Plenty of stars and superstars are on the list of quarterbacks who have thrown for the most yardage in a single game in NFL history. Not surprisingly, some of the biggest efforts came in losses when the QBs had to go to the air and in games that went to overtime.
45. Brad Johnson, Nick Foles (471)
Nick Foles lit up the Houston Texans two days before Christmas in 2018. The backup turned starter with Carson Wentz out went off and Philly need every yard of the 471 he threw in a 32-30 victory that wasn’t settled until Jake Elliott kicked a 35-yard field goal at the final gun. The day after Christmas in 1999 was when Brad Johnson completed 32 passes for 471 yards in Washington’s 26-20 victory at San Francisco.
43. Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning (472)
A Hall of Famer and certain future one are knotted at 472. Kurt Warner was sacked five times and threw three picks while going 40-of-57 in the Cardinals’ 56-35 loss to the Jets in 2008. His QB opponent that day, Brett Favre, threw six TD passes. Peyton Manning and the Colts scored 35 points in a loss, too, in Kansas City on Halloween 2004. Manning completed 25 passes, five for TDs, as Indy fell, 45-35.
41. Tommy Maddox, Dan Marino (473)
Tommy Maddox has a Super Bowl ring and played on the XFL Championship Los Angeles Extreme. He also is knotted with Hall of Famer Dan Marino at 473 yards passing. Maddox’s effort came in a 34-34 tie with the Falcons in 2002. It was the first tie in the NFL in five years. Maddox had four TD passes among his 28 completions. Dan Marino found Irving Fryar for his fifth TD to give the Dolphins a 39-35 victory over the Dolphins on Sept. 4, 1994. Marino and Drew Bledsoe combined for nine TD passes and 894 passing yards.
39. Joe Montana, Kyle Orton (476)
Joe Montana threw five of his six TD passes to Jerry Rice in a 45-35 slugfest with the Atlanta Falcons in 1990. The Denver Broncos lost to the Colts, 27-13, on Sept. 26, 2010. Kyle Orton threw one TD pass while piling up 476 yards.
38. Patrick Mahomes (478)
Patrick Mahomes makes an appearance in his first season as a starter, 2018. The former Texas Tech start threw six TD passes in a 54-51 loss by the Chiefs to the Rams, the highest-scoring MNF game in history.
36. Ken O’Brien, Peyton Manning (479)
Ken O’Brien found Wesley Walker with a TD pass to force overtime and then hit Walker in the extra session to give the Jets a 51-45 victory over the Dolphins on Sept. 21, 1986. O’Brien and Dan Marino combined for 927 yards passing and 10 TDs, six coming from Marino. Peyton Manning threw for his 479 yards in a 41-20 Broncos victory over the Cardinals in 2014.
34. Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn (480)
Two Green Bay QBs are deadlocked here. On New Year’s Day 2012, Matt Flynn went off against the Detroit Lions. The game is considered to have helped him to a big free-agent contract with Seattle that did not turn out well, unless you consider the person who beat him out was Russell Wilson. Aaron Rodgers saw four of his 34 completions against Washington go for TDs on Sept. 15, 2013, as the Packers won, 38-20.
33. Vinny Testaverde (481)
Vinny Testaverde had to have a sore arm on Christmas in 2000 because on Dec. 24, in a 34-20 loss to the Ravens, he threw 69 passes, 36 of which were complete for 481 yards.
32. Kurt Warner (484)
Kurt Warner is back on the list. He went 34-for-48 for 484 yards in a game the Cardinals lost to the 49ers, 37-31, in overtime on Nov. 25, 2007. The game featured a bizarre ending as Tully Banta-Cain recovered a fumble in the end zone for the winning score. Unfortunately, Warner was the one who coughed up the ball.
31. Doug Williams (486)
Doug Williams had a huge day for the Tampa Bay Bucs in 1980 against the Minnesota Vikings. Williams completed 30 passes, four for TDs, in a loss.
30. Matthew Stafford (488)
Matthew Stafford is no stranger to big passing numbers. Ironically, it was his one-yard run with 12 seconds left that gave Detroit a 31-30 victory over the Cowboys in 2013. Despite the 488 yards passing, Stafford only had one TD toss.
29. Bernie Kosar (489)
Not much good happened for a long time in Cleveland. Bernie Kosar played a role in one of the good days. He threw for 489 yards and a TD while tossing 64 passes in the Browns’ double-overtime playoff win over the Jets on Jan. 3, 1987.
