The best passing performances from one NFL playoff run

Although Mahomes' best statistical season remains his stratospheric 2018 NFL intro, he broke through to his first Super Bowl a year later. In wins over the Texans, Titans and 49ers, Mahomes tallied 901 passing yards. Throwing 10 touchdown passes and just two interceptions, Mahomes completed his meteoric rise by earning Super Bowl LIV MVP and securing the Chiefs' first championship in 50 years. The Kansas City savior's best stuff came in Round 2, when the Chiefs erased a 24-0 Texans lead in a 51-31 rampage that doubles as one of the most explosive stretches in NFL history. Mahomes threw five TDs and no INTs in that game.

Manning's touchdown pass and yardage records from his second Broncos season still stand, despite the NFL adding a game to the schedule in 2021. Winning his fifth MVP as he navigated post-surgery arm limitations, Manning sliced up the Chargers and Patriots in the AFC playoffs. Overall, the then-37-year-old QB threw for 910 yards in three playoff games. After a 400-yard performance against the Pats in a one-sided AFC championship game, Manning ran into trouble via the Legion of Boom. This space's clear-cut top team of the 2010s dominated Denver, but the 43-8 blowout did feature some empty-calorie stats for Manning and Demaryius Thomas. 

We shift to the prime version of Manning here; this was the first of the all-timer's five MVP seasons. Co-MVP with Steve McNair in 2003, Manning won his first playoff games in these playoffs. In games against the Broncos, Chiefs, and Patriots, the megastar/burgeoning pitchman finished with 918 yards in the playoffs. He shredded Denver for 377 yards and five TD passes, keying 2004's Champ Bailey trade, and then piloted Indianapolis to a road win in Kansas City -- a punt-less game -- by throwing for 304 yards and three TDs. Holding the upper hand on Manning early in his career, the Pats intercepted him four times to book a Super Bowl XXXVIII slot.

As you might expect, Brady appears often on this list. His fourth Super Bowl-winning playoff check-in here. This postseason is best remembered for the Seahawks' fateful decision to not hand the ball to Marshawn Lynch for a potential game-winning 1-yard touchdown (well, that and #Deflategate). At the outset of the soon-to-be two-year scandal, Brady accumulated 921 yards in wins over the Ravens, Colts, and Seahawks. He threw 10 TD passes, four of those in Super Bowl XLIX, and preyed on an injury-plagued Seattle defense, leading a 10-point fourth-quarter comeback after finding Julian Edelman for what became a game-winner after Malcolm Butler's era-defining INT.

Brees makes this list despite playing only two games; everyone else here played three or four. Two historic performances powered Brees, as he amassed 928 yards in games against the Lions and 49ers. The 466- and 462-yard outings respectively rank sixth and seventh in playoff history. This Saints squad still holds the single-season total yardage record (7,474), and Brees did not have trouble with a menacing 49ers defense in the divisional round. This classic encounter -- a 36-32 San Francisco win -- featured two 40-plus-yard Brees TD tosses (to Darren Sproles and Jimmy Graham) late in the fourth quarter. 

If you prefer Manning or someone else in the QB GOAT debate, reckoning with Brady's 40-something years is the biggest hurdle. The seven-time Super Bowl champ rebounded after a Super Bowl LII loss by leading the Patriots to wins over the Chargers, Chiefs, and Rams. Brady only threw two TD passes in those wins, but he threw for 953 yards. He outdueled MVP Patrick Mahomes in an AFC championship game shootout, tallying 348 yards. In a game that helped change the overtime rules years later, Brady led the Pats to an OT-opening TD march to down the No. 1-seeded Chiefs. While Super Bowl LIII was a defensive battle, it still included 262 yards for Brady at age 41.

Manning had higher statistical peaks -- both in Indianapolis and Denver -- but this season might have been his apex. Powering the Colts to a 14-0 record before Jim Caldwell removed him from a Week 16 game for rest purposes, the 12th-year QB returned to pilot two-score victories over defense-oriented opponents in the AFC playoffs. The Colts downed the Ravens and Jets en route to Super Bowl XLIV, and Manning produced 956 yards in this postseason. After a 377-yard, three-TD outing against Rex Ryan's No. 1-ranked defense to win the AFC, Manning could not keep pace with the Saints in the Super Bowl. Throwing for 333 yards, his night is remembered for Tracy Porter's pick-six.

The most surprising of these odysseys in the moment, Foles stepped in for an injured Carson Wentz and led the Eagles to three upset victories. Seeded first, Philadelphia saw oddsmakers express understandable skepticism by tabbing the Falcons, Vikings, and Patriots as favorites. Philly prevailed, and Foles finished with 971 yards. Foles' second Eagles stint included virtuoso showings against Minnesota and New England, finishing with 352 yards and three TDs against the Vikings and then dropping a 372/3 on the Pats. Foles' pinpoint passes are remembered, but his "Philly Special" TD catch remains the enduring image from this storied run.

