by Vince Verhei

In a losing effort, Tony Romo made history in Week 5, becoming just the 15th player to surpass 500 passing yards in a single game. Romo’s 25-of-36, 506-yard performance against Denver included five touchdowns, three of which gave Dallas the lead. On the other hand, it also included one interception and four sacks. Most unfortunate for Romo, it came against an opposing quarterback who is playing on an entirely different planet than anyone else right now. As such, Romo’s interception deep in Dallas territory on the Cowboys’ last drive, which set up Denver’s winning field goal, drew most of the attention after the game. Rather than focusing on the one play he made that led to a defeat, let’s take some time to highlight the dozens and dozens of plays he made that gave Dallas a chance to win.

It probably won’t surprise anyone to hear that the 500-yard game is becoming more common. Norm Van Brocklin was the first to do it, throwing for 554 yards against the New York Yanks (not a typo; the team folded at the end of the season) in 1951. Amazingly, that single-game record still stands, though it seems inevitable that somebody will break it soon. After Van Brocklin’s big day, there was only one 500-yard game in the 1960s, and none in the 1970s. There were two or three 500-yard games in each of the next three decades, and then the world changed. Romo’s 500-yard game was the fifth in the last two-and-one-third seasons.

In that light, Romo’s 500-yard performance seems a little less special. A closer look at the numbers, though, suggests that this wasn’t your typical run-of-the-mill 500-yard game. The following table shows each 500-yard day, in chronological order, along with each player’s basic stats, plus NFL passer rating, and when available, passing DYAR and ESPN’s QBR.

500-Yard Passers in NFL History

Player

Season

Week Team

Opp

Result

Cmp

Att

Yds

TD

Int

Rate

DYAR

DVOA

QBR Norm Van Brocklin 1951 1 LARM NYY W 54-14 27 41 554 5 2 128.3 -- -- -- Y.A. Tittle 1962 7 NYG WAS W 49-34 27 39 505 7 0 151.4 -- -- -- Vince Ferragamo 1982 8 LARM CHI L 26-34 30 46 509 3 2 106.2 -- -- -- Phil Simms 1985 6 NYG CIN L 30-35 40 62 513 1 2 82.3 -- -- -- Dan Marino 1988 8 MIA NYJ L 30-44 35 60 521 3 5 68.8 -- -- -- Warren Moon 1990 15 HOU KC W 27-10 27 45 527 3 0 123.1 267 79.8% -- Boomer Esiason 1996 11 ARI WAS W 37-34 35 59 522 3 4 77.1 68 6.9% -- Elvis Grbac 2000 10 KC OAK L 31-49 39 53 504 2 2 99.9 185 39.4% -- Drew Brees 2006 11 NO CIN L 16-31 37 52 510 2 3 91.0 96 15.0% 53.5 Ben Roethlisberger 2009 15 PIT GB W 37-36 29 46 503 3 0 121.9 300 87.9% 83.5 Tom Brady 2011 1 NE MIA W 38-24 32 48 517 4 1 121.6 222 52.4% 85.5 Matthew Stafford 2011 17 DET GB L 41-45 36 59 520 5 2 103.8 132 31.1% 87.5 Eli Manning 2012 2 NYG TB W 41-34 31 51 510 3 3 89.5 75 9.9% 59.4 Matt Schaub 2012 11 HOU JAC W 43-37 43 55 527 5 2 121.7 174 30.1% 90.7 Tony Romo 2013 5 DAL DEN L 48-51 25 36 506 5 1 140.0 223 76.2% 92.1

It makes sense that 500-yard passers have gone just 8-7, because often these quarterbacks were playing from behind the entire game and throwing pass after pass after pass in a futile attempt to catch up. Romo, though, was in a tight game throughout, and had a relatively tiny amount of plays. His 25 completions and 36 attempts were both all-time lows among 500-yard passers. (Romo was the sixth player since 1960 to average at least 14 yards per attempt on at least 30 passes.) And because he managed such great production in so few opportunities, his efficiency numbers are very high. We only have 24 years of DYAR data and about a half-decade of QBR; for games earlier than that, we can complare our 500-yarders using the NFL’s passer rating formula. And in that formula, Romo’s 140.0 is second in this group only to Y.A. Tittle’s 151.4 set against Washington in 1962. Passer rating, though, does not account for quality of opponent. Tittle’s big day came against a Washington team that finished last in the 14-team NFL in opponents’ completion percentage, touchdowns, yards per pass, and passer rating. We still don’t know for sure how good the Denver defense is, but they entered the Dallas game ranked 24th in pass defense DVOA, and it’s a safe bet that they won’t be finishing last in the league in anything.

