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ShareThisCheckdowns: ESPN’s Top Regular-Season Passing/Rushing/Receiving Performances
Today, ESPN broke out their lists of the top 5 regular-season single-game Passing, Rushing, and Receiving performances in NFL history, based on production, game importance, strength of schedule, and other factors. The best in each category? Warren Moon vs. Kansas City, December 16, 1990; Walter Payton vs. Minnesota, November 20, 1977; and Jim Benton vs. Detroit, November 22, 1945 (box score unavailable, but he had 10 catches for 303 yards and a TD).
So what say you, PFR readers? What are your picks for the best regular-season performances ever?
This entry was posted on Friday, July 16th, 2010 at 1:56 pm and is filed under Best/Worst Ever, Checkdowns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
John Taylor against the Rams on Monday Night Football was pretty awesome. 11-286-2 with both TDs being 90+. It was part of a big comeback for SF and that game clinched the division.
Man I miss those Oilers uniforms.
This would be hard to do. You'd almost have to take every game with some reasonable minimum requirements and grade them all to see your top 5. I bet they didn't do that, and I wouldn't do it either since it's not important enough when you're just churning out such an article.
Can't say I really thought of many of the passing games they came up with. Surprised none of the big M's are there. Montana (89 Eagles comeback?), Manning (Tampa Bay miracle comeback on MNF?) and Marino (94 Patriots in his first game back from the injury, or 85 MNF against Chicago to hand that vaunted D's only loss).
If I was making the list, especially for passing, I like to see guys that have to overcome some adversity. Not just adversity from facing a tough defense (which apparently doesn't factor into their opponent quality as they're looking at things like record and whether or not they're a playoff team), but having to do something significant to win the game. To overcome the opponent's full team strength. Anyone can go out there and just dominate one day (see Joe Kapp on there), especially if their defense plays great too.
The final score of their top 5 passing games were 27-10, 34-10, 49-34, 38-35 and 54-14. You give up 10-14 points, that's not really facing much adversity. Those are high win probability situations. Tittle's game was 49-34, but that was only after Washington added 2 TDs to make it look closer. Only Brady's game saw a QB erase a double-digit deficit (12 pts) and have to make a comeback in the 4th quarter.
I'd like to see more of that, though less Tom Brady please.
Passing - honorable mention: 11/2/1986: Minn at Wash: Tommy Kramer's stats in a 44-38 OT loss: 20 of 35 for 490 yds, 1 INT, 4 TDs (including three of 67 yards or more). The game was a seesaw battle and Jay Schroeder even had some decent passing stats that day too. Washington went on to the NFC title game that year.
I would have done the article differently. Instead, I would just list top five performances by a QB, WR, and RB and leave it at that. Because what gets stripped out are days like Gale Sayers had in 1965: Six TDs (four rushing, one pass receiving, and one punt return) versus SF in a 61-20 rout. Sayers had only 113 yards on the ground that day, but he had just nine carries. A RB who can also catch the football adds to the lethality.
Also, as good as Walter Payton's 275-yard day was, the Bears almost lost that game and the Vikings' poor tackling was as culpable as anything else. "Sweetness" had MANY other days where he was just as dominant and those efforts had more of an impact on the Bears' fortunes.
Wesley Walker on 9-21-86 caught 6 passes for 194 yards and 4 touchdowns. His third touchdown sent the game to overtime as regulation expired. Obviously, his fourth touchdown was the game winner.
JWL
What a classic game that was. 51-45 in OT for the Jets over the Dolphins. Dan Marino had a huge game that day with 448 yds and 6 TD passes while Ken O'Brien went 29-43, 479 yds and 4 TD passes.
My first thought was, "Oh no--Rich Gannon is going to show up" and sure enough, there he is.
Steve Young's 6 TDs and 0 INTs in the Superbowl doesn't make the list? Not even as an honorable mention? Boo!
Two quick things :
1- It's hard to find numbers about the Benton's game, but in the ESPN'S 2006 Pro Football Encyclopedia (of all things...), they say that Benton had 303 reception yards of Waterfield's 329 passing yards. Impressive.
