NFL 2014: Peyton Manning Approaches 500th TD Pass
NFL 2014: Peyton Manning Approaches 500th TD Pass

 

In the NFL's 95-year history, 1,249 different players have thrown a touchdown pass, but quarterback Brett Favre (508) is the only player to reach the 500-touchdown mark.

Denver's Peyton Manning, who has 499 career touchdowns in 17 seasons with Indianapolis and Denver, is on the verge of joining this exclusive club.

At age 38, Manning remains at the top of his game, and has completed 74 of 111 passes (66.7 percent) for 814 yards and eight touchdowns with one interception for a 108.5 passer rating through the first three games of the 2014 season.

In 2013, Manning earned his record fifth Associated Press NFL MVP Award after setting NFL single-season records for touchdown passes (55) and yards (5,477).

"I can say I have never seen a better year played by a quarterback than Peyton Manning," said Pro Football Hall of Famer JOHN ELWAY, who now serves as Denver's general manager and executive vice president of football operations, of Manning's record-breaking 2013 season. "To see what he did, it was truly amazing."

Favre recorded his 500th career touchdown pass in his 293rd games on his 9,924th pass attempt. Manning has 8,563 career attempts and will face the undefeated Arizona Cardinals (3-0) in his 244th regular season game on Sunday.

Here's a look at how quickly Favre and Manning reached each major touchdown pass milestone in terms of games and attempts:

Number of Games To Reach Milestone TDs

Player 100 200 300 400 500
Source: NFL
Brett Favre62107167228293
Peyton Manning56106157209??

 

Number of Attempts To Reach Milestone TDs

Player 100 200 300 400 500
Source: NFL
Brett Favre2,0303,5335,6457,6999,924
Peyton Manning1,9223,6895,3067,226??

 

In his career, Manning has connected with 44 different teammates for touchdown passes, demonstrating his unique and consistent ability to find the open receiver, regardless of who it is.

"Peyton's mind is always going," says San Diego offensive coordinator FRANK REICH, who served as quarterbacks coach in Indianapolis for four seasons (2008-11) when Manning was with the Colts. "He's formulating a plan, synthesizing all this information that he is hearing, seeing, studying from other people. He's listening, but he's going to call the shots. There might not be another one like him, who does it like he does it."

MARVIN HARRISON of the Colts was on the receiving end of 112 touchdown passes from Manning, the most of any quarterback-wide receiver duo in NFL history. Denver defensive tackle MITCH UNREIN, on the other hand, has the unique distinction of being the only player whose lone career NFL catch was a touchdown from Manning.

"Luckily, I didn't drop it," says Unrein of his one-yard goal-line touchdown catch against the Buccaneers on December 2, 2012. "I didn't have very much time to get nervous, but I was definitely thinking about it a little bit before the snap. It happened so fast. I kept (the ball) and had Peyton sign it."

"A lot of players have caught those touchdowns, so I'm grateful for all the receivers and the protection I've received along the way," says Manning.

A look at each of PeytonManning's milestone touchdowns:

TD # Player (TD Length) Date Opponent
Source: NFL
1Marvin Harrison (6 yards)Sep. 6, 1998Miami
100Marvin Harrison (11 yards)Nov. 11, 2001Miami
200Reggie Wayne (35 yards)Nov. 21, 2004Chicago
300Joseph Addai (19 yards)Dec. 9, 2007Baltimore
400Demaryius Thomas (71 yards)Sep. 9, 2012/td>Pittsburgh
500??????

 

The 44 players who have connected with Manning on at least one touchdown pass:

Player TDs Player TDs Player TDs Player TDs
Source: NFL
Marvin Harrison112Wes Welker10Marshall Faulk4Jim Finn1
Reggie Wayne67Joseph Addai9Dominic Rhodes4Trevor Insley1
Dallas Clark44Jacob Tamme9Troy Walters4Kenton Keith1
Marcus Pollard34Ken Dilger7Andre Caldwell3Dan Klecko1
Demaryius Thomas25Anthony Gonzalez7Qadry Ismail3Luke Lawton1
Eric Decker24Torrance Small7Knowshon Moreno3Aaron Moorehead1
Brandon Stokley20Terrence Wilkins7James Mungro3Mike Roberg1
Julius Thomas17Joel Dreessen6E.G.Green2Gijon Robinson1
Austin Collie15Jerome Pathon6Ben Utecht2Tom Santi1
Edgerrin James11Bryan Fletcher5Ricky Williams2Mitch Unrein1
Pierre Garcon10Blair White5Lance Ball1Lamont Warren1

 

The number of NFL players to reach each major touchdown pass milestone:

Milestone Number
Source: NFL
1 TD pass1,249
100 TD passes122
200 TD passes37
300 TD passes7
400 TD passes3
500 TD passes1

 

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NFL 2014 - Peyton Manning Approaches 500th TD Pass