Everything You Need to Know About Peyton Manning's New TD Record
It’s not every weekend that you get to see NFL history.
Fortunately, this was one of them.
Thanks to four touchdown passes in a 42-17 win over the visiting San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning became the league’s all-time leader in career touchdown passes.
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So as a fitting tribute to No. 18, we have assembled 18 facts when it comes to Manning’s 510 career scoring tosses.
Keep something in mind when it comes to this countdown: The main focus is on Manning’s touchdown-pass total, not all of his career passing records.
And congratulations to Peyton Manning, who keeps us wanting more and continues to deliver.
18. A Team(s) Effort
Manning’s 510 career touchdown passes have come in 246 games with two franchises.
The first overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft threw for 399 scores in 208 games with the Indianapolis Colts from 1998-2010.
Meanwhile, Manning has served up an amazing 111 touchdown tosses in just 38 games with the Denver Broncos, dating back to his arrival in the Mile High City in 2012.
And if you think amazing is overstating things, let’s remember that Manning did not play football in 2011.
Call that a comeback.
17. Player by Player
A total of 45 different players have caught at least one touchdown pass from the veteran signal-caller.
In his days with the Colts, 35 players were on the receiving end of at least one scoring toss from Manning, led by Marvin Harrison (112), Reggie Wayne (67), Dallas Clark (44) and Marcus Pollard (34). Meanwhile, Manning’s 111 touchdown passes with the Broncos have gone to 12 different performers, led by Demaryius Thomas (30), Eric Decker (24) and Julius Thomas (21).
Yes, we know 35 and 12 don’t add up to 45. That’s because there were two players who caught touchdown passes from Manning both with the Colts and Broncos. That would be wide receiver Brandon Stokley, who hauled in 20 touchdown passes while with Indianapolis (15) and Denver (five). And there’s tight end Jacob Tamme, who’s totaled nine scoring receptions with the Colts (four) and the Broncos (five)—and counting.
16. The Bare Minimum
Talk about consistency. Dating back to his rookie season in 1998, Manning has never thrown fewer than 26 touchdown passes in any season he’s been on the field.
And speaking of 26, that’s the number of games Manning has failed to throw at least one touchdown pass, meaning he’s connected for at least one score in 220 of his 246 regular-season outings.
15. Lump Sums
A total of 104 scores or more than 20 percent of Manning’s 510 touchdown passes have actually come in two seasons.
His career high with the Colts came in 2004, when he served up 49 touchdown passes. That single-season total now ranks third in NFL history. Last season, Manning threw an NFL-record 55 touchdown passes with the Broncos, breaking New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s mark of 50 scores set in 2007.
14. Streaky
Dating back to his last seven games as a member of the Colts in 2010, Manning has thrown at least one touchdown in 45 straight regular-season contests. As most know, the NFL record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass belongs to New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (54 games).
It’s also worth noting that if Manning throws at least one scoring pass in his team’s remaining games in 2014, his streak will have reached 55 straight games—a new league mark.
13. Reborn
As we all know, Manning sat out the 2011 season while he was still with the Colts due to multiple neck surgeries. He was released by Indianapolis and signed with the Broncos in 2012.
As mentioned, the veteran quarterback has played and started 38 games with Denver and thrown for 111 scores. He has thrown at least two touchdown passes in 12 straight games and in 33 of those 38 outings.
Before Manning’s arrival in Denver, the Broncos’ franchise record for touchdown passes in a season was 27, co-owned by John Elway (1997) and Jake Plummer (2004). In 2012, Manning threw for 37 scores and a season ago set the NFL record with 55 touchdown passes.
Manning’s 111 scoring throws also rank second in Broncos history behind only Elway (300).
12. Three Not So Crowded
Manning is one of seven players in history to throw seven touchdown passes in one game. He achieved that feat with the Broncos in 2013 in a Week 1 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
It’s also interesting to note that 36 times in league annals a player has thrown at least six touchdown passes in one game. But Manning is the only player to achieve that feat three times; Manning connected for six scores against the Saints in 2003 and the Detroit Lions in 2004 while he was playing for the Colts, as well as last season's game vs. the Ravens.
11. Easy as 1-2-3…and More
We already mentioned Manning has failed to throw at least one touchdown pass only 26 times in 246 games.
So how do the rest of the numbers pan out? Here’s a simple breakdown from one-seven.
What’s interesting to note here? In his first two seasons, Manning never threw more than three touchdown passes in any game.
| 0 | 26 |
| 1 | 64 |
| 2 | 67 |
| 3 | 56 |
| 4 | 25 |
| 5 | 5 |
| 6 | 2 |
| 7 | 1 |
10. Playing Favorites
Manning began his NFL career in 1998, four seasons before the Houston Texans took the field in 2002.
