Dan Marino believes he could’ve SMASHED Peyton Manning’s single-season passing record if he played in today’s era
Marino claimed the football has changed a lot since his playing days.
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Dan Marino claims he could have thrown 6000 yards if he were playing today (Image via IMAGO)
Dan Marino set the standard for quarterbacks when he threw for 5,000 yards back in 1984, which took 24 years to surpass. But the legendary football player claims that he can touch the 6,000-yard mark if he plays by today’s rules.
15 players have crossed the 5000-yard mark since then, and most recently, both Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert became part of that illustrious group. But Marino believes that he can surpass all of them.
“Yes, we’d throw for 6,000 yards,” the Miami Dolphins Hall of Famer said this Thursday on the “This is Football” podcast. “Defenses in the middle of my career, and then towards the end, they got a little more complex. Guys do a lot more blitzing and changing personnel. It would be a lot of fun, so that’s why we’re trying to unretire. I can come back and throw for 6,000 yards.”
It’s possible that Marino could accomplish the unthinkable even more in today’s game because he would have one extra match in his hand. During his time, teams had to play only 16 games between the regular season and the postseason.
How good was Dan Marino?
Marino played college football for Pittsburgh. In 1981, he was named All-American. Two seasons later, the Dolphins acquired him as the last quarterback to be drafted in 1983.
He played 16 seasons with the Miami franchise, and during that time, set several records. Marino led the NFL in passing yards five times and in passing touchdowns three times.
Dan Marino is seventh all-time among NFL quarterbacks in passing touchdowns (420). He is eighth in passing yards (61,361) and also ninth in completed passes (4,967). To this day, 1984 remains his best-ever year, and he came close to replicating that in 1986 when he threw for 4,746 yards.
Marino was arguably the best quarterback of his era. Compare him to the class of 83′, John Elway and Jim Kelly; he is far and above both of them. In Elway’s best season, he threw for 4030 yards in 1993 (Denver Broncos). Kelly never even broke the 4,000-yard barrier. 3844 for the Buffalo Bills in 1991 was the best that he could accomplish.
Currently, Peyton Manning holds the record for the most yards thrown by a quarterback. The Hall of Famer threw for 5477 yards for the Broncos in 2013 and also threw an NFL record 55 touchdowns.
It’s possible that if Dan Marino had not torn his Achilles, he may have touched 6,000. Recently, former 49ers great Joe Montana branded Marino as the best quarterback he had ever seen.
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Ishan Misra
(3092 Articles Published)