Here’s a question you don’t get asked every day: How well do you know your all-time NFL statistical leaders? We took a glance at the the league’s all-time leaders in the three major offensive categories – passing yards, rushing yards and receiving yards – and, quite frankly, we were surprised. No John Elway or Warren Moon among the Top 7 passing leaders? No Jim Brown or Franco Harris on the Top 7 rushing yards list? And who knew a tight end would make the Top 7 list in career receiving yards? So here’s our challenge to you: From No. 1 to No. 7, match each statistical ranking with its correct owner. The answers are at the bottom of this page. Good luck!
TOP SEVEN PASSING YARDS:
Passing Yards | Quarterback |
No. 1 – 77,416 | Peyton Manning |
No. 2 – 74,571 | Eli Manning |
No. 3 – 71,940 | Dan Marino |
No. 4 – 71,838 | Tom Brady |
No. 5 – 61,361 | Drew Brees |
No. 6 – 59,271 | Brett Favre |
No. 7 – 57,023 | Philip Rivers |
TOP SEVEN RUSHING YARDS:
Rushing Yards | Running Back |
No. 1 – 18,355 | Curtis Martin |
No. 2 – 16,726 | Barry Sanders |
No. 3 – 15,347 | Adrian Peterson |
No. 4 – 15,269 | LaDainian Tomlinson |
No. 5 – 14,216 | Frank Gore |
No. 6 – 14,101 | Emmitt Smith |
No. 7 – 13,684 | Walter Payton |
TOP SEVEN RECEIVING YARDS:
Receiving Yards | Wide Receiver/TE |
No. 1 – 22,895 | Larry Fitzgerald |
No. 2 – 17,083 | Isaac Bruce |
No. 3 – 15,934 | Tim Brown |
No. 4 – 15,292 | Jerry Rice |
No. 5 – 15,208 | Randy Moss |
No. 6 – 15,127 | Terrell Owens |
No. 7 – 14,934 | Tony Gonzalez |
ANSWERS:
PASSING YARDS:
No. 1 – Drew Brees
No. 2 – Tom Brady
No. 3 – Peyton Manning
No. 4 – Brett Favre
No. 5 – Dan Marino
No. 6 – Philip Rivers
No. 7 – Eli Manning
RUSHING YARDS:
No. 1 – Emmitt Smith
No. 2 – Walter Payton
No. 3 – Frank Gore
No. 4 – Barry Sanders
No. 5 – Adrian Peterson
No. 6 – Curtis Martin
No. 7 – LaDainlian Tomlinson
RECEIVING YARDS:
No. 1 – Jerry Rice
No. 2 – Larry Fitzgerald
No. 3 – Terrell Owens
No. 4 – Randy Moss
No. 5 – Isaac Bruce
No. 6 – Tony Gonzalez
No. 7 – Tim Brown