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List of gridiron football quarterbacks passing statistics

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A banner hangs in the Rogers Centre to commemorate Damon Allen's record-breaking pass in 2006.
Derek Carr is the newest player added.

This is a list of gridiron football quarterbacks passing statistics for quarterbacks that have played outdoor professional football in North America. Below is a listing of the combined professional football league leaders for passing yards, passing touchdowns, passing completions, and passing attempts.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

Because indoor football is played on a much shorter field and heavily favors offensive scoring, its records are not included in the main list, but are noted in a separate addendum below; likewise, as is standard for statistical record-keeping, exhibition games, all-star games (such as the Pro Bowl) and preseason contests are not counted.

During the 2021 NFL season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady passed Drew Brees to become the all-time passing yards leader in professional football league history.[10] Brees had surpassed Anthony Calvillo for the record in the previous season, while Calvillo had surpassed Damon Allen for the record in the 2011 CFL season.[11] Allen broke the previous record held by Warren Moon in 2006.[12] Moon had held the record since 1992 when he surpassed the record set by Ron Lancaster, who had surpassed Johnny Unitas during the 1975 CFL season. Unitas established the record set forth in this listing, while Aaron Rodgers is the leading active QB chasing Brady.

In the 2020 NFL season, Brady surpassed Brees for the all-time passing touchdowns record; Brees had surpassed Peyton Manning for the record the season before.[13] Manning had held the record since the 2014 NFL season when he surpassed Brett Favre's record.[14] Prior to that, Brett Favre held the record since the 2007 NFL season when he surpassed Warren Moon's record.[15] Moon had held the record since 1994 when he surpassed the record set by Fran Tarkenton. Tarkenton had surpassed Johnny Unitas during the 1975 NFL season. Ron Lancaster overtook Tarkenton's lead in the touchdown pass category during the 1977 CFL season. However, Tarkenton retook the lead during the 1978 NFL season. Unitas established the record set forth in this listing.

Brady has held the record for pass completions since passing Brees during the 2021 NFL season; Brees surpassed Brett Favre during the 2018 season.[16] Favre had held the previous record since the 2007 season when he surpassed Warren Moon's record.[15] Moon had held the record since 1992 when he surpassed the record set by Fran Tarkenton. Tarkenton had surpassed Johnny Unitas during the 1975 NFL season. Unitas established the record set forth in this listing.

Brady has held the record for pass attempts since the 2020 NFL season when he surpassed Brees, who had surpassed Favre earlier in the same season. Prior to being surpassed by both Brady and Brees during the 2020 NFL season, Favre had held the record since 2008, when he surpassed Warren Moon.[17][15] Moon had held the record since 1993 when he surpassed the record set by Fran Tarkenton. Tarkenton had surpassed Johnny Unitas during the 1975 NFL season. Unitas established the record set forth in this listing.

Brady, Moon and Unitas are the only gridiron quarterbacks to have held the record in all four of the major passing categories (passing yards, passing touchdowns, pass completions, and pass attempts) at the same time. Brees held each of the four records at one point during his career, but never held all four of them at the same time.

Other categories from this listing that provides all-time leaders include Rodgers, who is pro football's all-time passer rating leader, Ricky Ray, who is the all-time pass completion percentage leader, and Ron Lancaster, who is pro football's all-time interceptions leader.

When considering regular season and post season combined, Brady is the all-time leader in gridiron passing yards with 102,614, which surpassed Calvillo's mark of 82,365 yards in 2019. Brady is also the leader in all the other three major categories when considering post season performances (737 touchdown passes; 8,953 pass completions; 13,971 pass attempts).[18][19][20]