2- Benton is really a forgotten gem and that's a shame. Please click those links:
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/tiny/NODmw
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Benton_(American_football)
Regular season only
Oh my bad. I missed that part
The best game by a running back vs the Titans/Jets in the 1960s might not have been that Cookie Gilchrist game.
On December 10, 1961, Billy Cannon ran 25 times for 216 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught five passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
Hmmm, here's a couple recent ones...
Mike Vick - 10/31/04 vs. Broncos - 250 passing yards on 24 attempts and 18 completions. Two passing scores. Oh, and another 115 rushing yards on 12 attempts. Long pass of 46. Long run of 44. There's obviously a lot to criticize Vick about both on the field and off...but the NFL probably doesn't see a talent of his caliber come along all that often...
Shaun Alexander - 09/29/02 vs. Vikings - Alright, the final numbers aren't astronomical, but this is the game that Alexander had 203 total yards and 5 scores AT HALFTIME. They basically didn't use him a ton in the second half cause they didn't have to. Had they gone full-bore with him all game, his totals would have broken fantasy football. I'm pretty sure fantasy football wouldn't exist today had they kept going with him. Unreal game.
Jimmy Smith - 09/10/00 vs. Ravens 15 catches, 291 yards, and three scores. The third one should have won them the game but the defense gave up a late score to lose. The Ravens defense, for the record, finished the year 1st in points allowed...2nd in passing scores allowed and top ten in nearly every major category.
How about Donovan McNabb's broken ankle game vs. Arizona in 2002? 20-25, 255 yds, 4 TDs, 1 Int. Played the whole game even though he hobbled to the huddle. Missed the rest of the regular season. Eagles won 38-14 -- an important victory, given that they were blown out at home the week before by the Colts.
The next week, Koy Detmer, who hadn't started a game in three years, went 18-26, 227 yds, 2 passing TDs and 1 rush TD in a 38-17 road win vs. San Francisco. Detmer tragically dislocated his elbow late in the game, and the win helped secure the 1 seed for Phi.
To Andy G.- that Smith game made ESPN's list.
Flipper Anderson - what a fantastic name...
The passing list sucks. Tom Brady's season ending game against the Giants is not even in the top 50 of the best passing games of all time. Not only that, whether you agree if it was a great performance or not, they gave the "game importance" in that one a THREE!!! Really, a 3??? It gave NE the only 16-0 season in league history and, ironically, even in a loss, it at the same time probably gave the Giants the momentum they needed to actually beat NE in the SB. That rates as a game importance of a 3???
I just think that list is awful. The rushing and receiving list is legit, the passing list is just bad.
@JWL - Oops! Didn't notice that one. My bad
These are my personal favorites. These are only games that I actually remember watching and for some reason these performances stuck with me.
Passing: Peyton Manning Sept 28, 2003 Week 4 2003 vs New Orleans
Manning's numbers: 20 for 25 314 yards 6 tds no picks
This was an ESPN Sunday Night game and I've never seen a qb so sharp. What I remember, and what the box score doesn't show, is that Manning did all of that in 3 quarters. I thought he would stay out there and try and get 8 tds.
Rushing: Freeman McNeil Jan 9, 1983 vs Cincinnati
McNeil's numbers: 21 Rush Att 202 yards 1 td
This game was a 1st round playoff game at Riverfront. Believe it or not, the Bengals were good in thoese days, having won the AFC title in 1981 and looking like they would make another run at it in '82. During the regular season, the Bengals shut down 1982 Rookie of The Year Marcus Allen, holding him, if I remember, to less than 10 yards rushing. Most peolpe believed that the Bengals would shut down league leading rusher McNeil as well, but McNeil gashed the Bengals supposedly stout run defense for almost 10 yards per carry. McNeil's longest run was "only" 35 yards, so he consistently gashed the Bengals for nice chunks of yards. McNeil may be unknown to many younger fans, but on this day, versus a quality defense, he was the best running back I ever saw.
