This is a list of the top 50 National Football League quarterbacks career regular season passing completions and attempts, of quarterback playoff completions and attempts by players with over 250 playoff completions, and combined career totals.
Tom Brady is the all-time leader in passing completions with 7,753 and passing attempts with 12,050. He also leads in playoff completions and attempts with 1,200 and 1,921, respectively.
Regular season completions leaders Bolded players indicate making their debut on list.
Tom Brady is the all-time leader in passing attempts and completions.Through 2024 season.
Rank Player Team(s) by season 1 Tom Brady New England Patriots (2000 –2019 )Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020 –2022 ) 7,753 12,050 64.3% 2 Drew Brees San Diego Chargers (2001 –2005 )New Orleans Saints (2006 –2020 ) 7,142 10,551 67.7% 3 Brett Favre ^ Atlanta Falcons (1991 )Green Bay Packers (1992 –2007 )New York Jets (2008 )Minnesota Vikings (2009 –2010 ) 6,300 10,169 62% 4 Peyton Manning ^ Indianapolis Colts (1998 –2011 )Denver Broncos (2012 –2015 ) 6,125 9,380 65.3% 5 Matt Ryan Atlanta Falcons (2008 –2021 )Indianapolis Colts (2022 ) 5,551 8,464 65.6% 6 Ben Roethlisberger Pittsburgh Steelers (2004 –2021 ) 5,440 8,443 64.4% 7 Aaron Rodgers * Green Bay Packers (2005 –2022 )New York Jets (2023 –2024 )Pittsburgh Steelers (2025 ) 5,357 8,227 65.1% 8 Philip Rivers San Diego/L.A. Chargers (2004 –2019 )Indianapolis Colts (2020 ) 5,277 8,134 64.9% 9 Matthew Stafford * Detroit Lions (2009 –2020 )Los Angeles Rams (2021 –present) 5,174 8,166 63.4% 10 Dan Marino ^ Miami Dolphins (1983 –1998 ) 4,967 8,358 59.4% 11 Eli Manning New York Giants (2004 –2019 ) 4,895 8,119 60.3% 12 Joe Flacco * Baltimore Ravens (2008 –2018 )Denver Broncos (2019 )New York Jets (2020 , 2021 –2022 )Philadelphia Eagles (2021 )Cleveland Browns (2023 , 2025 )Indianapolis Colts (2024 ) 4,166 6,751 61.7% 13 John Elway ^ Denver Broncos (1983 –1998 ) 4,123 7,250 56.9% 14 Warren Moon ^ Houston Oilers (1984 –1993 )Minnesota Vikings (1994 –1996 )Seattle Seahawks (1997 –1998 )Kansas City Chiefs (1999 –2000 ) 3,988 6,823 58.4% 15 Carson Palmer Cincinnati Bengals (2003 –2010 )Oakland Raiders (2011 –2012 )Arizona Cardinals (2013 –2017 ) 3,941 6,307 62.5% 16 Russell Wilson * Seattle Seahawks (2012 –2021 )Denver Broncos (2022 –2023 )Pittsburgh Steelers (2024 )New York Giants (2025 –present) 3,882 6,001 64.7% 17 Drew Bledsoe New England Patriots (1993 –2001 )Buffalo Bills (2002 –2004 )Dallas Cowboys (2005 –2006 ) 3,839 6,717 57.2% 18 Vinny Testaverde Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987 –1992 )Cleveland Browns (1993 –1995 )Baltimore Ravens (1996 –1997 )New York Jets (1998 –2003 , 2005 )Dallas Cowboys (2004 )New England Patriots (2006 )Carolina Panthers (2007 ) 3,787 6,701 56.5% 19 Kirk Cousins * Washington Redskins (2012 –2017 )Minnesota Vikings (2018 –2023 )Atlanta Falcons (2024 –present) 3,768 5,730 65.8% 20 Derek Carr Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders (2014 –2022 )New Orleans Saints (2023 –2024 ) 3,765 5,685 65.1% 21 Fran Tarkenton ^ Minnesota Vikings (1961 –1966 , 1972 –1978 )New York Giants (1967 –1971 ) 3,686 6,467 57% 22 Andy Dalton * Cincinnati Bengals (2011 –2019 )Dallas Cowboys (2020 )Chicago Bears (2021 )New Orleans Saints (2022 )Carolina Panthers (2023 –present) 3,514 5,614 62.6% 23 Kerry Collins Carolina Panthers (1995 –1998 )[ a] New Orleans Saints (1998 )New York Giants (1999 –2003 )Oakland Raiders (2004 –2005 )Tennessee Titans (2006 –2010 )Indianapolis Colts (2011 ) 3,487 6,261 55.7% 24 Joe Montana * San