by Vince Verhei

Another week of the 2013 season, another assault on the all-time single-game DYAR record books. Andre Johnson's 229 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday night was one of the top 20 wide receiver games we've analayzed since 1989. The real headliner, though, was Nick Foles, who tied an all-time record with seven touchdown passes in one game, and became just the third man to do so without an interception. He also averaged 14.5 yards per pass, best of any member of the seven touchdown club. It wasn't the best performance we've ever measured, but when we look at the 10 best games ever, we find Foles -- um, wait. No we don't. He's not in the top 10. What about the top 20? 30? 40? Anyone? Bueller?

Believe it or not, including playoff games, Foles' performance against Oakland ranks just sixtieth among quarterbacks in our database. In fact, it was just the fourth-best game this year, behind Aaron Rodgers' destruction of Washington in Week 2; Drew Brees' burial of Miami in Week 4; and Peyton Manning outlasting Tony Romo and the Cowboys in a Week 5 shootout, which is now the second-best regular-season quarterback performance we have on record. (Romo, by the way, had the fifth-best game of the year in that Broncos defeat.)

So why was Foles' special day not quite as special as it appeared on the surface? Opponent adjustments have a little to do with it, but only a little. The Raiders entered the game ranked 20th in pass defense DVOA, hardly a creampuff. No, the biggest issue is simply one of opportunity. Foles was pulled early in the fourth quarter, and finished with only 32 total plays (pass attempts + sacks + runs). Only nine of the 60 quarterbacks with at least 260 DYAR in a game had fewer plays; the average of the group is 39.8. At the rate he produced on Sunday, an extra eight plays for Foles would have meant a total of 324 DYAR, which would have been one of the ten best games ever.

As long as we're playing the what-if game, let's get silly and take it as far as we can go. Foles only had two plays in the fourth quarter: a sack and an incompletion. His DYAR at the end of three quarters was 278. If he had played the entire fourth quarter, and played as well then as he did in the game's first 45 minutes, he'd have finished with 371 DYAR, that would have been the second-best game in our records. (It still would have been a ways behind Kurt Warner's performance against Green Bay in the wild card round of the 2009 season, a game that may not be topped in our lifetime.) So while Foles' overall performance wasn't close to the top of our lists, it might have been the best three-quarters of a game we've ever witnessed.

As for Johnson, he had one of the 20 best games we've ever measured, but only the second-best of the season. It wasn't even the best game in the past nine days. Such is life. The following table shows the updated top 20 wide receiver games in our database. This time we've also included playoff games.

Top 20 Single-Game DYAR for WRs, 1989-2013 Rank Year Player Team Total DYAR Rec DYAR Rush DYAR Total YAR Rec YAR Rush YAR Pass Rec Yds TD WEEK DEF 1 1989 Flipper Anderson LARM 160 160 0 154 154 0 20 15 336 1 12 NO 2 2000 Jimmy Smith JAC 141 141 0 129 129 0 21 15 291 3 2 BAL 3 2004 Reggie Wayne IND 137 137 0 125 125 0 11 10 221 2 18** DEN 4 1995 Jerry Rice SF 136 124 12 137 126 11 16 14 289 3 16 MIN 5 2006 Chad Johnson CIN 133 137 -4 126 130 -4 12 11 260 2 10 SD 6 2000 Terrell Owens SF 131 133 -2 134 135 -2 22 20 283 1 16 CHI 7 1989 Henry Ellard LARM 130 130 0 122 122 0 15 12 230 3 2 IND 8 2001 Randy Moss MIN 129 112 16 133 118 15 13 10 171 3 10 NYG 9 2013 Calvin Johnson* DET 127 127 0 121 121 0 16 14 329 1 8 DAL 10 2010 Kenny Britt TEN 127 127 0 123 123 0 10 7 225 3 7 PHI 11 1994 Andre Reed BUF 122 114 8 108 100 8 19 15 191 2 12 GB 12 1995 Kevin Williams DAL 122 104 18 126 108 18 11 9 203 2 17 ARI 13 2011 Calvin Johnson DET 118 118 0 114 114 0 17 11 244 1 17 GB 14 2005 Steve Smith CAR 116 104 13 109 98 11 13 12 218 2 19** CHI 15 2006 Reggie Wayne IND 116 116 0 106 106 0 11 10 138 3 8 DEN 16 2013 Andre Johnson* HOU 116 116 0 115 115 0 13 9 229 3 9 IND 17 2001 David Patten*** NE 115 47 25 123 54 26 5 4 117 2 6 IND 18 2007 Terrell Owens DAL 114 114 0 97 97 0 11 8 173 4 11 WAS 19 2011 Wes Welker NE 112 100 12 120 108 12 20 16 217 2 3 BUF 20 1998 Derrick Alexander KC 111 111 0 111 111 0 8 5 173 1 12 SD * Final numbers can and will change as opponent adjustments evolve. ** Playoffs -- *** Includes 60-yard touchdown pass.

