Could this be the year that Peyton Manning’s passing records are broken?
The NFL has rapidly evolved into a passing first league, and it seems like every year, that gets more pronounced. Could we see broken records this year? I think we’re very close to seeing some season passing records broken, even some of Peyton Manning’s “unbreakable” records.
Currently, Peyton Manning holds the all-time single-season records for most passing yards and most passing touchdowns in a single season. In his 2013 season, Manning passed for 55 touchdowns and 5,477 yards. The modern-day NFL has been developing into what it currently is for years now. Teams are putting an increasing workload on their quarterbacks in the passing game.
Put simply, that’s how games are now won. Elite quarterbacks might need to throw the ball 35, 40, or 45 times per game. Big plays are now common, and teams are putting more and more emphasis on signing, drafting, and prioritizing wide receivers and tight ends.
Currently, 14 wide receivers in the NFL are making at least $20 million per season. Teams aren’t afraid to throw a ton of money at these players, and the results are obvious. With the NFL heading into their second season of having 17 regular season games, it makes it that much more likely that we could see some passing records fall.
In fact, Tom Brady’s 2021 output of 5,316 passing yards is the third most in a single season in NFL history. Quarterbacks throwing for over 300 yards and a boatload of touchdowns per game are becoming much more common.
All of Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, Deshaun Watson, Matt Ryan, Tom Brady, and Kirk Cousins rank in the top 10 for most passing yards per game in NFL history. Others who rank in this top 10 are Drew Brees, Andrew Luck, and Peyton Manning. It’s clear how much the game has evolved.
The talent of quarterbacks in the NFL has also taken a massive leap. Likely due to better coaching and `better athletes playing the position, the elite quarterbacks in today’s NFL could be seen as some of the best athletes in all of professional sports. I think the NFL is about to hit a breaking point where we’ll begin to see some of these passing records fall.
We’re firmly in the era of passing, but I predict that this’ll begin to open up more, the floodgates will be released, and some of today’s quarterbacks will continue to shatter records and climb up leaderboards,