27. Tommy Kramer, Boomer Esiason (490)
A righty, Tommy Kramer, and a lefty, Boomer Esiason, are deadlocked at 490. Kramer’s effort came in an overtime loss by the Vikings to the Redskins in 1986. Esiason’s came in an overtime victory by the Bengals over the Rams on Oct. 7, 1990.
26. Billy Volek (492)
Billy Volek felt like the eternal backup quarterback. In 2008, the Titans lost, 40-35, to the Raiders. Volek went 40-of-60 for 492 yards and four touchdowns.
25. Joe Namath (496)
The legendary Joe Willie Namath lit up the Colts on Sept. 24, 1972, in a 44-34 Jets victory. Namath and Johnny Unitas combined for 872 yards and eight TDs, six by Broadway Joe. Amazingly, Namath had 15 completions on the day he came up four yards short of 500. Richard Caster and Eddie Bell had 13 of the receptions for 401 yards between them.
24. Matt Schaub (497)
Matt Schaub went overtime as he reached the 497-mark in the Texans’ 30-27 victory over the Redskins in 2010.
23. Jake Plummer (499)
Jake Plummer had a Halloween to remember — and forget — in 2004 as he threw for 499 yards and four TDs, but was picked off three times in a 41-28 Denver loss to Atlanta.
20. Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers (503)
A trifecta of quarterbacks are knotted at 503. Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger had their big games against the Packers. Matt Ryan’s came at the expense of the Carolina Panthers.
19. Elvis Grbac (504)
On Nov. 5, 2000, Elvis Grbac was 31-of-49 for 504 yards in a 49-31 Kansas City loss to the Raiders.
16. Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Y.A. Tittle (505)
One Hall of Famer and two quarterbacks certain to be enshrined in Canton are at stop 505 as Drew Brees, Y.A. Tittle and Tom Brady reached that mark in their careers.
14. Tony Romo, Ben Roethlisberger (506)
Tony Romo and Peyton Manning combined for 920 yards passing in Denver’s 51-48 victory over Dallas in 2013. Denver trailed 48-41 before scoring 10 points in the final 2:39. Romo was 25-of-36 with five TD strikes.
13. Vince Ferragamo (509)
Vince Ferragamo went 30-of-46 with three TD passes but the Rams lost to the Bears, 34-26, the day after Christmas in 1982.
11. Eli Manning, Drew Brees (510)
Eli Manning joins his brother, Peyton, on the list, and it was just another day at the office for Drew Brees, who piled up the yardage in a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in 2006. The Saints’ star had to throw often as New Orleans fell behind, 31-10, at one point.
9. Phil Simms, Derek Carr (513)
Another Giants quarterback on the list as Phil Simms makes it with his performance in a 35-30 loss to the Bengals in 1985. Simms threw 62 passes and was sacked seven times. Derek Carr, meanwhile, hit Seth Roberts with a 41-yard pass in OT in 2016 as Oakland outlasted Tampa Bay.
7. Matthew Stafford (520)
Matthew Stafford wasn’t about to let Matt Flynn steal the show on New Year’s Day 2012. In a game that saw the quarterbacks combine for 1,000 yards passing and 11 TDs through the air, Stafford was 36-of-59 for 520 yards.
6. Dan Marino (521)
The Dolphins fell behind the Jets by 20 points in a 44-30 loss on Oct. 23, 1988, so Dan Marino started throwing. In the end, the former Pitt star was 35-of-60 with three TD tosses … and five picks.
4. Ben Roethlisberger, Boomer Esiason (522)
Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck went for 922 yards and nine TD passes as the Steelers clocked the Colts, 51-34, in 2014. Boomer Esiason had more interceptions (four) than TD passes (three) as Arizona scored the last 17 points of the game to upend Washington, 37-34, in 1996.
2. Warren Moon, Matt Schaub (527)
The Texas two-step fits here as Warren Moon and Matt Schaub went for 527 for Houston teams, 22 years apart.
1. Norm Van Brocklin (554)
Norm Van Brocklin’s biggest day by yardage stands the test of time. He threw for 554 yards at the LA Coliseum as the Rams crushed the New York Yanks — yes, Yanks — 51-14, on Sept. 28, 1951. Van Brocklin was 27-of-41 with five TD passes. Crazy Legs Hirsch and Tom Fears combined for 16 receptions and 335 yards. Oh, another century man with two catches for 103 was Vitamin Smith.