SURPRISING ABSENCES: This was one of the biggest weeks of the year for big rushing totals, and conveniently, most of those players made our tables. Minnesota's Adrian Peterson (25-140-1) and Tennessee's Chris Johnson (23-150-2) both came up just a bit short. Chris Ivory of the Jets (18-139-1) gained 120 yards on four big runs, but his other 14 carries all went for 4 yards or less, with an average gain of 1.4. Washington's Alfred Morris (25-121-1) had a similar day, though not as extreme: 55 yards on three big runs, 3.0-yard average on his other 22 carries. The biggest problem for Buffalo's C.J. Spiller (12-116-0) and Fred Jackson (16-77-0) was each other; together, they combined for 58 DYAR, which would have made our tables easily.

There were a lot of big receiving games this week, most of them coming from the Eagles and Patriots. Rob Gronkowski (10-9-143-1) and DeSean Jackson (6-5-150-1) were knocked out of the tables by their own teammates. Pierre Garcon (11-7-172-0) just had too many incompletions to make the list this week. He also got a lot of production in long-yardage situations — he had catches of 16 and 17 yards that failed to pick up a new series of downs.

Quarterbacks Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 1. Nick Foles PHI 22/28 406 7 0 261 255 6 Ignoring pass interference calls, the average quarterback this season is completing 39 percent of his Deep passes (those that travel at least 16 yards past the line of scrimmage) for 11.2 yards per throw. Foles completed 7-of-9 deep balls against Oakland for 241 yards and three touchdowns. He threw one other pass that went exactly 15 yards downfield. It was caught in the end zone for another touchdown. 2. Tom Brady NE 23/33 432 4 0 212 212 0 On deep passes, Brady was even better than Foles, going 8-of-11 for 290 yards and four touchdowns, plus two DPIs for 18 and 22 yards. 3. Case Keenum HOU 20/33 350 3 0 195 190 4 Boy, this really was the week of the long bomb, wasn't it? Keenum went 5-of-8 for 182 yards and two touchdowns on deep passes. 4. Mike Glennon TB 17/23 168 2 0 124 125 0 Tampa Bay's first drive of the second half resulted in a field goal and a 24-7 lead. Up to that point, Glennon had gone 11-of-15 for 137 yards and nine first downs, including two touchdowns. He had also thrown for DPIs of 13 and 22 yards, and given up one sack. That's 11 first downs total. He didn't throw for another first down the rest of the game, including overtime, going 6-of-8 for just 31 yards, plus two sacks. 5. Philip Rivers SD 29/46 341 2 2 109 106 3 Rivers was really good at either end of the field, but strangely horrible between the 40s, where he went 7-of-15 for 68 yards with four first downs, two interceptions, and one sack. 6. Jason Campbell CLE 23/35 262 3 0 103 97 6 Campbell killed it in the red zone, going 4-of-5 for 29 yards with three touchdowns. 7. Andrew Luck IND 18/40 271 3 0 89 89 0 First eight third downs: 1-of-7, 6 yards, one sack, no conversions. Last four third downs: four completions, four conversions (including a touchdown), 44 yards. 8. Ben Roethlisberger PIT 28/48 400 4 2 88 92 -4 Roethlisberger got off to a weirdly ineffective start against New England. On Pittsburgh's first four drives, he went 6-of-8 for 72 yards, which sounds great, but somehow in that stretch he threw for only one first down. That's largely because he threw for a gain of 29 on third-and-30. Meanwhile, he gave up two sacks, one fumble, and an interception. 9. Josh McCown CHI 22/41 272 2 0 71 62 9 10. Ryan Tannehill MIA 20/28 208 0 0 69 59 10 On Cincinnati's half of the field, Tannehill went 6-of-10 for 51 yards with only two first downs, plus one sack. 11. Tony Romo DAL 34/51 337 2 1 59 55 4 The Cowboys' offense, at this point, is pretty much entirely Tony Romo. Dallas running backs had eight carries in this game. One of those was a 27-yard gain in the first quarter; the other seven runs gained a total of 1 yard. Four of them went for no gain or a loss. Dallas' second play of the second half was a 2-yard run by Lance Dunbar. That was the last time a Dallas running back ran for positive yardage in the entire game. Dallas' last five drives consisted of three runs (one a Romo scramble) and 26 pass plays. On those five drives, Romo went 16-for-26 for 145 yards and six first downs, inlcuing the game-winning touchdown. 