Ben Roethlisberger and the Best Passing Games Ever

by Chase Stuart on October 27, 2014

It was criminal how good Ben was on Sunday

Against Indianapolis in week 8, Ben Roethlisberger was close to perfect. He completed 40 of 49 passes for 522 yards. He threw six touchdowns, and didn’t throw an interception or take a sack. That’s a magnificent performance: in fact, among players with an 80% completion percentage in a game, he set a record for completions. It goes without saying that 500+ yard games are rare, and 6+ TD games are rare, and the combination of both are really rare.

But was it the best passing game ever? Not so fast. Let’s start by calculating his Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt, which gives a 20-yard bonus for touchdown passes, a 45-yard penalty for interceptions, and deducts sack yardage from the numerator (and adds sacks to the denominator). Roethlisberger averaged 13.10 ANY/A, a sparkling number. That’s an outstanding number that needs no qualifier, but it’s even more impressive when you consider the opponent. Entering the day, the Colts were allowing just 5.52 ANY/A to opposing passers.

Therefore, the Steelers star averaged 7.58 more ANY/A against the Colts than the average passer in 2014. Over the course of 49 dropbacks, this means Roethlisberger produced a whopping 372 Adjusted Net Yards above average, with average being defined as what all other passers did against Indianapolis.

That number may not mean much in the abstract. But if the Colts defense continues to allow just 5.52 ANY/A to all other passers year, that would give Roethlisberger the 7th best passing game since 1960.

The best? Regular readers should know which game that is by now. When Peyton Manning and Tony Romo had a classic shootout last year, I looked at the best passing battles in NFL history. The top game was the historic Joe Namath/Johnny Unitas showdown in 1972. That day, Namath threw for 496 yards and 6 touchdowns on just 28 pass attempts; he threw one interception and took one 6-yard sack, giving him 19.63 ANY/A. That year, in every other game, Baltimore allowed just 3.41 ANY/A to opposing passers. As a result, Namath is credited with a whopping 470 Adjusted Net Yards above average.

The table below shows the top 150 games since 1960 using this criteria, including postseason games. I’ve included a link to the boxscore, and the table is fully sortable and searchable.

