Can Tom Brady break Peyton Manning's single-season NFL passing record in Week 18?

Quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady
Quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady

Peyton Manning set a single-season NFL record with 5,477 passing yards in 2013 with the Denver Broncos. He surpassed the previous record, set by Drew Brees in 2011, by just one passing yard.

Brady now has a chance to surpass Manning and set a new single-season passing yardage record.

He trails Peyton Manning's current record by a margin of 487 passing yards with just one game remaining in the 2021 regular season. Brady will need a big game, but it's within reach.

If he wants to surpass Peyton Manning's record, he will have to more than double his previous performance against the Panthers. It's possible, but not likely.

Will Tom Brady join Drew Brees as only the second quarterback with multiple 5,000 yard seasons?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady

Brees is the only player in NFL history to exceed 5,000 passing yards in multiple seasons, and he has done it five times.

Tom Brady enters Week 18 of the 2021 NFL season leading all players with 4,990 passing yards. Unless something unusual happens, he will join Drew Brees as the only players in NFL history with multiple 5,000+ yard passing seasons in their careers.

He needs just ten more passing yards with one game remaining in the 2021 NFL season to reach the milestone for the second time in his career.

Both Matthew Stafford and Patrick Mahomes have a chance to join the list this year as well.

In addition to joining Drew Brees with that particular milestone, Tom Brady also has a shot to set a new single-season passing yardage record.

Tom Brady averages 312 passing yards per game this year. He is the only player in the NFL this season averaging more than 300 passing yards per game.

His highest single-game yardage total this season came all the way back in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams, when he recorded 432 passing yards.

He has exceeded 400 passing yards three times this year.

For Brady to set a new single-season passing yardage record, he will need to have his biggest game of the season by more than 50 yards. While not impossible, it's going to be a difficult task in Week 18.

Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face off against division rivals the Carolina Panthers.

The Panthers rank second in the NFL with 183.9 passing yards allowed per game. When Brady played them in Week 16, he recorded 232 passing yards.

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Edited by LeRon Haire