12. Russell Wilson SEA 19/26 217 2 2 46 28 18 The deeper Wilson threw, the more accurate he was. On passes within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage, he went 10-of-15 for 62 yards with one touchdown, one other first down, and one interception. On passes that traveled 6 to 10 yards downfield, he went 4-of-6 for 42 yards with one touchdown, three other first downs, and one interception. And on passes deeper than that, he went 5-of-5 for 113 yards, with every throw going for a first down, plus a 29-yard DPI. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 13. Kellen Clemens STL 20/34 210 1 0 39 33 6 Clemens was really, really great throwing to the middle of the field, going 11-of-11 for 128 yards with one touchdown, seven other first downs, and only one unsuccessful play. Process of elimination will tell you he was really, really awful throwing to either side. He was also sacked twice and fumbled once. 14. Matthew McGloin OAK 7/15 87 0 0 23 23 0 All of McGloin's passes came with a 36-point deficit in the fourth quarter. He moved the ball OK in the middle of the field, but all five of his red-zone passes fell incomplete. 15. Joe Flacco BAL 24/41 250 2 1 20 13 7 Forty-one passes, and only two went to the middle of the field. One was a 23-yard gain on third-and-7; the other was intercepted. 16. Robert Griffin WAS 23/32 291 0 1 19 33 -14 Third downs: 8-of-9 for 100 yards with six first downs. He ran five times for 18 yards. His rushing DYAR was so low because he failed to convert third downs twice, and also had a 2-yard loss. 17. Drew Brees NO 30/51 382 2 2 12 12 0 Inside the the Jets' 40, Brees went 4-of-9 for 16 yards and only one first down (a 10-yard touchdown) and a sack. 18. Geno Smith NYJ 8/19 115 0 0 8 4 4 These are some of the most ridiculous splits I've seen all year. Smith started out 2-of-9 for 6 yards with no first downs and a sack. His next five passes were all complete, each for a first down, for 108 total yards. And then he finished 1-of-5 for 1 yard with no more first downs and a sack. And that may not be the craziest part of this game. His eight completions gained a total — a TOTAL — of 5 yards in the air, and 110 yards after the catch. His deepest completion was caught a whopping 6 yards past the line of scrimmage. 19. Cam Newton CAR 23/36 242 1 2 4 -5 9 On deep passes, Newton went a very un-Cam-like 1-of-9 for 21 yards with two interceptions. Throwing to the short right zone, though, he went 10-of-11 for 111 yards with one touchown and six other first downs. 20. Jeff Tuel BUF 18/39 234 1 2 0 0 0 Tuel played well in his own end, but across the 50, he went 2-of-14 for 6 yards with no first downs and one very, very costly pick-six. His only first down on Kansas City's side of the field came on a DPI that gained zero yards. 21. Christian Ponder MIN 25/37 236 1 1 -9 -17 9 Ponder would have ranked about a dozen spots higher, but he was sacked twice, and fumbled both times. 22. Alex Smith KC 19/29 124 0 0 -12 -15 3 Third downs: 5-of-9 for 10 yards (not a typo) with two first downs and a sack. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 23. Matt Ryan ATL 20/27 219 1 3 -36 -32 -4 Throwing to his right, Ryan went 7-of-14 for 76 yards with four first downs and three interceptions, including a pick-six. 24. Jake Locker TEN 13/22 185 0 2 -78 -91 13 The Titans ran ten plays inside the St. Louis 40-yard line, and not one of them was a pass. Of course, those ten runs gained 78 yards and four touchdowns (including a 5-yard run by Locker), so it's hard to argue with the results. 25. Seneca Wallace GB 11/19 114 0 1 -87 -87 0 26. Andy Dalton CIN 32/53 338 0 3 -102 -109 7 Dalton gets an enormous boost because, with updated opponent adjustments, the Dolphins have the fifth-best passing defense in the league. That big boost, though, only bumps him up to next-to-last this week. His third-down results were, um, a bit polar. He converted 10 of his 18-third down plays, and those 10 conversions averaged 18.3 yards apiece. His eight failures, though, included three sacks, one fumble (recovered by Miami), one game-losing safety, and pick-six. Six of those failed plays came with 4 yards or less needed for a first down. 27. Terrelle Pryor OAK 23/41 288 0 2 -118 -151 32 On Philadelphia's side of the field, Pryor went 4-of-11 for 21 yards with one first down, one fumbled snap, and two interceptions.