Receiving: Terrell Owens: Week 7 October 19, 2003 vs Tampa Bay
T.O.'s Stats: 6 catches 152 yards 1 td
I remember this game primarily for 2 plays. Against a defense that was one of the best in NFL history in 2002, TO took a quick slant from qb Jeff Garcia and ran about 70 yards for a touchdown. It was really breathtaking, watching an athlete as big and strong as TO running away from the defense like that. To show it wasn't a fluke, Niner rb Garrison Hearst broke awaw for a long run, and guess who was leading the way? I know that other wrs have had better single game numbers, but I'm a fan who enjoys watching talented athletes show their skills, and it was a real treat to watch TO that day.
Thanks for giving me a venue to share some of my favorite NFL memories. I hope that we can keep the vitriol down o a minimum and let others share their experiences as well.
@ JWl and Boknows34
That 1986 Jets-Dolphins classic had the most combined passing yards in a single game (I think).
Your post takes me back to the mid to late '80s when the Jets and Dolphins had some incredible shootouts. In either 1987 or 1988, the Jets set a single game record by gaing 37 first downs, and had to come from behind to win 37-35. In 1988, Dam Marino threw for 500+ plus yards, but the 'Fins lost because Marino tossed 5 or 6 picks.
Those were some wild games. It was Playstation football 10 years before Playstation was created.
Yes, on 11-27-88 the Jets beat the Dolphins 38-34. The Jets had 39 first downs in the game. Marino threw for 353 yards and 5 TDs. Pat Ryan threw for 341 yards.
Earlier that season, on October 23, Marino threw for 521 yards but threw 5 INTs. The Jets won 44-30.
I was thinking the other day how many games have there been when a QB has posted a perfect QB Rating of 158.3? I think it would be really cool to know which QB has done that the most times.
As far as best single game performance goes I would have to say Joe Montana's 6 touchdown pass game against the Falcons back in the early 90s. 5 of which went to Jerry Rice.
@ Tim
Awhile ago, I looked up some great qbs here at the website who had a lot of perfect rating games. Off the top of my head, either Peyton Manning or Kurt Warner had the most.
I regards to that Niners-Falcons game in 1990, I actually watched it. Falcons coach Jerry Glanville foolishly kept using suicide blitzes and leaving Jerry Rice in man coverage against Charles Dimry. The Falcons never adjusted (i.e. not moving Deion Sanders to single cover Rice instead of the overmatched Dimry). For Joe & co., it was like stealing candy from a baby.
While that game looks great for the Niners in the box score and on paper, it was Jerry Galnville's stubborn insistence on using his patented "Gritz Blitz" in combination with leaving Charles Dimry one-on-one with Jerry Rice that led to those numbers.
@ JWL
The NFL Network is rebroadcasting the 2000 Dolphins-Jets Monday classic where the Jets rallied from a 30-7 4th quarter deficit to win 40-37 in OT. This is the upteenth time that they've done that.
I wish that for their Classic Game series that they would track down and rebroadcast the 1986 shootout. I was in the Navy back then, but I was overseas on deployment and didn't see it.
I would love to see it. Jets qb Ken O'brien is looked at by some fans as a bit of a punchline because the Jets drafted him in the 1983 1st round head of Dam Marino and he took a bazillion sacks, but he had his moments. He led the NFL in qb rating in 1985 and was the front runner for the 1986 NFL MVP when the Jets started 10-1. OB may not have been a Hall Of Famer, but he wasn't a Ryan Leaf/Jamarcus Russell size bust either.
@ Mike
Here you go (perfect passer ratings):
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2008/whats-perfect-game
Sorry, that should read "@ Tim"
A more complete list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NFL_quarterbacks_who_have_posted_a_perfect_passer_rating
If it were me, #1 on the rushing list would be Kansas City's O-line for the 2004 game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Chiefs were 2-4, and were facing the 5-2 Atlanta Falcons. Priest Holmes ran wild, racking up 4 TDs in the first half as Kansas City raced to 35-3 halftime lead. With the game in hand, KC sat Priest Holmes down... only to see his backup, Derrick Blaylock, chip in 4 more TDs of his own. The final score was 56-10, with all 8 of KC's TDs coming on the ground.
