Indianapolis fans saw many of the greatest moments in Peyton Manning’s Hall of Fame career, but on Sunday they may experience something a little different, as Manning could break an NFL record while playing against the Colts.
Manning is currently at 71,555 career passing yards, which puts him within striking distance of Brett Favre’s all-time record, 71,838 yards. If Manning passes for 284 yards on Sunday in Indianapolis, he’ll break the record.
There was a time when 284 yards was an easy day for Manning, but it’s no sure thing that he’ll do it on Sunday: Manning has only topped 284 yards in three of his seven games this year.
The league office may have been thinking about Favre’s yardage record when it scheduled Manning’s Broncos for back-to-back games against the Packers last week and the Colts this week. The league surely likes the added drama of Manning closing in on records against Favre’s old team or his own former team.
Manning passed for 54,828 yards as a Colt and now has 16,727 yards as a Bronco. Favre had 61,655 yards as a Packer, 6,711 yards as a Viking and 3,472 yards as a Jet. (Although he threw four passes as a rookie with the Falcons, he didn’t complete any of them.)
Dan Marino is third on the passing yardage list, with 61,361. Drew Brees is fourth, at 58,409, which means that if the 36-year-old Brees plays three or four more years after the 39-year-old Manning retires, the record may belong to Brees. But for now it’s Favre’s, and on Sunday it may be Manning’s.