by Vincent Verhei

Tom Brady picked a very bad day to have a very good day. With Charles Tillman on injured reserve and Kyle Fuller sidelined with a hip injury, the Chicago secondary was stretched to its limits, and Brady picked apart the backup Bears without mercy. The Patriots had five possesions in the first half, scoring four touchdowns (all on Brady passes) and a field goal. In the first two quarters, he went 18-of-21 for 203 yards with four touchdowns, 11 other first downs, and no interceptions or sacks. Brady played only three drives in the second half (one punt, one field goal, and another touchdown pass), but he might have done even more damage in that time, going 12-of-14 for another 151 yards. When all was said and done, Brady had thrown 35 passes, completing 86 percent of them for 10.1 yards per pass, with a touchdown every seventh throw. He also gained 13 yards on a defensive pass interference call. And he wasn't just dumping the ball off either, he was moving the sticks. Including the DPI, Brady gained a first down on exactly two-thirds of his dropbacks, nearly double the league-average rate.

Needless to say, Brady's DYAR for the game was stellar. Not only was that the best game to that point in 2014, it was the best game since Drew Brees destroyed Minnesota in Week 15 of 2011, three seasons ago, and on passing DYAR alone, it was one of the 20 best games we've ever measured. And of course, it was the top game of any quarterback this week -- for four hours or so.

About 20 minutes after the Chicago-New England game ended, the Steelers kicked off against Indianapolis. And over the next three-and-a-half hours, Ben Roethlisberger made Tom Brady look more like Teddy Bridgewater. Roethlisberger ripped the Colts to shreds, leaving remnants of their defense scattered across the turf of Heinz Field. Vontae Davis may not be as good as his reputation would suggest (at least not according to FO film analyst Cian Fahey), but he's still the best cornerback on the Colts, and when he left the game in the first quarter with a knee injury, Indianapolis' chances of stopping the Steelers left with him. Roethlisberger's totals were ridiculous (40-of-49, 526 yards, six touchdowns, no interceptions or sacks), but to really get a picture of how thoroughly he ruined the Colts, we need to look at what he did one drive at a time:

Roethlisberger vs. Colts, Drive-By-Drive Drive C/A Y Drive Result 1 5/5 63 18-yard TD pass to Markus Wheaton 2 5/6 53 5-yard TD pass to Martavis Bryant 3 4/5 81 8-yard TD pass to Antonio Brown 4 4/4 77 47-yard TD pass to Antonio Brown 5 5/7 46 Punt (blocked) 6 6/7 74 2-yard TD pass to Martavis Bryant 7 1/2 4 Punt 8 1/1 20 Lost fumble (Darrius Heyward-Bey) 9 3/5 45 Lost fumble (LeGarrette Blount)* 10 5/7 63 11-yard TD pass to Heath Miller * Roethlisberger also gained 18 yards on a DPI on this drive.

Pittsburgh would add an 11th drive, a three-runs-and-punt affair when up by 17 in the final minutes. Save for that and a third-quarter three-and-out, there's not a bad Roethlisberger drive to be found. He wasn't quite as efficient as Brady (though 26 first downs in 50 plays is very good), but he was even more explosive, averaging 10.9 yards per play. Even on the drive that ended with Roethlisberger's punt being blocked (and no, the blocked punt does not count against him in DYAR), he completed 71 percent of his throws and averaged 6.6 yards per pass. And since his teammates got butterfingers a couple of times (and since no lead is safe when you're playing Andrew Luck), the Steelers didn't enter kill-the-clock mode until the very end of the game, giving Roethlisberger plenty of time to rack up throws (and DYAR).

Was this the best game a quarterback has ever had? By our methodology, the answer is a definitive, rock-solid "kinda." In the DVOA era (which goes back to 1989), Roethlisberger's game against the Colts was:

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the best passing DYAR and total DYAR a quarterback has ever had in the regular season;

the second-best passing DYAR game a quarterback has ever had if we include the playoffs;

and the third-best total DYAR game a quarterback has ever had if we include the playoffs.

And none of that is set in stone. Opponent adjustments can and will change throughout the second half of the season, and depending on what the Colts do from this point forward, Roethlisberger's game could go up or down a few DYAR. Thought the top spot in the "best ever game" chart is probably out of reach, it's quite possible that Roethlisberger could climb to second, or fall to fourth.

