Aaron Rodgers Moves to Third in Career Touchdown Passes

Aaron Rodgers strengthened his place among the NFL's all-time passing leaders on Sunday, October 11, 2026, when the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback surpassed Peyton Manning during a game against the Indianapolis Colts. Rodgers threw three touchdown passes, reaching 582 career touchdowns, including postseason games, and joined Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks in Steelers history to record at least three touchdown passes in three consecutive games.

According to NFL.com, Rodgers broke the tie with Manning in the first quarter with an 80-yard touchdown pass to running back Jaylen Warren. The score was Rodgers' 580th career touchdown pass, moving him beyond Manning's 579 before two additional scoring passes to tight end Pat Freiermuth brought his total to 582.

Rodgers now trails only Tom Brady, who leads with 737 career touchdown passes, and Drew Brees, who recorded 608, according to NFL.com. His three-touchdown performance also extended a streak that had not occurred during his career since his 2021 Most Valuable Player season.

The achievement against Indianapolis also placed Rodgers alongside Bradshaw in Pittsburgh's record book. NBC Sports and Yahoo Sports reported that the two quarterbacks are the only players in franchise history to throw at least three touchdown passes in three consecutive games.

Bradshaw established the mark in 1982, when a players' strike interrupted the season. He threw three touchdown passes in each of Pittsburgh's first two games, against the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals, before recording three more in the team's first game after the interruption, a victory over the Houston Oilers, according to Yahoo Sports.

Rodgers also moved ahead of former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in career victories, reaching 166 wins and placing fifth on the all-time list, according to Yahoo Sports. The quarterbacks ahead of him are Brady with 251 wins, Brett Favre and Manning with 186 each, and Brees with 171.

Rodgers had already passed Roethlisberger in career passing yards during the previous season and entered Sunday's game ranked fifth in that category, with Roethlisberger seventh, Yahoo Sports reported. Rodgers needed 2,727 additional passing yards entering the Colts matchup to reach 70,000 career passing yards, a milestone that would make him the fifth quarterback in NFL history to achieve the mark.

The 42-year-old quarterback has indicated that he plans to retire at the end of the 2026 season. NFL.com noted that his existing total makes a third-place finish on the career touchdown-pass list a likely outcome when he concludes his career.

Rodgers' career accomplishments include four Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player awards, all earned during his 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He also won a Super Bowl, earned 10 Pro Bowl selections and received four first-team All-Pro honors during his time in Green Bay, according to NFL.com.