Patriots QB Tom Brady passes Saints QB Drew Brees for 3rd most passing touchdowns in NFL history

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady started Sunday with 478 career regular season touchdown passes, which ranked fourth-most in NFL history. Brady trailed Peyton Manning (539 touchdown passes), Brett Favre (508), and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (480).

Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino (420) is the only other quarterback to exceed 400 touchdown passes.

With Manning and Favre retired, Brady and Brees have been dueling at the top of the rankings. After Sunday’s games, Brady has taken the lead after a 4 touchdown performance against the Miami Dolphins, while Brees only threw 1 touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams.

Brady now has 482 career touchdown passes, one ahead of Brees’ 481 career touchdown passes. Brady need 27 more to pass Favre and 58 more to pass Manning; that’s going to require another couple seasons.

The rankings don’t change when playoffs are included. Manning still leads (579), ahead of Favre (552), Brady (545), Brees (505), and Marino (452). No other quarterbacks have more than 400 passing touchdowns, even with the playoffs included.