Rk	QB	Tm	Opp	Year	Wk	Boxscore	Rd	Cmp/Att\| Yd\| TD/INT\| Sk-SkYd	ANY/A	SOS	VALUE
1	Joe Namath	NYJ	BAL	1972	2	Boxscore		15/28\| 496\| 6/1\| 1-6	19.63	3.41	470
2	Y.A. Tittle	NYG	WAS	1962	7	Boxscore		27/39\| 505\| 7/0\| 0-0	16.54	5.92	414
3	Mark Rypien	WAS	ATL	1991	11	Boxscore		16/31\| 442\| 6/0\| 0-0	18.19	5.15	404
4	Don Meredith	DAL	PHI	1966	4	Boxscore		19/26\| 394\| 5/0\| 1-5	18.32	3.93	384
5	Randall Cunningham	MIN	GNB	1998	5	Boxscore		20/32\| 442\| 4/0\| 0-0	16.31	4.44	380
6	George Blanda	HOU	SDG	1961	12	Boxscore		20/33\| 351\| 4/1\| 0-0	11.7	0.27	377
7	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	IND	2014	8	Boxscore		40/49\| 522\| 6/0\| 0-0	13.1	5.52	372
8	Warren Moon	HOU	KAN	1990	15	Boxscore		27/45\| 527\| 3/0\| 3-22	11.74	4.03	370
9	George Blanda	HOU	NYT	1961	10	Boxscore		20/32\| 418\| 7/1\| 1-17	15.08	3.93	367
10	Peyton Manning	IND	DEN	2003	0	Boxscore	w	22/26\| 377\| 5/0\| 0-0	18.35	4.59	358
11	Kurt Warner	ARI	GNB	2009	18	Boxscore	w	29/33\| 379\| 5/0\| 1-4	13.97	3.66	350
12	Daryle Lamonica	OAK	KAN	1968	17	Boxscore	d	19/39\| 347\| 5/0\| 1-11	10.9	2.19	348
13	Peyton Manning	DEN	BAL	2013	1	Boxscore		27/42\| 462\| 7/0\| 3-17	13	5.28	347
14	Drew Brees	NOR	NWE	2009	12	Boxscore		18/23\| 371\| 5/0\| 1-4	19.46	5	347
15	Nick Foles	PHI	OAK	2013	9	Boxscore		22/28\| 406\| 7/0\| 1-1	18.79	6.86	346
16	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	GNB	2009	15	Boxscore		29/46\| 503\| 3/0\| 5-31	10.43	3.67	345
17	Ken O'Brien	NYJ	SEA	1986	9	Boxscore		26/32\| 431\| 4/0\| 2-12	14.69	4.55	344
18	Steve Young	SFO	DET	1993	16	Boxscore		17/23\| 354\| 4/0\| 0-0	18.87	3.98	342
19	Dan Marino	MIA	PIT	1984	18	Boxscore	c	21/32\| 421\| 4/1\| 0-0	14.25	3.57	342
20	Frank Ryan	CLE	STL	1966	14	Boxscore		17/30\| 367\| 4/0\| 2-22	13.35	2.69	340
21	Cotton Davidson	OAK	DEN	1964	7	Boxscore		23/36\| 427\| 5/1\| 1-7	12.85	3.66	339
22	Phil Simms	NYG	PHI	1984	1	Boxscore		23/30\| 409\| 4/0\| 2-21	14.62	4.08	337
23	Peyton Manning	IND	DEN	2004	0	Boxscore	w	27/33\| 458\| 4/1\| 1-4	14.54	4.66	336
24	Ken Anderson	CIN	DEN	1981	12	Boxscore		25/37\| 396\| 3/0\| 2-9	11.81	3.34	330
25	Charley Johnson	DEN	OAK	1972	6	Boxscore		20/28\| 361\| 2/0\| 0-0	14.32	2.71	325
26	Tommy Kramer	MIN	WAS	1986	9	Boxscore		20/35\| 490\| 4/1\| 4-19	13.04	4.71	325
27	Daryle Lamonica	OAK	KAN	1968	8	Boxscore		18/32\| 352\| 2/0\| 1-8	11.98	2.23	319
28	Dan Marino	MIA	STL	1984	5	Boxscore		24/36\| 429\| 3/0\| 1-9	13.02	4.45	317
29	Johnny Unitas	BAL	ATL	1967	9	Boxscore		17/20\| 370\| 4/0\| 0-0	22.5	6.66	317