Only one of Delhomme's playoff games in his first Panthers season involved a 300-yard performance, but the 2003 free agency addition benefits here from a four-game journey. Delhomme finished with 987 yards in games against the Cowboys, Rams, Eagles and Patriots. The former Saints backup delivered one of the 2000s' signature plays by finding Steve Smith for a walk-off touchdown in double overtime to eliminate the Rams in Round 2. Three weeks later, Delhomme went toe-to-toe with Tom Brady in a Super Bowl XXXVIII shootout. Finding Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammad for long scores, Delhomme threw for 323 yards and three TDs in that loss.

Marino's second season remains the greatest passing performance in NFL history, and the Dolphins pilot kept his foot on the gas in the playoffs. Facing rule constraints, most of the passers on this list did not. Marino mowed down the Seahawks and Steelers in the AFC playoffs. Against the hometown Steelers team that passed on him in the draft, Marino fired four touchdown passes during a 421-yard performance. This highlighted a 1,001-yard postseason, which turned out to be Marino's only shot at a Super Bowl. The passing prodigy ran into a buzzsaw in Super Bowl XIX, as the 49ers finished an 18-1 season with a 38-16 romp. 

Rodgers' "relax" season extended to the NFC championship game. The Packer superstar dragged a flawed team on a six-game win streak to close the regular season before engineering wins over New York and Dallas. In three playoff games, Rodgers finished with 1,004 yards. The post-boat party Giants were no match for Rodgers, who included an end-of-half Hail Mary to Randall Cobb in a 362-yard, four-touchdown showing. Rodgers razed the No. 1-seeded Cowboys for 355 yards and two scores, with a third-and-20 dart to Jared Cook being among the great 21st-century throws. This mojo halted in Atlanta, however. 

Ryan commanded the better team in that NFC title game matchup with Rodgers, and the Falcons' second and final Kyle Shanahan team delivered all-time offensive numbers. Atlanta's 33.8 points per game remain eighth in the Super Bowl era, and Ryan was in top form in a playoff docket including Seahawks, Packers, and Patriots matchups. Completing a 9:0 TD-INT ratio, Ryan totaled 1,014 yards. He sliced up the Seahawks (338 yards, three TDs) and Packers (392/4) before having the Falcons on a championship precipice. Ryan's 284-yard, two-TD showing against New England certainly should have been enough, but a spooky confluence of events denied a crowning moment.

Manning enjoyed statistically superior seasons with the Colts, but this one produced his Indy championship. In the playoffs, the 30-year-old passer finished with a 3:7 TD-INT ratio. He also engineered a memorable comeback to begin a tide turn against his top rival -- one that did not sway back New England's way -- and finished with 1,034 yards. Manning threw three INTs against the Chiefs and ground out a win over a strong Ravens defense. He then dragged the Colts back from an 18-point deficit, throwing for 349 yards, to vex the Patriots. The NFL's lone rain Super Bowl included 247 Manning passing yards.

An uneven regular season preceded the Chiefs' stripping down their offense, removing inconsistent pieces in Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore, and figuring things out at the 11th hour. Mahomes finished with 1,051 yards in wins over the Dolphins, Bills, Ravens and 49ers. Mahomes accumulated 262 yards in a frigid Miami matchup and was held under 250 until Super Bowl LVIII. The 49ers also restrained Mahomes until the final stages of the Chiefs' dramatic overtime win, but the game's top star piloted a game-tying drive to force overtime and a winning march culminating with a Mecole Hardman walk-off grab. Mahomes finished with 333 yards in Kansas City's win.

Illustrating how much more explosive the Chiefs were earlier in the decade,  Mahomes needed only three games to eclipse that 2023 yardage number. To close out his fifth season (and last with Tyreek Hill), Mahomes posted 1,057 yards and 11 TD passes despite failing to reach the Super Bowl. This is the only time between the 2019 and '24 seasons Mahomes did not play in a Super Bowl, but he decimated the Steelers and Bills defenses in the playoffs. Putting together 404- and 378-yard outings in those home wins -- the second one of the game's iconic QB duels (with Josh Allen) -- Mahomes saw his momentum stall in the second half of a collapse against the Bengals.

The Bucs' regular-season struggles against the Saints put them on the wild-card line, and they caught a break because the COVID-19 pandemic largely kept fans at home. Brady took advantage, elevating the Bucs to their second Super Bowl title behind a 1,061-yard postseason. He dissected Washington for 381 yards before inconsistent games in New Orleans and Green Bay. The latter involved three INTs but 280 yards, including a seminal half-ending bomb to Scotty Miller. Brady and his come-with guys -- Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown -- proved too much for the Chiefs in a 201-yard, three-TD night to cap his fifth Super Bowl MVP presentation. 

Warner punctuated his underdog mission with three playoff wins, needing only three games to amass 1,063 yards. After the first of his two MVP seasons, Warner was not exactly jittery in his playoff opener. He fired five TD passes in a 391-yard obliteration of the Packers. Warner threw three INTs in a defensive duel with the Buccaneers, doing just enough -- via a Ricky Proehl game-winner -- in an 11-6 win. St. Louis needed its ace late in Super Bowl XXXIV, despite running out to a 16-0 lead, and Warner delivered a 414-yard night that stood as the Super Bowl record for nearly 20 years. 