Passer rating doesn’t include sacks, though, and Romo hit the turf four times against Denver. Largely because of those sacks, his 223 DYAR and 76.2% DVOA (numbers that will change by the end of the year when we know more about how good this Denver defense truly is) are both just third among 500-yard passers since 1990. Here, again, Romo’s late mistakes come back to bite him. His last two plays were a sack and an interception. Up to that point, he was neck-and-neck with Ben Roethlisberger’s 2009 day against Green Bay for highest DYAR among this group.

We have less QBR data than anything else, but none of the 500-yarders on record have topped Romo’s 92.1 performance in this category. You’ll have to ask ESPN to explain the inner workings of this one.

Around here, we tend to favor our DYAR data, and those numbers say that, interception be damned, Romo had the second-best game this week, and one of the ten best games of the season. That is something to be celebrated, even if Denver’s quarterback was just a little bit better.

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SURPRISING PLAYERS: There were only three 100-yard rushers this week, and one of those (Russell Wilson) was a quarterback. Wilson’s teammate, Marshawn Lynch, gained 102 yards on 17 carries (just one in the fourth quarter, when the Seahawks were snatching defeat from the jaws of victory). He also caught one pass for 5 yards in two targets. However, Lynch finished just 18th among running backs. He was stuffed for no gain or a loss three times, and only six of his carries gained successful yardage.

It’s a similar story at receiver, where three of the top five yardage guys were also in the top five in DYAR. The exceptions were Dez Bryant (eighth) and Hakeem Nicks (12th). Bryant (6-10-141-2) would have made it if not for a second-quarter fumble. Nicks (9-12-142-0) had no fumbles, and each of his nine catches was considered successful. He had no touchdowns, however; his only red-zone pass was an incompletion on first-and-goal from the 6.

