Whether or not this is Peyton Manning’s final season as a professional quarterback, one thing is for sure, his name will be in the record books for years to come.

Manning began playing quarterback in 1998 at the age of 22 and now, as he enters his 18th year in the league, he’s the owner of some of the NFL’s most prestigious passing records including the all-time touchdown mark. This year, the 39-year-old is likely to break some more longstanding passing records.

Lets take a look:

NFL career passes completed

Retired quarterback Brett Favre currently holds this record with 6,300 career completions and Manning is second with 5,927 career completions. This leaves Manning 374 completions away from eclipsing Favre for the record. In his career, Manning has completed more than 373 passes on seven occasions (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2010, 2013, 2014).

All three seasons Manning has been with Denver he has completed more than 374 passes, but the Broncos were also putting up Madden-like statistics all over the filed. Now with the Broncos shifting to a run-first style offense, Manning may be hard pressed to break Favre’s completion record this upcoming season. That being said, this record is still attainable. The offensive game plan will be the biggest factor.

If Manning is to break this record, it could come late in the season. Denver plays three of its final four games at home, so there’s a good chance that Broncos fans will get to see him break the record in the friendly confines of Sports Authority Field.

NFL career passing yards

Favre again is atop this list with 71,838 career-passing yards, with Manning currently second with 69,691 career-passing yards. This leaves Manning 2,148 passing yards away from claiming top spot from Favre. For Manning fans and Bronco fans alike, this record seems to be Manning’s in a matter of time this upcoming season.

In Manning’s illustrious 17-year career, he has eclipsed 3,500 passing yards every season besides his one injured season (2011). This upcoming season, even with the Broncos switching to a run first offense, Manning should have no trouble getting to the 2,148 mark. If Manning just averages 200 yards passing a game, look for Manning to become the all-time record holder for career passing yards somewhere between Week 10 vs. Kansas City, Week 11 @ Chicago or Week 12 vs. New England. With all that has happened recently, Manning reaching this milestone Week 12 against the Patriots in Denver seems like an ideal situation.

NFL career interceptions

It’s no surprise to see Favre leading the way in this category as well. With 336 career interceptions, Favre was never one to shy away from throwing the ball. Manning currently sits 13th on this list with 234 career interceptions. In an ideal world, Manning would like to stay where he is on the list, but football is a tough sport as we all know.

In Manning’s career, he has thrown at least 10 interceptions all but one season (2006). Coming off throwing 15 interceptions last season, Manning will look to have a better if not similar season with throwing the ball. Nonetheless, if Manning replicates last season and again throws 15 interceptions this season, he would move up to 9th on the list, still 87 interceptions away from Favre’s record. It’s safe to say Favre’s record will live to see another season, and Manning will have no problem accepting that.

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Now lets look at some records that Manning already owns, but will likely pad the stats as they say before he hangs it up for good.

NFL career touchdown passes

While Manning already holds this record with 530 TD passes, 22 above Brett Favre, this upcoming season could see Manning extend his record to a number unattainable for quarterbacks to reach in the future. As of now, the only current quarterbacks playing remotely near Manning’s record are Drew Brees (396) and Tom Brady (392). Brady would have to play for seven or eight more years after manning retires to reach that mark. The only place that’s going to happen is in his emails.

NFL Career fourth quarter comebacks

Throughout Manning’s career he has totaled 41 career fourth quarter comebacks, which puts him five ahead of Dan Marino, and six ahead of John Elway and Brady. If the Broncos get into some close games this season, they might need to call on The Sheriff to bail them out of a few games, which he has done through his 17-year career. What is more concerning especially for Broncos fans is that Brady is one-fourth quarter comeback away from passing Elway on the list.

NFL career game-winning drives

Manning has 52 career game-winning drives in his career to this point, which puts him one ahead of Marino and six ahead of Elway and Brady. The only other active quarterbacks besides Brady close to Manning on this list are Brees (36) and Ben Roethlisberger (33).

Similar to the record above, Brady is tied with Elway and right on Manning’s heels. Furthermore, in the three seasons Manning has been with the Broncos, because they have been so dominant in regular seasons, Manning has only six combined fourth quarter comebacks/game winning drives compared to Brady who has ten in the past three seasons.

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Any way you look at it, Manning has cemented his place in the NFL history books for life. He has accomplished so much on the field and has always been a high-character guy off the field.

Manning won’t pay too much attention to these records now, but after he retires he will look back and truly understand the incredible legacy he left the NFL that will live long into the future.


Sammy Mugharbil, a Mile High Sports intern and student at MSU-Denver, contributed to this report