Tom Brady moved up in the record books on Saturday afternoon when he threw for 348 yards against the Washington Redskins. With this performance, he moved past former Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre (71,838) on the all-time passing yards list, reaching 71,923 yards in his career. However, Brady has an opportunity to reach another historic milestone by leapfrogging Peyton Manning with 18 passing yards.
Heading into Thursday, the former Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts starter sits at second place on the all-time passing yards list with 71,940 yards after Drew Brees broke his former record back in 2018. Interestingly enough, Manning wore the number 18 throughout his 18-year NFL career. It’s only fitting that 18 yards would be required to pass him in the record books.
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Of course, having Brady set to take second place does bring about another important question. Will Manning release a “congratulations” video to mark the occasion, much like he did when Brees broke his record?
From the @Saints: Peyton Manning “congratulates” @DrewBrees on breaking his passing yards record 😂 pic.twitter.com/jAcT1ZLBZs
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) October 9, 2018
To add even more intrigue to this potential historic performance by Brady, he will be passing Manning during a battle with the New York Giants. This is a team that defeated Brady twice in the Super Bowl, including a loss during the 2007 season that prevented New England’s perfect 19-0 record. Will he be looking for revenge while moving up on the all-time list?
Big Blue’s secondary has been struggling throughout the season and recently gave up 306 yards to the much-maligned Kirk Cousins. This is also the same group that gave up 404 passing yards and a perfect passer rating (158.3) to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in week one. It’s very possible that Brady will have one of his more statistically impressive performances against the Giants.
Ultimately, the final stat line won’t matter as much considering that Brady will likely pass Manning within two or three pass attempts on the day. Reaching 18 yards in the first quarter should be a simple matter. From that point on, the Patriots quarterback will simply focus on achieving victory and moving to 6-0 on the season.
Of course, passing Manning simply sets up the next portion of Brady’s career and his attack on the record books. He theoretically could pass Brees (74,845) to take the top spot on the all-time passing yards list, but that would require outlasting yet another quarterback.
If the Saints starter walks away at the end of the season while Brady plays for another season or two, he should easily break another record. If Brees continues playing, on the other hand, it will simply be a battle of attrition to determine who is the last quarterback standing.