Quarterbacks Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 1. Peyton Manning DEN 33/42 414 4 1 280 273 7 Through five weeks, Manning has now ranked first, fourth, first, second, and first in Quick Reads in the last five weeks. Here's how far Manning has separated himself from the rest of the field. Going into Monday night, his DVOA on the season was 71.6%. That's more than double the DVOA of any other quarterback with at least 100 plays. The second-ranked passer, Philip Rivers, is closer to No. 14 Terrelle Pryor than he is to Manning. On third downs against Dallas, he went 6-of-7 for 69 yards with a touchdown and four other first downs, plus another play that would have been a first down if Eric Decker hadn't fumbled the ball away. 2. Tony Romo DAL 25/35 506 5 1 223 225 -2 On deep passes — you know, low-percentage, risky plays — Romo went 6-of-9 for 268 yards with a touchdown, plus a 20-yard DPI. 3. Jay Cutler CHI 24/33 358 2 0 134 124 10 It was a slow start for Cutler. On Chicago's first five drives, he went 6-of-9 for 50 yards, with more sacks (three) or fumbles (two) than first downs (one). On the last six drives, he went 18-of-24 for 308 yards with two touchdowns and 13 other first downs. 4. Matt Ryan ATL 36/45 319 2 0 131 131 0 5. Drew Brees NO 29/35 288 2 0 117 117 0 An example of deceptive statistics: Brees was "perfect" on third downs, completing each of his nine passes. However, only three of those passes actually picked up a new set of downs. He completed passes short of the sticks on third-and-4, third-and-7, and third-and-8. 6. Nick Foles PHI 16/25 197 2 0 108 111 -3 In one stretch over the third and fourth quarters, Foles went 0-for-5 with a sack. When Foles and the offense next took the field, the Eagles were only ahead by one point. From that point forward, Foles went 4-of-4 for 69 yards with two touchdowns, plus a 27-yard DPI, and the Eagles won by 15. 7. Andrew Luck IND 16/29 229 2 0 106 103 2 Deep passes: 4-of-5 for 140 yards and a touchdown, plus two DPIs for 55 more yards. 8. Philip Rivers SD 35/49 411 2 3 84 84 0 9. Joe Flacco BAL 19/32 269 0 1 81 74 7 Inside the Miami 40, Flacco went 5-of-10 for only 31 yards and two first downs, plus a 17-yard DPI. 10. Geno Smith NYJ 16/20 199 3 0 81 76 5 11. Aaron Rodgers GB 20/30 274 1 0 68 84 -16 Remember when the Packers were a passing team? Rodgers had only five first down passing plays, going 4-of-4 for 14 yards with one first down and a sack. Meanwhile, the Packers had 21 first-down running plays, including a Rodgers scramble. Part of this, of course, is because the Packers went ahead in the first quarter and never relinquished that lead. 12. Russell Wilson SEA 15/31 210 2 1 59 42 16 On third and fourth downs, Wilson went 2-of-9 for 36 yards with one sack, one fumble, one interception, and one first down. He also ran 13 times for 102 yards and six first downs, including two conversions on third or fourth down. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 13. Michael Vick PHI 6/14 105 0 0 43 5 37 Vick only threw for three first downs on the day, which totaled 92 yards. His other 11 pass plays netted 13 yards. He also ran seven times for 79 yards and five more first downs, with four runs of 10 yards or more, capped off by a 34-yarder. 14. Colin Kaepernick SF 6/15 113 1 0 40 34 6 For all the attention paid to Matt Schaub's foibles on Sunday night, his counterpart wasn't much better for the bulk of the game. Kaepernick started out 4-of-6 for 45 yards, with every completion picking up a first down. He then failed to complete a pass in the second or third quarters, going 0-for-7 with a sack mixed in for good measure. He then hit Bruce Miller for 4 yards on second-and-9, and on the ensuing third down, he hit Vernon Davis for a 64-yard touchdown. That was his last pass of the game. 15. Sam Bradford STL 19/34 222 3 0 33 40 -7 Bradford only went 6-of-12 on third downs, but he made those six completions count. Each picked up a first down, including a touchdown, for a total of 72 yards. 16. Terrelle Pryor OAK 18/23 221 2 0 20 27 -6 17. E.J. Manuel BUF 11/20 129 0 0 19 15 5 On the Cleveland side of the field, Manuel went 2-of-5 for 25 yards and only one first down, with two sacks. He didn't have a single play inside the red zone. 18. Chad Henne JAC 7/13 89 1 0 18 25 -8 Five of Henne's passes came with 4 yards or less to go for a first down. He completed two of those throws for 15 yards, with a touchdown and another first down. 19. Ryan Fitzpatrick TEN 21/41 247 1 2 4 -22 26 First half: 5-of-14 for 31 yards with two first downs and a sack. He made some plays in the second half and the Titans took the lead, but then he turned it over three times and they lost. 20. Ryan Tannehill MIA 21/39 307 1 0 3 1 2 Tannehill's 9-yard touchdown to Charles Clay late in the second quarter gave Miami a 13-6 halftime lead. In the second half, though, he went 7-of-18 with four sacks. He gained 129 yards, but only four first downs. 91 of those yards came on two plays. 21. Andy Dalton CIN 20/27 212 0 1 -5 -16 11 Second downs: 3-of-6 for 25 yards, with three sacks and an interception. But hey, each of those completions gained a first down. So there's that. 22. Alex Smith KC 20/39 245 0 1 -13 -10 -2 Tennessee's half of the field: 9-of-18 for 58 yards and only two first downs. He also picked up another first down on a 0-yard DPI call on first-and-goal from the 1, which is about as inconsequential a play as you'll ever find. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 23. Brandon Weeden CLE 13/24 197 1 0 -21 -24 4 Third downs: 4-of-9 for 48 yards with three first downs, three sacks, and one fumble. 24. Matthew Stafford DET 25/40 262 1 0 -24 -24 0 Front zone: 2-of-8 for 12 yards and no first downs, with two sacks and one fumble. That is why he only had one red zone play — his last pass of the game, a 13-yard touchdown to Kris Durham that left Detroit down 22-9 with a little more than two minutes to go. 25. Carson Palmer ARI 19/28 175 1 3 -54 -54 0 Between the Arizona 40 and the Carolina 20, Palmer went 9-of-17 for 87 yards with four first downs and three interceptions. 26. Eli Manning NYG 27/52 334 2 3 -83 -83 0 It's not the three interceptions Manning threw on Sunday that's most notable, it's his three intentional grounding flags. The only other player who has more than one intentional grounding flag this season is Robert Griffin, who had one in Week 1 and one in Week 4. 27. Jeff Tuel BUF 8/20 80 0 1 -95 -95 0 Eleven of Tuel's 20 passes went to the right side. He went 4-of-9 for 35 yards with just one first down. 28. Blaine Gabbert JAC 9/19 181 1 2 -114 -107 -7 Gabbert had extreme highs and lows on first down, going 6-of-9 for 149 yards with a 67-yard touchdown and four other first downs. Of course, he also threw a pick-six. On second, third, and fourth downs, he was more typically Gabbert-ian: 3-of-10 for 32 yards with one first down, two sacks, two fumbles, and an interception. 29. Tom Brady NE 18/37 197 0 1 -118 -118 0 Third downs: 5-of-9 for 33 yards with one first down, three sacks, and one fumble. 30. Matt Schaub HOU 19/35 173 0 3 -142 -142 0 Despite being behind for most of the game, Schaub didn't do much to test the San Francisco defense deep. He threw only five deep pases, all to the left side, completing just one of them for 19 yards. 31. Cam Newton CAR 21/39 308 0 3 -157 -169 12 Not included in those numbers: seven sacks (one for a safety) and a fumble. Despite his strong arm, he failed to complete a single deep pass, going 0-for-6 with an interception.

