There are three quarterbacks in the NFL this year with a great shot at breaking Peyton Manning’s single-season passing record.
The Denver Broncos quarterback set the NFL single-season passing record in 2013 when he threw for 5,477 yards, tallying 55 touchdowns along the way.
With Manning nowhere close to challenging his own record, three other NFL quarterbacks have been racking up quite the substantial passing yards so far this season. If each quarterback, who are all in their 30’s, was to keep on his current pace, any one of them stands a legitimate shot at busting Manning’s record.
These are the men who could potentially become No. 1 on the all-time single-season passing yards list.
Tom Brady, New England Patriots
While it’s not much of a surprise to see the current Super Bowl champion on this list, Brady has passed for total of 2,410 yards so far this season. If he keeps slinging the rock at this pace, he’ll finish up the season with 5,508 yards. He also sports a high touchdown to interception ratio of 20:1. His 20 touchdowns are impressive, and he is on track to finish the season with 45 if he keeps up this rate of production.
And, might we note, Brady’s one pick on 289 attempts is quite spectacular.
Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
With the 2-6 Chargers practically in desperation mode every single game, Rivers is constantly slinging the ball all over the field playing catch-up. He leads the NFL in passing attempts (348) and passing yards (2,753) and is on pace to close 2015 down with 5,506 passing yards. Unlike Brady, though, Rivers has thrown seven interceptions compared to 18 touchdowns.
Unfortunately, the interceptions have hurt the team. And we’ll have to see if Rivers can keep up with his passing production without Keenan Allen, who received an average of 11.12 targets per game. Allen is out indefinitely with a kidney injury.
Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Brees, who is coming off of a ridiculous 511-yard, seven touchdown passing game, is another quarterback in the running to upset Manning’s record.
On the books so far for 2015, Brees has totaled 2,388 passing yards in seven games. This puts him on course to finish the season with 5,177 yards. While this is a bit shy of Manning’s 5,477 yards, just watching what he accomplished in Week 8 against the New York Giants has us believing anything is possible. So far this season, Brees has passed for 15 touchdowns versus five interceptions.
Brees currently ranks fifth in the league in passes completed (69.6) percent sandwiched between Rivers and Brady, not coincidentally.