Opponent adjustments work both ways, of course, and Roethlisberger's monster day probably tells us as much about the Colts as it does about Big Ben. The Colts defense entered Week 8 ranked ninth overall and second against the pass. After the Wrath of Roethlisberger, those rankings dropped to 21st overall, 18th against the pass. (Brady had a similar effect on Chicago's defense, taking them from 12th overall and 14th against the pass, to 24th overall and 24th against the pass.) Presumably, this game will be the fluke, and the Colts will rise, and elevate the Steelers' quarterback along with them. For now, though, let's just take a moment to appreciate the best of the best. The following table shows the top quarterback games we've ever measured, regular season or playoffs:

GREATEST QB GAMES EVER -- AT LEAST 280 PASSING DYAR or TOTAL DYAR Player Team Week Year Def Total DYAR Rank Pass DYAR Rank Rush DYAR Comp Att Yds TD Int Sacks Kurt Warner ARI 18* 2009 GB 385 1 385 1 0 29 33 382 5 0 1 Drew Brees NO 18* 2011 DET 359 2 356 3 4 33 43 466 3 0 2 Ben Roethlisberger PIT 8 2014 IND 355 3 362 2 -6 40 49 526 6 0 0 Trent Green KC 4 2002 MIA 347 4 327 5 20 24 34 328 5 0 0 Peyton Manning IND 18* 2004 DEN 329 5 323 6 6 27 33 457 4 1 1 Randall Cunningham MIN 5 1998 GB 311 6 332 4 -22 20 32 442 4 0 0 Marc Bulger STL 10 2002 SD 309 7 309 8 0 36 47 453 4 0 0 Peyton Manning IND 20* 2009 NYJ 305 8 316 7 -11 26 39 373 3 0 2 Ben Roethlisberger PIT 15 2009 GB 299 9 300 9 -1 29 46 503 3 0 5 Scott Mitchell DET 13 1995 MIN 298 10 298 11 0 30 45 410 4 1 3 Tom Brady NE 11 2007 BUF 298 11 299 10 -1 32 39 373 5 0 0 Drew Brees NO 6 2009 NYG 297 12 294 12 3 23 30 369 4 0 0 Tom Brady NE 6 2009 TEN 294 13 294 13 0 29 34 380 6 0 2 Steve Young SF 17 1991 CHI 292 14 258 x 34 21 32 338 3 0 0 Player Team Week Year Def Total DYAR Rank Pass DYAR Rank Rush DYAR Comp Att Yds TD Int Sacks Drew Brees NO 15 2011 MIN 291 15 290 14 1 32 40 412 5 0 0 Tom Brady NE 7 2007 MIA 290 16 290 15 0 21 25 354 6 0 1 Mark Rypien WAS 11 1991 ATL 287 17 278 x 10 16 31 442 6 0 0 Aaron Rodgers GB 19* 2010 ATL 287 18 273 x 14 31 36 366 3 0 2 Peyton Manning IND 18* 2003 DEN 284 19 284 18 0 22 26 377 5 0 0 Tom Brady NE 12 2011 PHI 283 20 271 x 13 24 34 361 3 0 1 Drew Brees NO 9 2007 JAC 283 21 282 19 0 35 49 445 3 0 1 Peyton Manning IND 7 2004 JAC 282 22 282 20 0 28 38 372 3 0 1 Rich Gannon OAK 17 2000 CAR 281 23 268 x 13 26 32 230 5 0 0 Matt Hasselbeck SEA 12 2002 KC 280 24 271 x 8 25 35 362 3 0 1 Bobby Hebert ATL 12 1993 DAL 279 25 282 21 -3 24 32 315 3 0 0 Jim Kelly BUF 10 1992 PIT 268 x 285 17 -17 26 33 296 3 0 1 Tom Brady NE 8 2014 CHI 261 x 288 16 -27 30 35 354 5 0 0 * Playoff game

