Peyton Manning finished up his career with the Denver Broncos, but Aaron Rodgers could pass him in career touchdowns.
Peyton Manning didn’t spend much of his legendary career with the Denver Broncos, but he did win his second Super Bowl with the Broncos. Manning has become a much-revered figure in Denver as a result, but he’s about to lose his spot on an all-time list to another quarterback who just signed a one-year deal.
That would be Aaron Rodgers, who will join the Pittsburgh Steelers for yet another season after signing a one-year deal. It will be Rodgers' 21st season, and he’s making plenty of statistical inroads due to his longevity, including leap-frogging Manning for most career touchdown passes, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.
Rodgers’ current number is 527, while Manning retired in Denver with 539, with means Rodgers would need just 13 touchdown passes with the Steelers this year. Assuming he stays healthy, that shouldn’t be that hard to do, given that Rodgers threw 24 TD passes last year to go with just seven interceptions as he redeemed himself after a couple of horrible years with the New York Jets.
Schedule-wise, the Broncos will see Rodgers this year, as they travel to Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving weekend for the Friday game. It’s yet another holiday marquee game for the Broncos, with Amazon Prime being the sole way to view the broadcast.
The new variable for Rodgers this year will be a new coach, as Mike Tomlin elected to retire and move into studio work as an analyst this year. Instead, Rodgers will be playing for a coach from his past, Mike McCarthy, whom Rodgers knows quite well.
For a team like Denver, Rodgers represents a convenient target. The Broncos’ devastating blitz could have a field day against Rodgers if the Steelers can’t protect him, and Rodgers ability to hold up against the blitz was one of his weak points last season.
One thing Rodgers still has that Manning didn’t at the end in Denver is arm strength. Manning was basically throwing wounded ducks for the Broncos, but Rodgers can still make all the throws, even if he’s nowhere near as effective and accurate he was in his prime.
Rodgers is also a lot more fragile now, as his tenure with the Jets proved. He held up well for the Steelers last year, but the odds on him doing that again are questionable at best, and there are already questions about how many quarterbacks the Steelers will carry behind him. This record isn’t quite as locked in as it seems to be on paper, and it will be interesting to see where the Steelers are when they play the Broncos in November.