All-time outdoor professional quarterback passing statistics

[edit]
Updated through current season; minimum 40,000 passing yards.
Bold and highlight denotes an active player.
Rank Name Tenure Leagues Attempts Completions Comp % TDs INTs Yardage Passer rating References
1 Tom Brady 2000–2022 NFL 12,050* 7,753* 64.34 649* 212 89,214* 97.17 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
2 Drew Brees 2001–2020 10,551~ 7,142~ 67.69 571~ 243 80,358~ 98.67
3 Anthony Calvillo 1994–2013 CFL 9,437 5,892 62.44 455 224 79,816~ 95.53 [18][21]
4 Damon Allen 1985–2007 CFL 9,138 5,158 56.45 394 278 72,381~ 83.82 [22]
5 Peyton Manning 1998–2015 NFL 9,380 6,125 65.30 539~ 251 71,940 96.46 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
6 Brett Favre 1991–2010 10,169~ 6,300~ 61.95 508~ 336 71,838 86.03
7 Warren Moon 1977–2000 NFL/CFL 9,205~ 5,357~ 58.20 435~ 310 70,553~ 84.24 [23][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
8 Ben Roethlisberger 2004–2021 NFL 8,433 5,440 64.51 418 211 64,088 93.49
9 Henry Burris 1997–2016 CFL/NFL/NFLE 7,576 4,711 62.18 382 237 64,023 92.89 [2][24][25]
10 Philip Rivers 2004–2020 NFL 8,134 5,277 64.88 421 209 63,440 95.18 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
11 Matt Ryan 2008-2022 8,464 5,551 65.58 381 183 62,792 93.59
12 Aaron Rodgers Since 2005 8,041 5,242 65.19 492 112 61,497 102.92*
13 Dan Marino 1983–1999 8,358 4,967 59.43 420 252 61,361 86.38
14 Ricky Ray 2002–2018 CFL 7,301 4,976 68.16* 324 177 60,736 98.23~ [26]
15 Matthew Stafford Since 2009 NFL 7,997 5,066 63.34 370 187 58,604 91.07
16 Doug Flutie 1985–2005 CFL/NFL/USFL 7,276 4,286 58.91 369 237 58,179 87.82 [27][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
17 Eli Manning 2004-2019 NFL 8,119 4,894 60.29 366 244 57,023 84.08 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
18 Danny McManus 1988–2006 CFL/NFL 6,689 3,640 54.42 259 281 53,255 76.01 [28]
19 Kevin Glenn 2001–2018 CFL 6,434 4,068 63.23 294 207 52,867 90.84 [29]
20 John Elway 1983–1999 NFL 7,250 4,123 56.87 300 226 51,475 79.86
21 Ron Lancaster 1960–1978 CFL 6,233 3,384 54.29 333~ 396* 50,535~ 72.44 [30]
22 Fran Tarkenton 1961–1978 NFL 6,467~ 3,686~ 57.00 342~ 266 47,003 80.35 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
23 Carson Palmer 2003–2017 6,307 3,941 62.49 294 187 46,247 87.89
24 Vinny Testaverde 1987–2007 6,701 3,787 56.51 275 267 46,233 75.00
25 Jim Kelly 1984–1996 NFL/USFL 5,933 3,604 60.74 320 195 45,309 88.81 [31][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
26 Joe Flacco Since 2008 NFL 6,673 4,117 61.70 254 160 45,103 84.32 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
27 Drew Bledsoe 1993-2006 6,717 3,839 57.15 250 155 44,611 84.51
28 Russell Wilson Since 2012 5,786 3,741 64.66 340 108 44,595 99.93
29 Matt Dunigan 1983–1996 CFL 5,476 3,057 55.83 306 211 43,857 84.55 [32]
30 Jeff Garcia 1994–2011 CFL/NFL/UFL 5,955 3,645 61.21 272 146 43,300 88.90 [33][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
31 Dan Fouts 1973-1987 NFL 5,604 3,297 58.83 254 242 43,040 80.23 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
32 Kirk Cousins Since 2008 5,537 3,710 67.00 287 119 42,278 98.13
33 Kerry Collins 1995–2011 6,261 3,487 55.69 208 196 40,922 73.76
34 Derek Carr Since 2014 5,717 3,721 65.09 255 111 40,842 92.88
35 Joe Montana 1979–1994 5,391 3,409 63.24 273 139 40,551 92.26
36 Tracy Ham 1987–1999 CFL 4,945 2,670 53.99 284 164 40,534 86.56 [34]
37 Johnny Unitas 1956-1973 NFL 5,186* 2,830 54.57 290 253* 40,239 78.20 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

^* = Leader in category for outdoor gridiron football. ^~ = Former leader in category for outdoor gridiron football.

