2 with one throw

The Patriots quarterback has thrown for a lot of yards in his career

By John Breech

Oct 10, 2019 at 10:24 am ET • 2 min read

Only two players in NFL history have thrown for more yards than Tom Brady, and by the time the Patriots quarterback walks off the field on Thursday night, that list will almost certainly be down to one.

Going into Thursday's game against the New York Giants, Brady has 71,923 yards in his career, which puts him squarely at No. 3 on the NFL's all-time passing list. The only quarterbacks currently ahead of Brady are Drew Brees and Peyton Manning.

Although Brady has no chance of passing Brees' career total during Thursday's game, he could move past Manning on the list with just one throw against the Giants. Manning finished his career with 71,940 yards, which means Brady only needs to throw for 18 yards on Thursday night to move past the former Broncos and Colts quarterback for the No. 2 spot on the all-time list.

The climb up the list hasn't been easy for Brady.

After shooting up the list during the early part of this decade, Brady spent two full seasons stuck at No. 4, which is where he ranked after he moved past Dan Marino during the Patriots' 2016 regular season finale. After holding that ranking for all of the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Brady is finally on the move again. The Patriots quarterback jumped up to No. 3 last week when he passed Brett Favre.

To catch Brees, Brady would need to throw for 2,922 yards against the Giants, and although New York's defense has been horrible this season, we can probably all agree that won't be happening. However, Brady can cut into Brees' lead.

If the Saints quarterback, who's battling a thumb injury, doesn't return until Week 10, that means Brady will have four weeks to inch closer to him on the all-time list. If Brady can average at least 300 yards per game while Brees is out, the Patriots quarterback could potentially get more than 1,200 yards closer to the all-time record. Of course, even if Brady never catches Brees, you don't need to feel sorry for him, and that's because he holds plenty of records.

Brady currently holds multiple records, including: Most playoff wins, most playoff passing yards, most touchdown passes to different receivers and most Super Bowl wins, just to name a few.

Heading into Week 6 of the 2019 NFL season, here's where the top four quarterbacks currently stand on the all-time passing yards list: