Tony Romo and Jason Witten of the Cowboys have more completions than any quarterback-tight end combination in the NFL since 1991, as far back as STATS can go. Here’s a look at some of the top QB-TE combos in league history:
_ Romo and Witten: Beyond the 632 completions, they are second with 7,139 yards. They aren’t quite as prolific when it comes to touchdowns, going back to 1940. Their 35 TDs are tied for 11th with Lynn Dickey-Paul Coffman (Green Bay, 1979-85) and Matt Ryan-Tony Gonzalez (Atlanta, 2009-13).
_ Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates, San Diego: They are the most prolific under all three categories combined. Rivers and Gates lead with 7,525 yards and have a 19-touchdown edge with 72 on the all-time list that goes back to 1940. They are second to Romo and Witten with 593 completions.
_ Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, New England: They don’t yet crack the top five in completions and yards, but are already second to Rivers and Gates with 53 touchdowns in just five seasons. If both stay healthy, they’ll be high on the other lists as well. They won their first Super Bowl together last season.
_ John Elway and Shannon Sharpe, Denver: The pair of Hall of Famers is third in yards (5,941), fourth in completions (452) and tied for seventh in TDs (41) despite playing just eight seasons together. They won consecutive Super Bowls in Elway’s final two seasons.
_ Ben Roethlisberger and Heath Miller, Pittsburgh: They are third in completions (486), fourth in yards (5,438) and ninth in touchdowns (39) going back to 2005. Like Elway and Sharpe, they’ve won two Super Bowls together.
_ Ken Stabler and Dave Casper, Oakland and Houston: They are 10th on the all-time touchdowns list with 38, most of them coming with the Raiders from 1974-79. They won the Super Bowl with Oakland after the 1976 season. Casper is in the Hall of Fame. Stabler, who died of colon cancer July 8 at age 69, is a senior finalist for the class of 2016.
_ Dan Fouts and Kellen Winslow, San Diego: Another Hall of Fame pair along with Elway and Sharpe, and tied with them for seventh with 41 touchdowns. But Fouts and Winslow never made it to the Super Bowl in four straight playoff trips from 1979-82.
_ Peyton Manning and Dallas Clark, Indianapolis: These two would have been high on all the lists if Manning had stayed with the Colts rather than moving on to Denver. They won a Super Bowl and are fifth all-time with 44 touchdowns, but not in the top five in yards and completions. The TD total is one behind Drew Bledsoe-Ben Coates (New England, 1993-2000) and one ahead of Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen and Jerry Smith (Washington, 1965-74).
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