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All told, that's a pretty good list of the best quarterbacks of the last quarter-century. Brady makes the five times, Brees and Peyton Manning four each; any reasonable opinion will say those are the best three passers of the last two decades. Roethlisberger is not quite in their tier, but he is the only other quarterback to make the list twice, and also the only quarterback with two 500-yard games. Nobody else is on the list more than once, but it probably wouldn't be surprising to see Aaron Rodgers do it again someday. And then you've got your Hall of Famers (Jim Kelly, Steve Young), your HOF candidate (Kurt Warner), the gunslingers on some of the most loaded offenses in recent history (Mark Rypien, Marc Bulger, Randall Cunningham, Trent Green, Rich Gannon, and Matt Hasselbeck), and your surprises (Bobby Hebert and Scott Mitchell). It is a little weird that there aren't more games from the 1990s on here. No Brett Favre? Or Warren Moon? Or Dan Marino? Or late-vintage Joe Montana? Oh well. Maybe we'll find more big games when we dig deeper into the 1980s.

Quarterbacks Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 1. Ben Roethlisberger PIT 40/49 526 6 0 355 362 -6 Even in the red zone, fewer than one-quarter of all NFL pass plays result in touchdowns. In the red zone Roethlisberger went 7-of-8 for 59 yards with five touchdowns and another first down. Up the middle, he went 11-of-12 for 161 yards and eight first downs. 2. Tom Brady NE 30/35 354 5 0 261 288 -27 Brady converted each of his first seven third-down opportunities, going 7-of-7 for 121 yards and a touchdown. His eight and final third-down throw was incomplete, but by then the Patriots were ahead by 30 points in the fourth quarter. 3. Drew Brees NO 27/32 311 3 0 200 197 3 On passes to targets at least 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, Brees went 7-of-9 for 180 yards with two touchdowns and six other first downs. He also picked up a DPI for 34 yards. 4. Peyton Manning DEN 25/35 286 3 0 133 133 0 Manning had an awful day on second down, going 5-of-9 for only 23 yards and one first down (though he also picked up 31 yards on a DPI on second down). He more than made up for it, though, on third downs, going 7-of-9 for 88 yards with two touchdowns and four other first downs. 5. Philip Rivers SD 30/41 252 3 2 78 70 8 Rivers suffered drastically different fortunes on opposite ends of the field. In the red zone, he went 5-of-8 for 25 yards with three touchdowns. Inside his own 20, though, he went 1-of-3 for zero yards with an interception. 6. Carson Palmer ARI 20/42 329 2 0 69 69 0 How's this for a boom-and-bust day: Palmer's Success Rate of 32.6 percent was worst of any qualifying quarterback this week, but his successful plays averaged 21.9 yards each, better than anyone except Kyle Orton. (Orton, in fact, had a Success Rate of 33.3 percent, second-worst of the week.) 7. Nick Foles PHI 36/62 411 2 2 64 52 12 Remember, DYAR is a counting stat, and Foles had 62 attempts to pile up value, tying Randall Cunningham's team record. (Any week I get to mention Randall Cunningham twice is a good week.) On Arizona's half of the field, he went 11-of-24 for 117 yards with one touchdown and only five other first downs. 8. Matt Ryan ATL 20/27 228 2 1 63 60 3 First half: 14-of-17 for 160 yards with two touchdowns and nine other first downs, plus a 20-yard DPI. Second half: 6-of-10 for 68 yards with four first downs, one interception, and two sack-fumbles. 9. Brian Hoyer CLE 19/28 275 1 0 62 65 -3 Hoyer ripped up the right side of the Oakland defense, going 6-of-8 for 140 yards when throwing to that side. All six of those completions gained at least 10 yards and a first down. 10. Colt McCoy WAS 25/30 299 0 1 55 52 3 11. Derek Carr OAK 34/51 328 1 0 46 59 -13 Carr threw a bazillion short, ineffectual passes. With targets within 3 yards of the line of scrimmage, he went 15-of-19 for only 68 yards and one first down (thought that was a 10-yard touchdown to Andre Holmes). 12. Jay Cutler CHI 20/30 227 3 1 45 42 2 Almost all of Cutler's positive plays came with Chicago facing a big deficit. Not counting plays with the Bears were down by 17 or more, Cutler went 3-of-8 for 11 yards and no first downs. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 13. Kyle Orton BUF 10/17 238 4 0 42 40 3 What a weird second half for Orton. His seven plays, in order: sack; 14-yard gain on third-and-15; 12-yard gain on third-and-13; sack; incomplete; 12-yard touchdown, 61-yard touchdown. (Buffalo fans should be sure to read the Carson Palmer comment, which was Orton-riffic.) 