Patrick Mahomes Continues to Climb the NFL's Record Books

Sports admin October 5, 2026 0 Comments

Patrick Mahomes Continues to Climb the NFL’s Record Books

There are four active NFL quarterbacks currently ranked among the top 20 all-time leaders in touchdown passes. Three of them — Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and Kirk Cousins — are at least 38 years old. The fourth, Kansas City Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes, is 31. Mahomes passed Vinny Testaverde Sunday to reach 19^th on the all-time list with 276 touchdown passes. If he stays healthy, 500 is not out of the question.

Mahomes, whose 22 TD passes last season were a career low since his rookie season (when he only played one game), already has nine in 2026. In Sunday’s 30-27 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Mahomes completed 15 of 30 passes for 225 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

The quarterback he beat Sunday, Cousins, is 14^th on the all-time list with 309 TD passes. Cousins, who completed 31 of 52 passes for 365 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, is tied for the NFL lead this season with 11 touchdown tosses. Earlier this season, Cousins passed Hall of Famer John Elway to move into 14^th, but he’ll be stuck there for a while: He needs another 33 TD passes to catch Fran Tarkenton, who is 13^th.

Brady thru 1st 150 games: 115-35

Mahomes thru 1st 150 games: 115-35

Brady thru 129 regular season games: 98-31

Mahomes thru 129 reg season games: 98-31

Brady in 1st 7 AFC title games: 5-2

Mahomes in 1st 7 AFC title games 5-2

Brady in 1st 5 Super Bowls 3-2

Mahomes in 1st 5… pic.twitter.com/3xhPKp6Z1G

— trey wingo (@wingoz) September 28, 2026

The most significant move up the charts will be made by Aaron Rodgers. The 42-year-old is fourth on the all-time list with 534. He’s got three TD passes in each of his last two games for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he’s on pace to have his most TD passes in a season since 2021. With six more, he’ll pass Peyton Manning for third on the all-time list. It’s a long shot, but he needs 37 to catch Drew Brees for second on the all-time list.

Matthew Stafford had no TD passes in the Los Angeles Rams’ 24-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, but he’s got six on the season — which puts him sixth on the all-time list with 429. Unless the 38-year-old Stafford sticks around a little longer than most people think he will, it’s doubtful he climbs any higher on this list. Brett Favre is fifth with 508.

While Stafford, Rodgers and Cousins are close to retirement, Mahomes has time on his side. If he throws at least 25 more TD passes this season, he’ll pass Johnny Unitas (290), Warren Moon (291), Carson Palmer (294) and John Elway (300) to reach 15^th on the all-time list.

In his first eight years as a starter (2018-25), Mahomes threw 267 touchdown passes. That’s an average of 33 TD passes per season. If he maintains that average over the next five seasons, he’ll pass Philip Rivers, who’s currently seventh on the all-time list with 425.

If Mahomes plays until he’s 40 and averages 24 TD passes a season over that time, he’ll join Tom Brady (649), Brees (571), Manning (539), Rodgers (534) and Favre (508) as the only players in NFL history with at least 500 TD passes.

Related: Rams Are the First Team This Season to Overcome Dreaded Schedule Quirk