Aaron Rodgers Passes Peyton Manning With 540th TD in Paris

Aaron Rodgers added another line to his Hall of Fame résumé Sunday in Paris. His 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Darnell Washington was the 540th of his regular-season career, moving him past Peyton Manning and into third place on the NFL’s all-time list.

The milestone helped the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New Orleans Saints 16-10 at Stade de France on October 25, 2026. Pittsburgh improved to 5-2 with its third straight win, while New Orleans fell to 2-5 before its Week 8 bye.

Rodgers’ 540th touchdown explained

Rodgers entered the game tied with Manning at 539 regular-season touchdown passes. The historic score came in the second quarter, when Rodgers found the 6-foot-7 Washington from four yards out after a 51-yard completion to DK Metcalf moved Pittsburgh to the Saints’ goal line.

Rodgers now trails only Tom Brady (649) and Drew Brees (571) in regular-season passing touchdowns. The gap to Brees is 31, so the immediate significance is not a chase for second place. It is that Rodgers has separated himself from Manning and owns third place outright.

How Pittsburgh won in Paris

Rodgers finished 19-of-30 for 212 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. Pittsburgh did not produce a high-volume passing day, but it avoided turnovers and controlled the game with its rushing attack and defense.

Jaylen Warren carried 18 times for 101 yards and caught three passes for 36 more, giving him 21 touches and 137 yards from scrimmage. Rico Dowdle added 86 scrimmage yards on 15 touches. Together, the two backs gave Pittsburgh a reliable answer whenever the offense needed to stay on schedule.

The Steelers also held New Orleans to 18 rushing yards. Payton Wilson’s red-zone interception of Tyler Shough in the third quarter protected a 13-10 lead, and Chris Boswell’s third field goal made it 16-10. Rodgers later scrambled eight yards on third-and-6 to help Pittsburgh close the game.

Fantasy football impact

Rodgers’ milestone was far bigger historically than it was for fantasy scoring. A 212-yard, one-touchdown line keeps him in the matchup-based QB2 range for one-quarterback leagues. The clean interception column matters for superflex managers, but the Steelers’ balanced offense can cap his weekly passing volume.

Warren supplied the strongest fantasy signal. His 21 touches and 137 scrimmage yards support high-end RB2 treatment, especially in PPR formats, even with Dowdle earning 15 touches of his own. The backfield is a committee, but Warren remains the lead option.

Washington’s touchdown is encouraging for his red-zone role, not proof of a dependable weekly floor. Fantasy managers should treat him as a touchdown-dependent tight end streamer until his route and target volume rise. Metcalf’s 51-yard reception showed the downfield ceiling is still present even when Pittsburgh throws only 30 passes.

For New Orleans, Alvin Kamara’s ground game collapsed to five yards on six carries, but seven catches for 57 yards protected his PPR value. The Saints are off in Week 8, so Kamara, Chris Olave, Shough and the rest of the offense need to come out of active fantasy lineups.

Week 8 outlook

Pittsburgh returns home to face Cleveland on November 1 before its Week 9 bye. That AFC North rematch should keep Warren in a prominent role and Rodgers in the QB2 conversation. The bigger fantasy question is whether the Steelers continue leaning on a 30-rush formula or ask Rodgers to attack more aggressively after the Browns won the first meeting 27-24.

Bottom line

The 540th touchdown is a legacy milestone: Rodgers now stands alone behind Brady and Brees. For the 2026 Steelers, though, the Paris win was built on a lower-risk formula—efficient quarterback play, a productive two-back rotation and a defense that erased the Saints’ running game.

Sources

Pittsburgh Steelers: https://www.steelers.com/news/rodgers-now-3rd-all-time-in-passing-tds

Pittsburgh Steelers game recap: https://www.steelers.com/news/steelers-beat-saints-16-10-in-paris

Reuters game report: https://www.reuters.com/sports/nfl/aaron-rodgers-steelers-topple-saints-paris--flm-2026-10-25/

Pittsburgh Steelers 2026 schedule: https://www.steelers.com/news/steelers-release-2026-schedule