14. Andy Dalton CIN 21/28 266 0 1 32 10 22 Despite the absence of A.J. Green, Dalton was best on mid-range and deep passes. When throwing to targets at least 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, he went 6-of-8 for 162 yards. 15. Aaron Rodgers GB 28/39 418 1 2 26 9 17 Rodgers isn't exactly known for struggling to finish drives, but inside the New Orleans 40 he went 8-of-15 for 57 yards with only three first downs, two sacks, and an interception. 16. Matthew Stafford DET 24/44 325 2 1 23 33 -11 Speaking of which: Inside the Atlanta 40, Stafford went 5-of-13 for just 32 yards and three first downs (including one touchdown) and an interception. 17. Ryan Fitzpatrick HOU 19/35 227 1 0 16 13 2 Houston really shouldn't be passing if they don't have to. On first downs, Fitzpatrick went 3-of-8 for 15 yards with one first down, plus two sacks. 18. Andrew Luck IND 27/45 400 3 2 2 -5 7 Luck threw to the deep right portion of the field repeatedly, and for good reason -- he went 5-of-8 for 152 yards and all three of his touchdowns to that area, though one of those incompletions was also intercepted. 19. Mike Glennon TB 19/28 171 1 1 -3 -5 2 Third downs: 3-of-7 for 10 yards for just one first down with two sacks. 20. Alex Smith KC 25/29 223 0 0 -9 5 -14 Did Andy Reid leave the deep ball in Philadelphia? Smith did not throw a single deep pass against St. Louis. Only one other quarterback has thrown 30 passes in a game without a single deep ball this season: Smith, against Miami in Week 3. Smith's average pass this season has traveled only 5.7 yards past the line of scrimmage, shortest of any quarterback this year. 21. Zach Mettenberger TEN 27/41 299 2 1 -10 -10 0 Mettenberger padded his stats at the end of the game. He completed each of his last seven passes for 87 total yards and five first downs, including a touchdown, but that all came down by 21 points in the final minutes of the game. When the Titans were within one score, he went 7-of-13 for 62 yards and only two first downs, with one interception. 22. Ryan Tannehill MIA 16/29 196 1 1 -32 -53 21 Third downs: 2-of-6 for 57 yards, two sacks, only one first down. It took him 28 minutes of game time to pick up a first down. Up to that point he had gone 3-of-8 for 17 yards with two sacks. A lot of teams would have been facing a deficit after a start like that, but, you know. Bortles. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 23. Teddy Bridgewater MIN 24/41 241 1 0 -35 -38 3 Hey, Minnesota, the short passes aren't working. On throws to receivers within 4 yards of the line of scrimmage, Bridgewater went 9-of-16 for 44 yards and only one first down. 24. Russell Wilson SEA 20/32 199 1 1 -37 -37 0 Inside the red zone, Wilson went 2-of-6 for 9 yards with no first downs and one interception. 25. Austin Davis STL 15/25 160 1 1 -62 -57 -5 Davis was sacked seven times. In five straight drives spanning the second and third quarters, he went 2-of-9 for 12 yards with four sacks and no first downs. 26. Joe Flacco BAL 17/34 195 0 2 -68 -74 6 The most (in)famous play from this game was Steve Smith's game-winning touchdown-that-wasn't, but Flacco had trouble hooking up with his wideouts all day. On passes to wide receivers, Flacco went 9-of-22 for 92 yards with four first downs and two interceptions. No Ravens wide receiver gained a first down after halftime. 27. Blake Bortles JAC 18/34 221 1 2 -71 -59 -12 Another quarterback who had trouble getting his team into the end zone. Inside the Miami 40, he went 4-of-9 for 20 yards and only one first down. One of those passes did result in a touchdown, but sadly it was a pick-six for Miami. 28. Cam Newton CAR 12/22 171 0 1 -72 -54 -18 Carolina moved the ball at times against Seattle, but struggled badly to actually score points. Inside the Seattle 40, Newton went 3-of-6 for 31 yards with only one first down, with one interception and one sack. 29. Tony Romo DAL 18/28 211 1 0 -75 -71 -4 30. Michael Vick NYJ 18/34 153 0 1 -94 -107 13 Vick was sacked four times, fumbling twice. He had another fumble on a running play, though he did gain 69 yards and four first downs on eight carries. His deepest completion only traveled 11 yards past the line of scrimmage. Deeper than that, he went 0-for-7 with an interception. 31. Geno Smith NYJ 2/8 5 0 3 -108 -105 -3 Smith's two completions were a 4-yard gain on third-and-10 and a 1-yard gain on first-and-10. That's a zero percent Success Rate. And that's why Michael Vick, as bad as he has played, is New York's starter now.