One of the great breakout postseasons in NFL annals remains the NFL's only instance of a No. 6 seed winning the Super Bowl. Riding Rodgers' hot hand, the Packers notched road wins over the Eagles, Falcons, and Bears to reach Super Bowl XLV. Rodgers, who has never returned to a Super Bowl, dropped 1,094 yards in this four-game playoffs. A still-underrated 366-yard, three-TD night to upset the No. 1-seeded Falcons highlighted this stretch, but Brett Favre's ascending successor outdueled Ben Roethlisberger to clinch the Packers' fourth Super Bowl title. Rodgers finished with 304 yards and three TD tosses to down the Steelers.

Burrow managed to power the Bengals to one of the most surprising Super Bowl berths despite being sacked 70 times between the regular season and playoffs. Taking 19 sacks in the postseason, the second-year passer added 1,105 yards in games against the Raiders, Titans, Chiefs and Rams. Burrow took nine sacks but still did enough to oust Tennessee, compiling 348 interception-less yards. He then dethroned the Chiefs by leading an 18-point comeback. The Rams' Aaron Donald, Von Miller, and Leonard Floyd troika hounded Burrow, but he still threw for 248 yards and kept the "hosts" on the ropes late in a narrow Super Bowl LVI loss.

The Patriots have more agonizing near-misses, courtesy of the Giants, but not winning in a postseason that featured Marcus Mariota, Blake Bortles and Nick Foles as the QB opposition did not age well. Still, Brady did all he could in a banner age-40 season. Brady's playoff journey included 1,132 yards, eight TD passes and no INTs. The Titans offered little resistance on a 335-yard Brady night, and he rallied the Pats to a comeback over the Jaguars despite not having Rob Gronkowski in the second half of the AFC decider. Foles' brilliance aside, the Eagles' defense was abysmal as Brady's 505 yards set the Super Bowl record.

Brady's age-39 postseason is much better remembered. The Patriot mainstay put together a 1,137-yard playoff run -- the most in a three-game postseason by a quarterback. After a two-INT outing against the Texans, Brady (feat. Chris Hogan ) steamrolled the Steelers in a 384-yard, three-TD AFC championship performance. Those undercards set up a main event for the ages. Although Brady was quite off early in Super Bowl LI -- which featured a Robert Alford pick-six -- he preyed on a Falcons defense missing top corner Desmond Trufant in a storied 25-point comeback. The still-baffling overtime win featured 466 Brady yards. 

If the 2012 Ravens were not the worst Super Bowl champions, they are in the conversation. A team 16th in total offense and 17th on defense still mounted a memorable charge, thanks in large part to Flacco's out-of-body experience. Flacco accumulated 1,140 yards and matched Joe Montana's hallowed 11:0 TD-INT ratio from the 1989 playoffs. Flacco's opposition was tougher, as he needed to move past Peyton Manning and Tom Brady (and top-10 defenses) on the road before his pre-blackout work staved off the 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII. It took a bad Broncos misplay to make this happen, but Flacco had 331 yards in that OT win. He added 287 and three TDs against the 49ers.

Cementing his Hall of Fame case, Warner caught fire to help a flawed Cardinals team nearly complete a stunning championship run. In his fourth Cardinals season, the then-37-year-old QB put together a 1,147-yard outing in four playoff games. Warner piloted the Cards to wins over the Falcons, Panthers, and Eagles to give Arizona its only Super Bowl berth. Helping Larry Fitzgerald to the greatest wide receiver postseason in NFL history, Warner threw 11 TD passes -- including four against Philadelphia -- and nearly broke his then-Super Bowl record with 377 yards against a dominant Steelers defense. Warner threw two TD passes to Fitzgerald in the fourth quarter of the Cards' last-minute loss.

This space has pumped the brakes on Stafford being a Hall of Fame lock, as he is 1-for-16 in Pro Bowls (original ballot). This season started the campaign, and it did end rather impressively. The long-suffering Lions conductor's 1,188 yards were enough for the Rams to cap their first Los Angeles-based Super Bowl-winning season. Stafford outplayed Tom Brady in a divisional-round win, as his final-seconds lob to Cooper Kupp derailed a Bucs comeback. After that 366-yard game, Stafford lifted L.A. past a 49ers team that had its number in the Sean McVay-Kyle Shanahan era. After a 337-yard, two-TD NFC decider, Stafford and Kupp led a game-winning Rams march to deny the Bengals their first title.

If/when Manning reaches Canton, this postseason will be what enshrines him. His famed 2007 playoffs did not bring the statistical success that 2011 did, and the QB was nearly flawless in leading the Giants to wins over formidable opposition. After casting the Falcons aside, the Giants toppled the 15-1 Packers, 13-3 49ers and 13-3 Patriots. Manning threw for 1,219 yards in these games, holding a 9:1 TD-INT ratio. He eclipsed 300 yards in the wins in Green Bay and San Francisco, attempting 58 passes without a turnover in the NFC title game, before a 296-yard performance -- highlighted by these 38 involving Mario Manningham -- to down the Patriots once again.