Factoid
I have reservations about Matt Flynn. I’m not saying he’ll be a bust, but I see some concerns in the limited time he’s been on the field (both regular season and preseason). He’s been below-average in terms of interceptions, so maybe he’ll force too many passes. And he’s taken way too many sacks.
Among the 60 quarterbacks with at least 100 pass attempts in the last two years, in fact, Flynn ranks 53rd in sack ratio (12 versus 115 pass attempts). So maybe he’s just the next Kevin Kolb. (Though in fairness, it’s too early to declare Kolb a disaster.)
While there are some troubling issues with Flynn, however, there’s also that historic game against Detroit: 480 yards and 6 TDs. Wow. As best I can tell, those are the best passing numbers in the fantasy football era. They’re the 2nd-best numbers since the merger in 1970, and 7th-best (I think) all-time.
On the chart below, I’m talking PASSING only, so no mention of quarterbacks like Michael Vick who’ve been able to combo big passing games with 100-plus rushing yards or multiple touchdown runs. Just passing, and here I’m using the scoring system of 4 points for TD passes and 1 point for every 20 passing yards.
BIGGEST PASSING GAMES SINCE MERGER IN 1970
Yds TD Points
496 6 48.8 1972 Joe Namath (NYJ) at BALT W 44-34
480 6 48.0 2011 Matt Flynn (GB) vs. DET W 45-41
476 6 47.8 1990 Joe Montana (SF) at ATL W 45-35
448 6 46.4 1986 Dan Marino (MIA) at NYJ L 45-51
442 6 46.1 1991 Mark Rypien (WAS) vs. ATL W 56-17
520 5 46.0 2011 Matthew Stafford (DET) at GB L 41-45
401 6 44.1 2007 Carson Palmer (CIN) at CLE L 45-51
473 5 43.7 1994 Dan Marino (MIA) vs. NE W 39-35
472 5 43.6 2004 Peyton Manning (IND) at KC L 35-45
464 5 43.2 2004 Donovan McNabb (PHI) vs. GB W 47-17
462 5 43.1 2000 Gus Frerotte (DEN) vs. SD W 38-37
380 6 43.0 2009 Tom Brady (NE) vs. TEN W 59-0
447 5 42.4 1989 Randall Cunningham (PHI) at WAS W 42-37
444 5 42.2 1982 Dan Fouts (SD) at SF W 41-37
363 6 42.2 1991 Jim Kelly (BUF) vs. PIT W 52-34
358 6 41.9 2009 Drew Brees (NO) vs. DET W 45-27
517 4 41.9 2011 Tom Brady (NE) at MIA W 38-24
354 6 41.7 2007 Tom Brady (NE) at MIA W 49-28
429 5 41.5 1985 Joe Montana (SF) at ATL W 38-17
428 5 41.4 1989 Joe Montana (SF) at PHI W 38-28
425 5 41.3 1986 Boomer Esiason (CIN) vs. NYJ W 52-21
425 5 41.3 2004 Daunte Culpepper (MIN) at NO W 38-31
422 5 41.1 2009 Matthew Stafford (DET) vs. CLE W 38-37
419 5 41.0 1983 Joe Ferguson (BUF) at MIA W 38-35
499 4 41.0 2004 Jake Plummer (DEN) vs. ATL L 28-41
413 5 40.7 2004 Kelly Holcomb (CLE) at CIN L 48-58
492 4 40.6 2004 Billy Volek (TEN) at OAK L 35-40
490 4 40.5 1986 Tommy Kramer (MIN) at WAS L 38-44
409 5 40.5 1997 Warren Moon (SEA) vs. OAK W 45-34
486 4 40.3 1980 Doug Williams (TB) at MIN L 30-38
403 5 40.2 1986 Dan Marino (MIA) at RAM W 37-31
479 4 40.0 1986 Ken O'Brien (NYJ) vs. MIA W 51-45
—Ian Allan
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