Top 20 Passers
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.
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Daunte Culpepper
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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).
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Pro Football Hall of Fame Top 20 - Leading Lifetime Passers
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Minimum 1500 Attempts
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(At the Start of the 2005 Season)
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| Rank | Player | League | Yrs. | Att. | Comp. | Yards | TD | Int. | Rating | |
| 1 | (2) | Steve Young * | NFL |
15
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4,149
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2,667
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33,124
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232
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107
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96.8
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| 2 | (1) | KURT WARNER | NFL |
7
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1,965
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1,295
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16,501
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108
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69
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95.7
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| 3 | (6) | DAUNTE CULPEPPER | NFL |
6
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2,391
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1,539
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18,598
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129
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74
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93.2
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| 4 | (5) | PEYTON MANNING | NFL |
7
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3,880
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2,464
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29,442
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216
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120
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92.29
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| 5 | (3) | Joe Montana * | NFL |
15
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5,391
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3,409
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40,551
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273
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139
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92.26
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| 6 | (10) | TRENT GREEN | NFL |
7
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2,822
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1,705
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21,607
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133
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82
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87.9
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| 7 | (11) | TOM BRADY | NFL |
5
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2,018
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1,243
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13,925
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97
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52
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87.5
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| 8 | (7) | BRETT FAVRE | NFL |
14
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7,003
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4,306
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49,734
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376
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226
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87.4
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| 9 | (4) | JEFF GARCIA | NFL |
6
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2,612
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1,593
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18,139
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123
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65
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87.2
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| 10 | (8) | Otto Graham * | AAFC-NFL |
10
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2,626
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1,464
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23,584
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174
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135
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86.6
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| 11 | (9) | Dan Marino * | NFL |
17
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8,358
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4,967
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61,361
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420
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252
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86.4
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| 12 | (18) | BRIAN GRIESE | NFL |
7
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2,144
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1,351
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15,208
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96
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71
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85.3
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| 13 | (13) | RICH GANNON | NFL |
16
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4,206
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2,533
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28,743
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180
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104
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84.7
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| 14 | (14) | Jim Kelly * | NFL |
11
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4,779
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2,874
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35,467
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237
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175
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84.4
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| 15 | (15) | BRAD JOHNSON | NFL |
13
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3,504
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2,166
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23,913
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143
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98
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84.0
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| 16 | (--) | DONOVAN McNABB | NFL |
6
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2,586
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1,507
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16,926
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118
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57
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83.94
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| 17 | (12) | MARK BRUNELL | NFL |
11
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3,880
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2,314
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26,987
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151
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92
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83.86
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| 18 | (--) | MATT HASSELBECK | NFL |
6
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1,756
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1,048
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12,466
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72
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48
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83.7
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| 19 | (17) | Roger Staubach * | NFL |
11
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2,958
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1,685
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22,700
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153
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109
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83.42
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| 20 | (16) | STEVE McNAIR | NFL |
10
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3,395
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2,013
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23,980
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140
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92
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83.38
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| 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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