John Elway vs Peyton Manning

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John Elway and Peyton Manning compared on their NFL careers: John Elway played 16 seasons, 1983 to 1998, Peyton Manning 17 seasons, 1998 to 2015. John Elway has 51,475 passing yards to Peyton Manning's 71,940. John Elway won 2 titles, Peyton Manning won 2 titles.

Who has the better career numbers?

Peyton Manning leads in 3 of the 3 lines, John Elway in 0. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.

John Elway and Peyton Manning career totals

234	GP	266
51,475	YDS	71,940, better
300	TD	539, better
7.1	AVG	7.7, better

How do they compare in the playoffs?

John Elway and Peyton Manning postseason

22	GP	27
4,964	YDS	7,339, better
27	TD	40, better
7.6, better	AVG	7.1

Where each stands all time

John Elway and Peyton Manning all-time places

12th (51,475)	Passing yards	3rd (71,940), better
15th (300)	Passing touchdowns	3rd (539), better

Among the NFL players with a career line on file, regular season, counting stats only — the same lists the records pages run on.

Titles and awards

John Elway and Peyton Manning titles and awards

2	Championships	2
1	MVP	5, better
1	Super Bowl MVP	1
—	Offensive Player of the Year	2, better

Awards come from the league’s published winner lists; a championship counts a season played for the club that won it.

Season by season

Lined up by career year, not by calendar: each row is the players’ nth season.

John Elway and Peyton Manning season by season

1st	1983	1,663	7	14, better	1998	3,739, better	26, better	28
2nd	1984	2,598	18	15	1999	4,135, better	26, better	15
3rd	1985	3,891	22	23	2000	4,413, better	33, better	15, better
4th	1986	3,485	19	13, better	2001	4,131, better	26, better	23
5th	1987	3,198	19	12, better	2002	4,200, better	27, better	19
6th	1988	3,309	17	19	2003	4,267, better	29, better	10, better
7th	1989	3,051	18	18	2004	4,557, better	49, better	10, better
8th	1990	3,526	15	14	2005	3,747, better	28, better	10, better
9th	1991	3,253	13	12	2006	4,397, better	31, better	9, better
10th	1992	2,242	10	17	2007	4,040, better	31, better	14, better
11th	1993	4,030, better	25	10, better	2008	4,002	27, better	12
12th	1994	3,490	16	10, better	2009	4,500, better	33, better	16
13th	1995	3,970	26	14, better	2010	4,700, better	33, better	17
14th	1996	3,328	26	14	2012	4,659, better	37, better	11, better
15th	1997	3,635	27	11	2013	5,477, better	55, better	10, better
16th	1998	2,806	22	10, better	2014	4,727, better	39, better	15
17th	—	—	—	—	2015	2,249	9	17

What the columns mean: INT