Who Has the Most Passing Yards and Touchdowns in NFL Playoff History?
When it comes to career passing yards and touchdowns in the NFL Playoffs, we’re not even going to attempt to keep you in suspense. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Tom Brady is the leader in both categories. But that’s just what happens when you’ve played more postseason games than anyone in NFL history.
We’ll go ahead and list the top five in each category but just know that Brady leads each category by a wide margin.
Tom Brady has played in 48 postseason games
Over the course of his 22-year career, Tom Brady has played in 48 NFL playoff games, the last being his Wild Card Round loss to the Cowboys following the 2022 season. Brady played the first 41 with the New England Patriots and the last seven with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s also made 10 Super Bowl appearances, which is easily another NFL record.
In second place on the list is kicker Adam Vinatieri, who played 32 NFL playoff games in his career, 15 with the Colts and 17 with the Patriots.
The closest quarterback to Tom Brady on this particular list is his longtime rival, Peyton Manning, who played in 27 postseason games with the Colts and Denver Broncos, which is good for a tie for fifth on the all-time list. Here’s how the top five shakes out.
- Tom Brady: 48 games — New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Adam Vinatieri: 32 games — New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts
- Jerry Rice: 29 games — San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks
- Stephen Gostkowski: 29 games — New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans
- D.D. Lewis: 27 games — Dallas Cowboys
- Peyton Manning: 27 games — Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos
Tom Brady has thrown for the most yards in NFL playoff history, and it’s not even close
When you play in 48 NFL playoff games as an elite-level quarterback, you’re bound to rack up the yards, and Tom Brady has certainly done that. In those 48 postseason games, TB12 has thrown for 13,400 yards, over 6,000 more than the man in second place, Peyton Manning. Here’s a look at the top five.
- Tom Brady: 48 games — 13,400 yards
- Peyton Manning: 27 games — 7,339 yards
- Ben Roethlisberger: 23 games — 5,972 yards
- Aaron Rodgers: 22 games: 5,894 yards
- Brett Favre: 24 games — 5,855 yards
TB12 also has the most TD passes in NFL playoff history, and that’s not close, either
When it comes down to touchdown passes in the NFL playoffs, Tom Brady holds the all-time record by a wide margin in that category as well, with 86. The next closest on the list are four-time Super Bowl champion Joe Montana and current Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
- Tom Brady: 48 games — 88 TD passes
- Joe Montana: 23 games — 45 TD passes
- Aaron Rodgers: 22 games — 45 TD passes
- Brett Favre: 24 games — 44 TD passes
- Peyton Manning: 27 games — 40 TD passes