30	Dan Marino	MIA	NWE	1994	1	Boxscore		23/42\| 473\| 5/1\| 2-17	11.6	4.41	316
31	Tommy Maddox	PIT	ATL	2002	10	Boxscore		28/41\| 473\| 4/1\| 2-10	11.57	4.22	316
32	Peyton Manning	IND	JAX	2000	4	Boxscore		23/36\| 440\| 4/0\| 0-0	14.44	5.67	316
33	Matt Flynn	GNB	DET	2011	17	Boxscore		31/44\| 480\| 6/1\| 3-11	11.57	4.89	314
34	Mike Livingston	KAN	WAS	1976	5	Boxscore		15/29\| 332\| 2/0\| 1-8	12.19	1.74	313
35	Dan Fouts	SDG	SFO	1982	6	Boxscore		33/48\| 444\| 5/0\| 0-0	11.33	4.83	312
36	Cotton Davidson	DTX	BUF	1960	14	Boxscore		18/37\| 334\| 2/0\| 0-0	10.11	1.69	311
37	Daryle Lamonica	OAK	NYJ	1968	17	Boxscore	c	20/47\| 401\| 1/0\| 2-8	8.43	2.1	310
38	John Elway	DEN	CLE	1989	18	Boxscore	c	20/36\| 385\| 3/0\| 1-8	11.82	3.48	309
39	Jim Zorn	SEA	NOR	1979	12	Boxscore		24/33\| 384\| 4/0\| 2-18	12.74	3.93	308
40	Steve McNair	TEN	HOU	2003	6	Boxscore		18/27\| 421\| 3/0\| 1-0	17.17	6.17	308
41	Tony Romo	DAL	DEN	2013	5	Boxscore		25/36\| 506\| 5/1\| 4-36	13.13	5.5	305
42	Fran Tarkenton	NYG	STL	1970	6	Boxscore		15/18\| 280\| 5/0\| 3-17	17.45	2.83	305
43	Fran Tarkenton	MIN	DET	1976	9	Boxscore		17/25\| 347\| 2/1\| 0-0	13.68	1.53	304
44	Tom Brady	NWE	MIA	2007	7	Boxscore		21/25\| 354\| 6/0\| 1-9	17.92	6.21	303
45	Peyton Manning	IND	NOR	2003	4	Boxscore		20/25\| 314\| 6/0\| 1-9	16.39	4.79	302
46	Greg Cook	CIN	HOU	1969	9	Boxscore		15/25\| 298\| 4/0\| 0-0	15.12	3.08	301
47	Steve Young	SFO	BUF	1992	2	Boxscore		26/37\| 449\| 3/1\| 1-10	11.91	3.99	301
48	John Brodie	SFO	GNB	1961	13	Boxscore		19/29\| 328\| 2/0\| 0-0	12.69	2.34	300
49	Tom Brady	NWE	PIT	2013	9	Boxscore		23/33\| 432\| 4/0\| 3-19	13.69	5.36	300
50	Peyton Manning	IND	NYJ	2009	20	Boxscore	c	26/39\| 377\| 3/0\| 2-17	10.24	2.95	299
51	Kerry Collins	NYG	IND	2002	16	Boxscore		23/29\| 366\| 4/0\| 0-0	15.38	5.09	299
52	Drew Brees	NOR	DET	2011	0	Boxscore	w	33/43\| 466\| 3/0\| 2-7	11.53	4.91	298
53	Steve Bono	SFO	NOR	1991	14	Boxscore		27/41\| 347\| 3/0\| 1-4	9.6	2.51	298
54	Joe Montana	SFO	DEN	1989	19	Boxscore	s	22/29\| 297\| 5/0\| 1-0	13.31	3.35	298
55	John Hadl	SDG	KAN	1970	14	Boxscore		16/27\| 277\| 3/0\| 1-2	12.01	1.4	297
56	Joe Kapp	MIN	BAL	1969	2	Boxscore		28/43\| 449\| 7/1\| 1-6	12.25	5.47	297
57	Sonny Jurgensen	WAS	RAM	1967	6	Boxscore		18/41\| 334\| 4/0\| 3-29	8.75	2.02	296
58	Joe Montana	SFO	PHI	1989	3	Boxscore		25/34\| 428\| 5/1\| 8-43	10.73	3.7	296
59	Dave Krieg	SEA	DEN	1984	13	Boxscore		30/44\| 406\| 3/0\| 0-0	10.59	3.88	295
60	Craig Morton	DAL	HOU	1970	14	Boxscore		13/17\| 349\| 5/1\| 2-19	20.65	5.37	295
