Tom Brady passed up his old friend and most famous foe Peyton Manning once more on Sunday afternoon.
With his first touchdown of the day in Sunday's 27-24 loss to the Dolphins, the Patriots quarterback threw the 540th touchdown pass of his illustrious career to become No. 2 all-time in career touchdown throws.
The touchdown grab was had by Elandon Roberts in the third quarter. Roberts, a linebacker, is the second defensive player to catch a touchdown from Brady following Mike Vrabel and the sixth Patriots player since 2000 to score a TD on his first career catch, per the Patriots. Brady finished the day with two touchdowns and now sits at 541.
Coming into the day, Manning, the former Colt and Bronco who battled Brady for AFC supremacy over myriad memorable autumns, was second with 539 touchdown passes. Both signal-callers trailed Drew Brees at 544 -- though the Saints' all-time great now has 547 after New Orleans' win over the Panthers on Sunday.
Now Brady, the six-time Super Bowl champion and one of the sports galaxy's all-time great winners, is chasing only Brees. The 42-year-old Brady has made 14 Pro Bowls, is a three-time MVP and is the winningest quarterback in league history.
Brady's time at the top of the all-time list might come, but for now he's a few back of Brees. Perhaps it could be a record that switches back and forth during the 2020 regular season and perhaps beyond between the two QBs, who are each in their 40s.
Nonetheless, when Monday morning comes Brady will have moved up another slot in the all-time record books and provided one more reason to call Brady the greatest of all-time.
