NFL Historical Passing Yards Leaders Quiz

The NFL did not record individual player statistics like passing yards until the 1932 season. Arnie Herber led the NFL in passing yards in 1932 thus becoming the first career passing yards record holder and he would hold the record until 1942. Herber was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1966 and he was a member of four championship winning teams.

Sammy Baugh played his whole career for the Washington Redskins from 1937 to 1952. He first became the career passing yards leader in 1943 and he led the NFL in passing yards four different seasons. Baugh became the first NFL player to throw for more than 20,000 yards and he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1963.

Bobby Layne was an NFL quarterback for 15 seasons playing for the Chicago Bears, New York Bulldogs, Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers. Layne twice led the NFL in passing yards and he was a three time NFL champion. When Layne retired in 1963 he held the career record for passing yards (26,768), touchdowns (196) and interceptions (243).

Y. A. Tittle played in the NFL for 17 seasons and interestingly he never led the NFL in season passing yards in spite of holding the career passing yards record when he retired. Although he quarterbacked some prolific offenses, his team never won an NFL championship. Tittle played for the Baltimore Colts, San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants and he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971.

Johnny Unitas played for the Baltimore Colts from 1956 to 1972 and then for the San Diego Chargers in 1973 before he retired, at the end of one season. Unitas won four championship titles while a member of the Colts and he led the league in passing yards four times. Unitas was the first quarterback to eclipse both the 30,000 and 40,000 career passing yards milestones.

Fran Tarkenton had a stellar career playing for the Minnesota Vikings for 13 of his 18 seasons in the NFL. In addition to his passing records, Tarkenton was also an elite running quarterback rushing for 3,674 yards in his career which was the NFL record at the time of his retirement in 1978. In spite of his stellar career stats, Tarkenton never won a Super Bowl.

Dan Marino played his entire career for the Miami Dolphins from 1983 to 1999. Marino led the NFL in passing yards five times and he was selected to the Pro Bowl nine times. In 2005 Marino was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. In spite of his record setting career, Marino never won a Super Bowl.

Brett Favre played college football for Southern Miss before he was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round. Favre played the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers and he led the team to a championship in Super Bowl XXXI in 1997. Favre led the league in passing yards twice and he set the record for starting in 297 consecutive games at quarterback.

After leaving the Packers, Favre played for the New York Jets and then the Minnesota Vikings before he retired in 2010.

Peyton Manning bested Brett Favre's career passing yards total in his final season and he retired with just 102 more yards than Favre. Manning set numerous records including being the first player to throw for 55 touchdowns in a season and during the 2013 season he set a record throwing for 5,477 yards. He won two Super Bowls and was selected for the Pro Bowl 14 times.

Drew Brees was the first quarterback to lead the league in passing yards seven times. He led a prolific offense for the New Orleans Saints and he was the MVP for Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. Brees set the record for the most consecutive games with a touchdown pass (54) and he retired in 2020 with a stellar 67.7% completion percentage.

Tom Brady set numerous records during his career including being the first player to win seven Super Bowls, five of which he was named MVP for. He was a starter for the New England Patriots for 19 seasons (2000-2019), after which he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady won more than 250 regular season games as a starting quarterback and he was the first to win 35 playoff games.