61	Eric Hipple	DET	CHI	1981	7	Boxscore		14/25\| 336\| 4/0\| 1-10	16.02	4.73	294
62	John Brodie	SFO	CHI	1961	10	Boxscore		11/19\| 322\| 3/0\| 0-4	19.89	4.49	293
63	Tom Flores	OAK	HOU	1963	14	Boxscore		17/29\| 407\| 6/2\| 7-48	10.81	2.68	292
64	Earl Morrall	NYG	PHI	1965	5	Boxscore		10/15\| 296\| 4/0\| 1-9	22.94	4.67	292
65	James Harris	RAM	SFO	1974	6	Boxscore		12/15\| 276\| 3/0\| 0-0	22.25	2.82	291
66	Daryle Lamonica	OAK	HOU	1969	17	Boxscore	d	13/17\| 276\| 6/1\| 1-5	19.48	3.11	291
67	Dan Marino	MIA	RAM	1986	15	Boxscore		29/46\| 403\| 5/1\| 1-4	9.64	3.45	291
68	Fran Tarkenton	MIN	RAM	1972	10	Boxscore		14/28\| 319\| 4/0\| 0-0	14.25	3.87	291
69	Tom Brady	NWE	TEN	2009	6	Boxscore		29/34\| 380\| 6/0\| 2-6	13.72	5.66	290
70	Johnny Unitas	BAL	CHI	1960	2	Boxscore		14/27\| 307\| 4/0\| 2-17	12.76	2.75	290
71	Jim Plunkett	SFO	DAL	1977	13	Boxscore		15/29\| 263\| 4/0\| 1-9	11.15	1.48	290
72	Trent Green	KAN	MIA	2002	4	Boxscore		24/34\| 328\| 5/0\| 0-0	12.59	4.05	290
73	Steve Grogan	NWE	NYJ	1979	2	Boxscore		13/18\| 315\| 5/0\| 1-7	20.86	5.93	290
74	John Hadl	SDG	DEN	1971	13	Boxscore		21/36\| 332\| 4/0\| 2-14	10.61	2.98	290
75	Dan Fouts	SDG	RAI	1985	10	Boxscore		26/41\| 436\| 4/1\| 1-10	11.03	4.14	289
76	Brett Favre	GNB	OAK	2003	16	Boxscore		22/30\| 399\| 4/0\| 1-7	15.22	5.97	287
77	Peyton Manning	IND	PHI	2002	10	Boxscore		18/23\| 319\| 3/0\| 0-0	16.48	4.03	286
78	Neil Lomax	STL	DAL	1984	6	Boxscore		19/29\| 354\| 3/0\| 4-29	11.67	3.01	286
79	Tom Flores	OAK	KAN	1966	6	Boxscore		14/24\| 301\| 3/0\| 2-13	13.38	2.42	285
80	Steve Spurrier	SFO	RAM	1975	8	Boxscore		19/38\| 290\| 3/0\| 0-0	9.21	1.71	285
81	John Hadl	SDG	NYJ	1971	7	Boxscore		19/27\| 358\| 4/1\| 0-0	14.75	4.19	285
82	Charley Johnson	STL	CLE	1965	2	Boxscore		11/19\| 310\| 6/1\| 1-7	19.09	4.7	285
83	Don Meredith	DAL	NYG	1966	1	Boxscore		14/24\| 358\| 5/0\| 1-5	18.29	6.79	285
84	Kurt Warner	STL	SDG	2000	5	Boxscore		24/30\| 390\| 4/0\| 2-12	14.4	5.45	284
85	Dan Fouts	SDG	CLE	1974	8	Boxscore		12/21\| 333\| 4/1\| 1-12	16.21	3.33	283
86	Aaron Rodgers	GNB	NYG	2010	16	Boxscore		25/37\| 404\| 4/0\| 2-8	12.21	4.94	283
87	Joe Namath	NYJ	OAK	1968	10	Boxscore		19/37\| 381\| 1/0\| 4-36	9.17	2.26	283
88	Carson Palmer	CIN	SDG	2006	10	Boxscore		31/42\| 440\| 3/0\| 3-23	10.6	4.32	282
89	Gary Danielson	DET	MIN	1978	15	Boxscore		26/33\| 352\| 5/1\| 1-2	11.99	3.69	282
90	Wade Wilson	ATL	TAM	1992	15	Boxscore		19/26\| 324\| 5/0\| 2-10	15.37	5.24	281
91	Marc Wilson	RAI	SEA	1984	6	Boxscore		12/19\| 309\| 2/0\| 2-11	15.82	2.74	281