Five most valuable running backs (Total) Rk Player Team Runs Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. DeMarco Murray DAL 19 141 0 4/4 82 0 74 56 18 2. Arian Foster HOU 20 151 2 4/6 22 1 61 47 14 Foster had a 43-yard run, a 34-yard touchdown, and two other 10-yard runs, and only two stuffs. 3. Mark Ingram NO 24 172 1 1/2 3 0 61 67 -6 Ingram had five runs of 10 yards or more, including a 28-yarder and a 21-yard touchdown. Meanwhile, he was stuffed for no gain or a loss just twice. 4. Matt Forte CHI 19 114 0 5/9 54 1 58 38 20 Perhaps the only man in a Chicago uniform who had a good game this week, Forte gained positive yardage on all his carries and ran for seven first downs, including four 10-yard runs. As a receiver, he had a 25-yard touchdown and another catch that gained 18 yards. His last four targets: 4-yard catch, 4-yard catch, 4-yard catch, 4-yard DPI. 5. Jamaal Charles KC 13 73 2 4/4 44 0 48 33 14 Charles was stuffed only one time. He had touchdowns of 36 and 1 yards, and had three other first downs, including a pair of second-and-1 conversions. His biggest catch was a 30-yard gain on third-and-6.

Five most valuable running backs (Rushing) Rk Player Team Runs Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. Mark Ingram NO 24 172 1 1/2 3 0 61 67 -6 2. DeMarco Murray DAL 19 141 0 4/4 82 0 74 56 18 3. Arian Foster HOU 20 151 2 4/6 22 1 61 47 14 4. Jonathan Stewart CAR 16 79 0 3/5 15 0 38 40 -2 Stewart gets a big boost from opponent adjustments; Seattle entered the week with the league's second-ranked run defense by DVOA. He had five first downs, including gains of 11 and 18 yards. Meanwhile, he only lost yardage once (though that one carry lost 7 yards on third-and-1 in the red zone). 5. Matt Forte CHI 19 114 0 5/9 54 1 58 38 20

Least valuable running back (Total) Rk Player Team Runs Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. Branden Oliver SD 13 36 0 7/8 27 0 -34 -13 -22 Oliver's first 11 carries produced a total of 10 yards and zero first downs. Then, with San Diego down by multiple scores in the fourth quarter, he ran for two first downs on gains of 3 and 23 yards. He had similar results as a receiver: 22 yards on one catch, no other first downs, and three receptions that lost yardage.

Least valuable running back (Rushing) Rk Player Team Runs Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. Anthony Dixon BUF 22 44 0 0/0 0 0 -25 -25 0 Dixon never gained more than 5 yards, He was stuffed for no gain or a loss four times. His only first down was on his last carry of the game.

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

DYAR 1. Antonio Brown PIT 10 13 133 13.3 2 76 Brown had touchdowns of 47 and 8 yards. He converted all three of his third-down targets. 2. Brandon LaFell NE 11 11 124 11.3 1 70 In addition to his 11 catches, LaFell also gained 13 yards on a DPI. 3. Brandin Cooks NO 6 7 94 15.7 1 68 Four of Cooks' targets came with 3 yards or less to go for a first down. The results: 3-yard gain, 18-yard gain, 50-yard touchdown, 34-yard DPI. 4. Emmanuel Sanders DEN 9 9 120 13.3 3 68 Sanders' three touchdowns included a pair of goal-line scores, plus a 31-yard gain on third-and-2. 5. T.Y. Hilton IND 6 10 155 25.8 1 67 Each of Hilton's receptions gained at least 12 yards and a first down.