Top 20 Passers

History Published on : 2/21/2005

Fourteen of the NFL’s all-time leading passers were active players in 2004. Heading the list are seven present day quarterbacks who join Hall of Famers Steve Young, Joe Montana, and Otto Graham in the top 10 spots on the list.

 Culpepper-205
Daunte Culpepper

Ranked fourth all-time based on passer rating was Peyton Manning, the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2004. The Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback made history during this past season when he shattered two long-standing passing marks held by a pair of quarterbacks who earned election to the Hall of Fame as members of the Class of 2005. Manning fired 49 touchdowns to surpass the mark held by Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins in 1984. He also set the NFL’s single-season passer rating score of 121.1 thereby eclipsing the 112.8 rating registered by Steve Young of the San Francisco 49ers in 1994. Manning’s final numbers for season read 336 completions in 497 attempts for a career-high 4,557 yards, 49 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

Daunte Culpepper, who ranks one spot ahead of Manning on the Top 20 passers chart, turned in a career season in 2004 as he led all NFC quarterbacks with a 110.9 passer rating. The Minnesota Vikings passer connected on 379 of 548 passes for a league-high 4,717 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.

Two new additions to the list include the Philadelphia Eagles Donovan McNabb (No. 16) and Matt Hasselbeck of the Seattle Seahawks (No. 18).

Other active quarterbacks in the Top 20 include: Kurt Warner (No. 2), Trent Green (No. 6), Tom Brady (No. 7), Brett Favre (No. 8), Jeff Garcia (No. 9), Brian Griese (No. 12), Rich Gannon (No. 13), Brad Johnson (No. 15), Mark Brunell (No. 17), and Steve McNair (No. 20).

Minimum 1500 Attempts
(At the Start of the 2005 Season)
 
Rank   Player League Yrs. Att. Comp. Yards TD Int. Rating
1 (2) Steve Young * NFL
15
4,149
2,667
33,124
232
107
96.8
2 (1) KURT WARNER NFL
7
1,965
1,295
16,501
108
69
95.7
3 (6) DAUNTE CULPEPPER NFL
6
2,391
1,539
18,598
129
74
93.2
4 (5) PEYTON MANNING NFL
7
3,880
2,464
29,442
216
120
92.29
5 (3) Joe Montana * NFL
15
5,391
3,409
40,551
273
139
92.26
6 (10) TRENT GREEN NFL
7
2,822
1,705
21,607
133
82
87.9
7 (11) TOM BRADY NFL
5
2,018
1,243
13,925
97
52
87.5
8 (7) BRETT FAVRE NFL
14
7,003
4,306
49,734
376
226
87.4
9 (4) JEFF GARCIA NFL
6
2,612
1,593
18,139
123
65
87.2
10 (8) Otto Graham * AAFC-NFL
10
2,626
1,464
23,584
174
135
86.6
11 (9) Dan Marino * NFL
17
8,358
4,967
61,361
420
252
86.4
12 (18) BRIAN GRIESE NFL
7
2,144
1,351
15,208
96
71
85.3
13 (13) RICH GANNON NFL
16
4,206
2,533
28,743
180
104
84.7
14 (14) Jim Kelly * NFL
11
4,779
2,874
35,467
237
175
84.4
15 (15) BRAD JOHNSON NFL
13
3,504
2,166
23,913
143
98
84.0
16 (--) DONOVAN McNABB NFL
6
2,586
1,507
16,926
118
57
83.94
17 (12) MARK BRUNELL NFL
11
3,880
2,314
26,987
151
92
83.86
18 (--) MATT HASSELBECK NFL
6
1,756
1,048
12,466
72
48
83.7
19 (17) Roger Staubach * NFL
11
2,958
1,685
22,700
153
109
83.42
20 (16) STEVE McNAIR NFL
10
3,395
2,013
23,980
140
92
83.38
 
2004 Notes:
MATT HASSELBECK entered the Top 20 in Week 9, was displaced in Week 10, and re-entered in Week 14 of the 2004 NFL Season. DONOVAN McNABB entered the Top 20 in Week 11. AARON BROOKS entered the Top 20 in Week 2 but was displaced in Week 5. Also displaced from the Top 20 in 2004 were Neil Lomax (82.7) and Sonny Jurgensen* (82.6).
Next in Line:
Players active in 2004 who rank the closest to a Top 20 ranking: BROOKS (81.5), JEFF GEORGE (80.4), CHRIS CHANDLER (79.1), JEFF BLAKE (77.9), JAY FIEDLER (76.9) and DREW BLEDSOE (76.7).
 
ACTIVE IN 2004
* Pro Football Hall of Fame member
( ) - indicates rank at the start of the 2004 season

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