92	Richard Todd	NYJ	OAK	1977	6	Boxscore		17/29\| 396\| 4/2\| 1-21	12.11	2.76	280
93	Roman Gabriel	RAM	SFO	1969	8	Boxscore		13/23\| 319\| 3/0\| 1-9	15.72	4.06	280
94	Kurt Warner	ARI	MIA	2008	2	Boxscore		19/24\| 361\| 3/0\| 2-12	15.73	5.01	279
95	Tom Brady	NWE	PIT	2007	14	Boxscore		32/46\| 399\| 4/0\| 0-0	10.41	4.35	279
96	Dan Fouts	SDG	PHI	1980	13	Boxscore		20/28\| 342\| 2/0\| 2-12	12.32	3.05	278
97	Tom Brady	NWE	MIA	2011	1	Boxscore		32/48\| 517\| 4/1\| 1-1	11.24	5.57	278
98	George Blanda	HOU	KAN	1965	6	Boxscore		19/33\| 304\| 5/0\| 2-15	11.28	3.23	278
99	Drew Brees	NOR	GNB	2008	12	Boxscore		20/26\| 323\| 4/0\| 1-5	14.74	4.46	278
100	Drew Brees	NOR	TAM	2013	17	Boxscore		24/31\| 381\| 4/0\| 1-11	14.24	5.58	277
101	Drew Brees	NOR	MIA	2013	4	Boxscore		30/39\| 413\| 4/0\| 2-16	11.63	4.88	277
102	Dan Marino	MIA	WAS	1984	1	Boxscore		21/28\| 311\| 5/0\| 0-0	14.68	4.81	276
103	Donovan McNabb	PHI	DET	2007	3	Boxscore		21/26\| 381\| 4/0\| 3-18	15.38	5.86	276
104	Tim Tebow	DEN	PIT	2011	0	Boxscore	w	10/21\| 316\| 2/0\| 0-0	17.09	4.01	275
105	Joe Theismann	WAS	PHI	1982	1	Boxscore		28/39\| 382\| 3/0\| 1-9	10.83	3.98	274
106	Steve Young	SFO	CHI	1991	17	Boxscore		21/32\| 338\| 3/0\| 0-0	12.67	4.12	274
107	Kerry Collins	NYG	NYJ	1999	13	Boxscore		17/29\| 341\| 3/0\| 1-3	13.53	4.44	273
108	Steve Grogan	NWE	NYJ	1978	9	Boxscore		15/19\| 281\| 4/0\| 1-6	17.86	4.16	273
109	Vince Ferragamo	RAM	CHI	1982	8	Boxscore		30/46\| 509\| 3/2\| 1-3	10.12	4.33	272
110	Boomer Esiason	CIN	NYJ	1986	16	Boxscore		23/30\| 425\| 5/1\| 2-9	14.74	6.23	272
111	Trent Green	KAN	GNB	2003	6	Boxscore		27/45\| 400\| 3/0\| 0-0	10.22	4.18	272
112	Steve Young	SFO	RAM	1993	13	Boxscore		26/32\| 462\| 4/1\| 3-11	13.65	5.99	271
113	Daryle Lamonica	OAK	MIA	1968	2	Boxscore		15/24\| 344\| 4/0\| 2-15	15.73	5.35	270
114	Tobin Rote	SDG	OAK	1963	12	Boxscore		17/25\| 284\| 3/0\| 2-10	12.53	2.4	270
115	Johnny Unitas	BAL	DET	1963	9	Boxscore		17/24\| 376\| 2/1\| 3-25	12.81	2.85	269
116	John Hadl	SDG	BUF	1967	4	Boxscore		18/31\| 282\| 2/0\| 0-0	10.39	1.71	269
117	Brian Sipe	CLE	CIN	1976	4	Boxscore		26/42\| 290\| 2/0\| 0-0	7.86	1.46	269
118	Steve McNair	TEN	JAX	1999	16	Boxscore		23/33\| 291\| 5/0\| 0-0	11.85	3.71	269
119	Scott Mitchell	MIA	KAN	1993	9	Boxscore		22/33\| 344\| 3/0\| 0-0	12.24	4.1	269
120	Bert Jones	BAL	NWE	1977	14	Boxscore		19/30\| 340\| 3/0\| 4-29	10.91	3.01	268
121	Dan Marino	MIA	NYJ	1988	13	Boxscore		17/35\| 353\| 5/0\| 0-0	12.94	5.28	268
122	Chris Chandler	HOU	CIN	1995	4	Boxscore		23/26\| 352\| 4/0\| 1-2	16.06	6.14	268