Atlanta finished the season 11-5 with the 8th best run defense in terms of yards allowed. The Falcons ranked 29th in rushing TDs allowed, though, based entirely on the strength of that one game. 40% of the rushing TDs they allowed that year came in one game.
Brady is on the list, in fact he is in the honorable mentions as well, but I think his best passing games was last year against the titans where he had 5 td passes in one quarter and 6 for the half and came out of the game. 6 td passes and 380 yards passing in a half. He could have had 10 that day if he wanted, and better yet it was in 3 feet of snow.
@ Mike
You know more about the game than I do. I was just looking at boxscores and remember seeing that. I was too young to have watched the game and know anything about the game. But as great as Deion was it makes no sense not to put him on Jerry Rice. Sure the Niners had John Taylor but he's not Rice.
@Staubach
Thanks for the links!
@SSOG
Being a Falcons fan I totally remember that game from 2004. It was hard to watch. It was like they had 15 guys on the field playing against our 11. Every play there were holes big enough to run a Mack truck through.
@Tim
The biggest reason I was so familiar with that 1990 Niners-Falcons game was that I considered posting Rice's 5 td performance as my choice as the best receiving game ever. But when I thought it over, I remebered that the Falcons looked almost unprofessional by using their suicide blitzes in combination with man-on-man coverage on Jerry Rice. I just feel that when a team doesn't make obvious adjustments like the Falcons needed to, I don't believe that it was an all-time great performance by the Niners.
@Mike
I totally agree with you. Sure there is a great skill to do what Montana and Rice did that day but it's not quite as hard when you are aided greatly by stupidity.
I tell you a great performance I do remember watching was Peyton Manning's carving up of the Lions a few years ago for 6 touchdowns. I believe it was a Thanksgiving game. Sure the Lions haven't been great in years but it was still a masterful performance by Peyton.
And someone earlier mentioned the Dolphins/Jets MNF game from 2000 and the Jets great comeback. I remember watching that game and falling asleep and waking up the next morning and watching the highlights not believing my eyes. No doubt one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history that I missed because I was asleep. I'm sure many others went to bed thinking the Dolphins had that game safely put away. But that game is just one of the many reasons they play all 60 minutes to the very last second.
@ Tim
It was me who mentioned that 2000 Fins/Jets game earlier in the thread. I did stay up an watch that entire game. I stayed up because I was so familiar with their epic shootouts from the 1980s, so knowing the teams' history, so I was confident that no lead was safe. I saw the 39 first down game but I didn't see the 1986 game where Dan Marino and Ken O'Brien combined for over 900 passing yards and 10 touchdowns.
The NFL Network has rebroadcast the 2000 game at least a dozen times, but they have never rebroadcast the 1986 OT shootout or the 39 first down game. I wish that they would.
I haven't had Directv in over a year and greatly miss NFL Network.
Replies to Postings 3 & 30
#30---Brady had only 5 TDs in first half vs. Titans. For some reason, Belichek kept racking up the points against a hapless opponant. The record for most TDs in a half belongs to Daryle Lamonica. In 1969. he tossed six TDs vs. his old team---the Bills---in a 50-21 win. The Raiders called off the dogs in the second half sending in George Blanda.
#3---Scott mentions that he would like to see some games in which the QB faced some adversity---like Donovan McNabb playing with a broken ankle. The one game that stands out in my mind occurred on Nov. 9, 1986. Joe Montana came back from missing the 8 previous games with a ruptured disk in his lower back. Speculation was that his career was over. He had stenosis (narrowing) of the spinal column. Doctors told him that he risked paralysis if he tried to play again. His weight had dropped down to 170 pounds. The 49ers management were terrified that they would be sued if he got injured. Imagine what must of been going through Montana's mind. All he did was complete 13 of 19 passes for 270 yards and 3 TDs in a 43-17 win over the Cards. The game, however was a mirage. Montana never regained full strenght that year and struggled the rest of the season.