Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and Saints quarterback Drew Brees have passed the NFL’s career passing touchdowns record back and forth this season, and it should change hands again this week.
Brees currently has 565 career passing touchdowns, while Brady is one behind him at 564. Brees is injured and won’t play on Sunday, while Brady plays against the Rams on Monday night, so if Brady throws two touchdown passes, he’ll take the record back.
The length of Brees’s absence may determine how much distance Brady can put between himself and Brees. If Brees only missed a couple of games with his broken ribs and collapsed lung, he may catch up to Brady again by the end of the season. But if Brees has an extended absence and Brady stays healthy, Brady may put the record out of reach for this season.
How long the 43-year-old Brady and 41-year-old Brees continue to play beyond 2020 remains to be seen, but whichever one of them retires with the record is likely to hold it for many years. Among the other active leaders in passing touchdowns, Philip Rivers is 157 touchdowns behind the record, Aaron Rodgers is 175 behind and Ben Roethlisberger is 180 behind.