123	Tobin Rote	SDG	NYJ	1963	8	Boxscore		21/29\| 369\| 3/0\| 1-6	14.33	5.4	267
124	George Blanda	HOU	LAC	1960	15	Boxscore	c	16/31\| 301\| 3/0\| 0-0	11.65	3.02	267
125	Tom Brady	NWE	BUF	2007	11	Boxscore		31/39\| 373\| 5/0\| 0-0	12.13	5.28	267
126	Drew Brees	NOR	NYG	2009	6	Boxscore		23/30\| 369\| 4/0\| 0-0	14.97	6.08	267
127	Eli Manning	NYG	PHI	2009	14	Boxscore		27/38\| 391\| 3/0\| 3-12	10.71	4.21	266
128	Jim Everett	RAM	HOU	1993	4	Boxscore		19/28\| 316\| 3/0\| 0-0	13.43	3.92	266
129	Roman Gabriel	RAM	BAL	1967	14	Boxscore		18/22\| 257\| 3/0\| 0-0	14.41	2.33	266
130	Kurt Warner	ARI	PIT	2008	21	Boxscore	s	31/43\| 377\| 3/1\| 2-3	8.64	2.74	266
131	George Blanda	HOU	OAK	1963	14	Boxscore		20/32\| 342\| 5/2\| 1-7	10.45	2.41	265
132	Drew Brees	NOR	DAL	2006	14	Boxscore		26/38\| 384\| 5/0\| 1-7	12.25	5.46	265
133	Tom Brady	NWE	DAL	2007	6	Boxscore		31/46\| 388\| 5/0\| 3-15	9.65	4.26	264
134	Tom Brady	NWE	DET	2010	12	Boxscore		21/27\| 341\| 4/0\| 1-3	14.93	5.5	264
135	Drew Brees	NOR	JAX	2007	9	Boxscore		35/49\| 445\| 3/0\| 1-10	9.9	4.63	264
136	Jack Concannon	CHI	GNB	1970	13	Boxscore		21/34\| 338\| 4/1\| 1-2	10.88	3.36	263
137	Fran Tarkenton	MIN	NOR	1974	12	Boxscore		20/29\| 317\| 3/0\| 1-9	12.28	3.52	263
138	Dan Fouts	SDG	STL	1976	3	Boxscore		15/18\| 259\| 4/0\| 2-14	16.63	3.5	263
139	Billy Kilmer	WAS	MIN	1975	11	Boxscore		13/25\| 233\| 3/0\| 1-5	11.03	0.93	263
140	Brad Johnson	WAS	DAL	1999	1	Boxscore		20/33\| 382\| 2/0\| 2-13	11.72	4.23	262
141	Jake Delhomme	CAR	MIN	2005	8	Boxscore		21/30\| 341\| 3/0\| 1-3	12.84	4.38	262
142	Doug Flutie	BUF	SEA	2000	17	Boxscore		20/25\| 366\| 3/0\| 0-0	17.04	6.56	262
143	Tommy Kramer	MIN	CLE	1980	15	Boxscore		38/49\| 456\| 4/0\| 1-1	10.71	5.49	261
144	Billy Wade	CHI	BAL	1962	11	Boxscore		23/32\| 328\| 3/0\| 0-0	12.36	4.2	261
145	Craig Morton	DEN	SDG	1981	4	Boxscore		17/18\| 308\| 4/0\| 2-13	19.05	5.66	261
146	Doug Williams	WAS	DEN	1987	18	Boxscore	s	18/29\| 340\| 4/1\| 2-17	11.74	3.31	261
147	Carson Palmer	CIN	SDG	2010	16	Boxscore		16/21\| 269\| 4/0\| 0-0	16.62	4.22	260
148	Dan Fouts	SDG	SEA	1985	2	Boxscore		29/43\| 440\| 4/1\| 3-21	10.06	4.38	259
149	Steve Spurrier	SFO	CHI	1972	10	Boxscore		17/27\| 275\| 5/0\| 1-9	13.02	3.8	258
150	Len Dawson	DTX	DEN	1962	11	Boxscore		11/17\| 275\| 3/0\| 1-8	18.17	3.81	258

When it comes to dominating the Colts, Roethlisberger was incredible… but Namath was even better.

Tagged as: Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Namath

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