Do you think owner Bob McNair and Co. were glad to see him leave the AFC South? It’s worth noting that the Texans have faced Manning twice with Peyton wearing a Broncos uniform.
All told, the veteran quarterback has squared off against the Texans 20 times, and in those contests, he has thrown an amazing 48 touchdown passes compared to only eight interceptions. That’s more scores than he’s thrown against any other team in the NFL.
9. No Thank You
Manning has faced all 32 teams in his NFL career, including his former employer in Indianapolis. In two meetings with the Colts, he’s thrown six touchdown passes compared to only one interception.
So which team has frustrated him the most in terms of touchdown connections? There are actually numerous candidates, but one stands out more than the others.
Manning has thrown just five touchdown passes against the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and St. Louis Rams. But while he’s faced the Rams only three times and the Panthers on only four occasions, he’s battled the Browns six times.
As for the bad news about the Browns, Manning has thrown those five touchdown passes but has also been picked off seven times. Is there any good news? The productive quarterback owns a 6-0 record as a starter versus Cleveland.
8. The Long of It
While the No. 86 usually refers to an absence or a departure, Peyton Manning isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Manning owns a pair of 86-yard touchdown throws, one each with the Colts and Broncos and the two connections a mere 13 years apart. They are the longest pass plays of his glorious career.
Back in 2001 at the Superdome (Week 10), Manning hit tight end Marcus Pollard for what would be an 86-yard score on the first play of the game from scrimmage. But the Colts lost to the Saints, 34-20.
In Week 5 this season, Manning connected with wide receiver Demaryius Thomas for an 86-yard touchdown in what proved to a be a 41-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
7. Position
Not surprisingly, the vast majority of Manning’s touchdown passes have gone to wide receivers, with more than 20 percent of those hauled in by prolific performer Marvin Harrison (112).
In terms of the positional breakdown, wide receivers (336) have a huge lead over tight ends (131), running backs (41) and a pair of defensive linemen (disguised as offensive weapons) in Dan Klecko and Mitch Unrein, who caught one touchdown pass apiece.
6. All-Timers
We all know that Manning (510) just broke the career touchdown pass record previously owned by Brett Favre (508). These greats are two of the seven players who have thrown at least 300 career touchdown passes.
The rest of the list includes Dan Marino (420), Drew Brees (374), Tom Brady (372), Fran Tarkenton (342) and John Elway (300).
Marino, Tarkenton and Elway are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We’ll let you decide if you believe that the other four gentlemen will wind up in Canton as well.
Don’t think too hard.
5. Amazing Strides
Manning has been so consistent for so long that we actually forget in his early days his numbers were pretty pedestrian.
How ordinary? While the then-young quarterback threw 138 touchdown passes in his first five seasons, he was also picked off 100 times in those 80 contests.
But talking about a learning curve? Since 2003, Manning has played in 166 regular-season games with the Colts and Broncos and has thrown more than three times as many touchdown passes (372) as interceptions (122)…and counting.
That’s called aging gracefully.
4. Favre Fetched
Manning’s 509th and 510th touchdown passes came in his 246th career regular-season game while as a member of the Denver Broncos.
Brett Favre’s 508th touchdown connection came in his 302nd career contest while with the Minnesota Vikings. On a Monday night in 2010 at TCF Bank Stadium (Week 15), he connected with wide receiver Percy Harvin on a 23-yard score in what would eventually become a 40-14 loss to the Chicago Bears. It would prove to be his final NFL appearance.
3. These Days
In just six games this season, Manning has already thrown 19 touchdown passes. While he’s not off to the torrid start of a year ago, those 19 scores have him tied for the league lead, ironically, with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, who has thrown 19 touchdown passes in seven contests this season.
What’s really interesting is the fact that those 19 scores have come via just five players. Tight end Julius Thomas leads the way with nine touchdown receptions followed by wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (five), tight end Jacob Tamme (two) and one each by Emmanuel Sanders and Wes Welker.
2. The First…
In Week 1 of 1998 (Sept. 6), Manning made his first start at home at the RCA Dome against the Miami Dolphins. It was a game in which he threw for 302 yards and was picked off three times. In fact, with 1:19 to play, he was intercepted by Dolphins cornerback Terrell Buckley and saw the theft returned 21 yards for a score.
Less than a minute later on the final play of the game, Manning connected with Marvin Harrison for a six-yard score, the first of his 509 career touchdown passes.
1. …and the Latest (for the Record)
With 3:09 left before halftime on Sunday night against the San Francisco 49ers, Manning threw his third touchdown pass of the evening. His eight-yard strike to wideout Demaryius Thomas gave Manning 509 career touchdown passes, setting a new NFL record. In the third quarter, Manning once again found Thomas for a score, his 510th career touchdown strike, the most in the 95-year history of the league.
Some statistical support for this piece was provided by Pro-Football-Reference, NFL.com and ESPN.com.
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