North American outdoor gridiron football leagues

[edit]
The following leagues are eligible for inclusion for statistical purposes:
The following former leagues include statistics for players who attained the minimum 40,000 passing yards:

Notes:

  • ¹ The CFL's East Division has existed since 1907 but did not legalize the forward pass until 1929.
  • ² To date, these leagues have not had any quarterbacks whose career statistics rank high enough to qualify for this list. Quarterbacks who played in these leagues are still active in professional football and thus, in theory, could appear on this list in the future.
  • The inclusion of a league in this list does not imply major or minor league status. No players who played in the American Football League threw for 40,000 career yards, even as NFL and CFL quarterbacks from the same era achieved that feat.

Addendum

[edit]

For the purpose of this list, indoor American football statistics have been excluded. While overall passing yards are not substantially greater in a given indoor football game compared to a CFL or NFL contest, the number of touchdowns in that form of the sport is far higher, and a list including them would invariably favor indoor football quarterbacks in the number of touchdowns thrown. Quarterbacks who would qualify for this list in yardage statistics if indoor football statistics are included are listed here separately:

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Who is pro football's all-time passing leader? Try Anthony Calvillo". USA Today. October 11, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Quarterbacks Who Played in the NFL and CFL". Rutgers.edu. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "PFR Stats Attempts". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "PFR Stats Completions". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "PFR Stats Comp %". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "PFR Stats Touchdowns". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "PFR Stats Interceptions". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "PFR Stats Yardage". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "PFR Stats Rating". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  10. ^ Drew Brees breaks Anthony Calvillo record
  11. ^ Alouettes’ Calvillo breaks pro football's passing record
  12. ^ "Argos' Allen is football's top passer". CBC Sports.ca. September 4, 2006. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
  13. ^ Saints’ Drew Brees breaks Peyton Manning’s career touchdown pass record
  14. ^ Peyton Manning breaks TD record
  15. ^ a b c If Warren Moon was to combine his CFL and NFL stats he would rank second in the NFL
  16. ^ Drew Brees passes Brett Favre for most career completions
  17. ^ CALVILLO WILL NOT RETURN TO ALOUETTES THIS SEASON
  18. ^ a b "Anthony Calvillo CFL Statistics thru 2012". TotalFootballStats.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  19. ^ By the numbers: playoff performers
  20. ^ Pass Yards Reg+Post
  21. ^ "Anthony Calvillo CFL Statistics Summary". CFLStats.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  22. ^ "Damon Allen CFL Statistics". TotalFootballStats.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  23. ^ "Jim Kelly CFL/NFL Statistics". ProFootballHoF.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  24. ^ "Henry Burris CFL/NFL/NFLE Statistics thru 2012". TotalFootballStats.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  25. ^ "Henry Burris CFL Statistics". CFL.ca. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  26. ^ "Ricky Ray Stats". CFL.ca. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  27. ^ "Doug Flutie CFL/NFL/USFL Statistics". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  28. ^ "Danny McManus CFL Stats". TotalFootballStatscom. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  29. ^ "Kevin Glenn CFL stats". CFL.ca. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  30. ^ "Ron Lancaster CFL Statistics". JustSportsStats.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  31. ^ "Jim Kelly NFL/USFL Statistics". ProFootballHoF.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  32. ^ "Matt Dunigan CFL Ststistics". TotalFootballStats.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  33. ^ "Jeff García CFL/NFL/UFL Statistics". TotalFootballStats.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  34. ^ "Tracy Ham CFL Statistics". TotalFootballStats.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  35. ^ Highlights
  36. ^ Kurt Warner – Profile
  37. ^ a b Kurt Warner jersey and football added to Hall's collection
  38. ^ AFL Passing Records
  39. ^ Claymores 1998 Statistics
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