Five most valuable running backs Rk Player Team Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. Rashad Jennings OAK 102 1 74 0 68 50 18 Each of Jennings' 15 carries gained positive yardage, which is very rare for a runner with more than a half-dozen or so runs. He had three 10-yard runs and three other first downs. He had seven receptions in ten targets, picking up three more first downs in the process. 2. Mike James TB 158 0 8 0 67 47 0 James carried the ball 28 times against Seattle, and failed to gain positive yardage just once. He had five 10-yard runs and eight first downs on the day. He also gets 20 DYAR passing for his 2-yard jump-ball touchdown to Tom Crabtree. 3. Marshawn Lynch SEA 125 0 16 0 54 64 -10 Lynch had 21 carries against Tampa Bay and gained 10 yards or more seven times, with 10 first downs on the ground. That ties LeSean McCoy in Week 1 for the most rushing first downs in a game this year — and McCoy had ten more carries in that game than Lynch did against the Bucs. 4. Giovani Bernard CIN 79 2 25 0 53 47 6 Bernard caught each of the four passes thrown his way, and though none gained first downs, three gained successful yardage. He only ran the ball nine times against Miami, but scored touchdowns of 3 and 35 yards and picked up three other first downs. 5. Eddie Lacy GB 150 1 0 0 52 52 0

Least valuable running back Rk Player Team Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. Willis McGahee CLE 34 0 0 0 -58 -58 0 McGahee ran the ball 21 times against Baltimore and never gained more than 7 yards. He had one first down and only two other successful plays, but he was hit for no gain or a loss eight times, and fumbled on one of those plays.

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

DYAR 1. Andre Johnson HOU 9 13 229 25.4 3 116 Each of Johnson's receptions picked up a first down. He converted two of his three third-down throws, and scored on his only red-zone target. 2. Riley Cooper PHI 5 6 139 27.8 3 87 Cooper's first three targets resulted in 122 yards and two touchdowns. Not listed in the table (but accounted for in his DYAR): one carry for 19 yards. 3. Jerricho Cotchery PIT 7 8 96 13.7 3 84 Each of Cotchery's receptions gained a first down, including three red-zone scores. 4. Danny Amendola NE 4 4 122 30.5 1 66 His four receptions, in order: 34-yard touchdown; 57-yard gain; 10-yard gain on third-and-6; 21-yard gain. Apparently the Steelers started covering him at that point, because he had zero targets in the fourth quarter. 5. Aaron Dobson NE 5 9 130 26.0 2 64 In addition the basic stats listed here, Dobson drew two DPIs for 37 total yards. He was below replacement level after three quarters, but then went 10-yard gain on third-and-6; 17 yards for a first down; 22-yard DPI; 81-yard touchdown.