Five most valuable running backs Rk Player Team Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. Knowshon Moreno DEN 93 1 57 0 67 29 38 Each of Moreno's 19 carries gained positive yardage, though he did have a fumble. His seven first downs included five conversions with 3 yards or less to go, including three third downs and a touchdown. He also caught each of the five passes thrown his way, for 57 yards and three more first downs. 2. Fred Jackson BUF 53 2 40 0 30 23 7 Jackson had a pair of 1-yard touchdowns and a conversion on second-and-1, plus two other first downs. He also caught four of six passes for 40 yards and three more first downs. 3. Zac Stacy STL 78 0 0 0 28 28 -1 Each of Stacy's 14 carries gained positive yardage, including four first downs and two 10-yard gains. The only pass thrown his way was incomplete. 4. Joique Bell DET 21 0 30 0 27 16 11 Bell only ran five times for 21 yards, but all of his carries gained at least 2 yards, and he converted first downs on third-and-2 and third-and-1. He caught each of the four passes thrown his way for 30 yards and a first down. Two of his "failed" completions came on third-and-16 and third-and-22, and the standard for success on those plays is so low that he actually gets positive DYAR for them. It wasn't a real big week for running backs, folks. 5. Jamaal Charles KC 109 1 37 0 26 17 9 Four of Charles' 22 carries failed to get back to the line of scrimmage, and he also had a fumble. But half of his carries gained 5 yards or more, three gained 10 yards or more, and he had a touchdown and five other first downs, including four conversions with 3 yards or less to go. He caught five of nine passes for 37 yards though he only gained one first down.

Least valuable running back Rk Player Team Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. Ray Rice BAL 74 2 28 0 -33 -19 -15 The longest of Rice's 27 carries went just 7 yards. He had two goal-line touchdowns, but only two other first downs, and he was hit for no gain or a loss four times, and also fumbled. He caught six passes in seven targets for 28 yards and no first downs.

Five most valuable wide receivers and tight ends Rk Player Team Rec Att Yds Avg TD Total

DYAR 1. T.Y. Hilton IND 5 6 140 28.0 2 99 In addition to the numbers listed here, Hilton drew two DPIs for 55 yards. His incompletion came on third-and-8, but he converted four other third downs, including a third-and-22. 2. Alshon Jeffery CHI 10 13 218 21.8 1 92 Jeffery's 3-yard touchdown was actually his shortest catch of the day. He had five 20-yard plays, including gains of 31, 42, and 58 yards. 3. Terrance Williams DAL 4 4 151 37.8 1 66 If anything, Williams' average of 37.8 yards undersells his big-play production. Take out his 6-yarder (which came on first-and-10 and was still a successful play) and his average jumps to 48.3. 4. DeSean Jackson PHI 7 12 132 18.9 1 59 Including a 27-yard DPI (not included in this table), Jackson had four 20-yard plays, capped off by a 56-yarder. 5. Torrey Smith BAL 6 9 121 20.2 0 56 Smith also had a 17-yard DPI. Each of his catches gained at least 12 yards and a first down, including a 41-yarder.