Francisco 49ers (1979 –1992 )Kansas City Chiefs (1993 –1994 ) 3,409 5,391 63.2% 25 Dan Fouts ^ San Diego Chargers (1973 –1987 ) 3,297 5,604 58.8% 26 Alex Smith San Francisco 49ers (2005 –2012 )Kansas City Chiefs (2013 –2017 )Washington Football Team (2018 –2020 ) 3,250 5,193 62.6% 27 Matt Hasselbeck Green Bay Packers (1999 –2000 )Seattle Seahawks (2001 –2010 )Tennessee Titans (2011 –2012 )Indianapolis Colts (2013 –2015 ) 3,222 5,330 60.5% 28 Donovan McNabb Philadelphia Eagles (1999 –2009 )Washington Redskins (2010 )Minnesota Vikings (2011 ) 3,170 5,374 59% 29 Dave Krieg Seattle Seahawks (1980 –1991 )Kansas City Chiefs (1992 –1993 )Detroit Lions (1994 )Arizona Cardinals (1995 )Chicago Bears (1996 )Tennessee Oilers (1997 –1998 ) 3,105 5,311 58.5% 30 Ryan Fitzpatrick St. Louis Rams (2005 –2006 )Cincinnati Bengals (2007 –2008 )Buffalo Bills (2009 –2012 )Tennessee Titans (2013 )Houston Texans (2014 )New York Jets (2015 –2016 )Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2017 –2018 )Miami Dolphins (2019 –2020 )Washington Football Team (2021 ) 3,072 5,060 60.7% 31 Ryan Tannehill Miami Dolphins (2012 –2018 )Tennessee Titans (2019 –2023 ) 3,063 4,764 64.3% 32 Jay Cutler Denver Broncos (2006 –2008 )Chicago Bears (2009 –2016 )Miami Dolphins (2017 ) 3,048 4,920 62% 33 Jared Goff * Los Angeles Rams (2016 –2020 )Detroit Lions (2021 –present) 3,047 4,646 65.6% 34 Boomer Esiason Cincinnati Bengals (1984 –1992 , 1997 )New York Jets (1993 –1995 )Arizona Cardinals (1996 ) 2,969 5,205 57% 35 Troy Aikman ^ Dallas Cowboys (1989 –2000 ) 2,898 4,715 61.5% 36 Steve DeBerg San Francisco 49ers (1978 –1980 )Denver Broncos (1981 –1983 )Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1984 –1987 , 1992 –1993 )[ b] Kansas City Chiefs (1988 –1991 )Miami Dolphins (1993 )Atlanta Falcons (1998 ) 2,874 5,024 57.2% Jim Kelly ^ Buffalo Bills (1986 –1996 ) 4,779 60.1% 38 Jim Everett Los Angeles Rams (1986 –1993 )New Orleans Saints (1994 –1996 )San Diego Chargers (1997 ) 2,841 4,923 57.7% 39 Johnny Unitas ^ Baltimore Colts (1956 –1972 )San Diego Chargers (1973 ) 2,830 5,186 54.6% 40 Tony Romo Dallas Cowboys (2003 –2016 ) 2,829 4,335 65.3% 41 Dak Prescott * Dallas Cowboys (2016 –present) 2,780 4,159 66.8% 42 Patrick Mahomes * Kansas City Chiefs (2017 –present) 2,778 4,171 66% 43 Mark Brunell Green Bay Packers (1994 )Jacksonville Jaguars (1995 –2003 )Washington Redskins (2004 –2007 )New Orleans Saints (2008 –2009 )New York Jets (2010 –2011 ) 2,761 4,640 59.5% 44 Steve McNair Houston/Tennessee Oilers/Titans (1995 –2005 )Baltimore Ravens (2006 –2007 ) 2,733 4,544 60.1% 45 Cam Newton Carolina Panthers (2011 –2019 , 2021 )New England Patriots (2020 ) 2,682 4,474 59.9% 46 Jon Kitna Seattle Seahawks (1997 –2000 )Cincinnati Bengals (2001 –2005 )Detroit Lions (2006 –2008 )Dallas Cowboys (2009 –2011 , 2013 ) 2,677 4,442 60.3% 47 Brad Johnson Minnesota Vikings (1994 –1998 ), (2005 –2006 )Washington Redskins (1999 –2000 )Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2001 –2004 ) 2,668 4,324 61.7% 48 Steve Young ^ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1985 –1986 )San Francisco 49ers (1987 –1999 ) 2,667 4,149 64.3% 49 Kurt Warner ^ St. Louis Rams (1998 –2003 )New York Giants (2004 )Arizona Cardinals (2005 –2009 ) 2,666 4,070 65.5% 50 Ken Anderson Cincinnati Bengals (1971 –1986 ) 2,654 4,475 59.3% Rank Player Team(s) by season
Playoff leaders Through 2024 playoffs. [ 1]
Historical passing completions leaders Nine players are recognised as having held the record as the NFL's career pass completions leader.[ 2] Fran Tarkenton who held the record for 20 years.
