Who Dey
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- Mar 18, 2019
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“Records are made to be broken.”
That’s what guys whose records are about to be broken tend to say. Deep down, they’d prefer to hold those records as long as possible.
Peyton Manning set an important record five years and two months ago, when touchdown pass No. 510 put him beyond Brett Favre. Manning retired with 539, and he has not one but two quarterbacks about to pass him by.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has 536; with four today at Cincinnati, the record will be his. But Saints quarterback Drew Brees has 537. With three on Monday night againt the Colts (he had five last Sunday against the 49ers), Brees would leapfrog Manning, too.
However it unfolds, Manning is destined to be in third place while Brady and Brees jockey for the all-time record. Ultimately, the winner could be the guy who plays longer. Brady, now 42, continues to say he wants to play until he’s 45. Brees, who turns 41 a month from today, hasn’t specifically committed to an expiration date.
The all-time record gives all of us a reason to root for both to keep going beyond 2019, since the tit-for-tat race between the future Hall of Famers could result in the record changing hands multiple times over the course of a season or two or three.
And the guy that ends up with the record will likely hold it for longer than five years. The active leaders behind 537 and 536 are Philip Rivers with 394, Eli Manning with 364, Ben Roethlisberger with 363, Aaron Rodgers with 361, and Matt Ryan with 317. Russell Wilson, in his eighth year, has 222.
Many would peg Patrick Mahomes to be the biggest threat to whoever ends up with the all-time record. It would still be a very long time before he breaks. Despite his various exploits over the past two seasons, he currently has only 71 touchdown passes.