"Slinging Sammy" Baugh , the Texas Christian U. star was rated as one of the greatest of his generation.Y A Tittle retired as the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions, and games played Johnny Unitas won an NFL title in the 1950s and a Super Bowl in the 1970s.Fran Tarkenton about to throw a forward pass (1965)Brett Favre had held the record from 2006 to 2018, when it was broken by Drew Brees. He had also held the record for career pass attempts from 2008 to 2020. Player Team(s) while leader Career completions Season 1932 –1940 (9 years) Arnie Herber ^ [ 3] Green Bay Packers 37 1932 87 1933 129 1934 169 1935 246 1936 293 1937 315 1938 372 1939 410 1940 1941 –1959 (19 years) Sammy Baugh ^ [ 4] Washington Redskins 414 1941 546 1942 670 1943 761 1944 889 1945 976 1946 1,186 1947 1,371 1948 1,516 1949 1,606 1950 1,673 1951 1,693 1952–1959 1960 –1968 (9 years) Y. A. Tittle ^ [ 5] San Francisco 49ers (1960 ) New York Giants (1961 –1964 )1,696 1960 1,859 1961 2,059 1962 2,280 1963 2,427 1964–1968 1969 –1974 (6 years) Johnny Unitas ^ [ 6] Baltimore Colts (1969 –1972 )San Diego Chargers (1973 )2,450 1969 2,616 1970 2,708 1971 2,796 1972 2,830 1973–1974 1975 –1994 (20 years) Fran Tarkenton ^ [ 7] Minnesota Vikings 2,931 1975 3,186 1976 3,341 1977 3,686 1978–1994 1995 –2005 (11 years) Dan Marino ^ [ 8] Miami Dolphins 3,913 1995 4,134 1996 4,453 1997 4,763 1998 4,967 1999–2005 2006 –2017 (12 years) Brett Favre ^ [ 9] Green Bay Packers (2006 –2007 )New York Jets (2008 )Minnesota Vikings (2009 –2010 )5,021 2006 5,377 2007 5,720 2008 6,083 2009 6,300 2010–2017 2018 –2020 (3 years) Drew Brees [ 10] New Orleans Saints 6,586 2018 6,867 2019 7,142 2020 Since 2021 ( Tom Brady [ 11] Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7,263 2021 7,753 2022–
Notes ^ Collins was traded during the 1998 season; he played four games for the Panthers and seven for the Saints. ^ DeBerg was cut during the 1993 season; he played three games for the Buccaneers and five for the Dolphins.
See also
References ^ "NFL Passes Completed Career Playoffs Leaders" . ProFootballReference.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .^ "NFL Passes Completed Career Leaders" . PFR . Archived from the original on November 3, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2018 .^ "Arnie Herber stats" . Pro football reference.com . Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2018 .^ "Sammy Baugh stats" . Pro football reference.com . Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2018 .^ "Y.A. Tittle" . NFL.com . National Football League. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2017 .^ "Johnny Unitas stats" . Pro football reference.com . Archived from the original on November 15, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2018 .^ "Fran Tarkenton stats" . Pro football reference.com . Archived from the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2018 .^ "Dan Marino stats" . Pro football reference.com . Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2018 .^ "Brett Favre stats" . Pro football reference.com . Retrieved May 6, 2018 .^ "Drew Brees stats" . PFRef.com . Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2018 .^ "Tom Brady stats" . PFRef.com . Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2021 .
General Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Defense
Special teams
Scoring
