The Cowboys are sticking with Cooper Rush as their starting quarterback, and I’m disappointed. Had they switched to Trey Lance, it would have created the oddity of the Texans picking off Jared Goff 5 times, then playing their next game against the last quarterback to throw 5 interceptions in a game.
Sort of, anyway. Lance threw 5 interceptions against the Chargers in a preseason game in August. He kept throwing picks, and the Cowboys opted to leave him on the field, letting him gun away (with 49 pass attempts and 323 yards).
Jameis Winston, five years ago, was the last quarterback to throw 5 interceptions in a regular-season game. That was the season he led the league in both interceptions (30) and passing yards (319 per game). (He also tossed 33 TDs that year.)
Out of curiosity, I ran the numbers on this. Three other active quarterbacks have thrown 5 interceptions in a game: Matthew Stafford as a rookie, and Joe Flacco and Russell Wilson. (Nathan Peterson is currently on the practice squad of the Falcons; he would be another, depending on how one defines “active”.)
In the 32-team era, 34 quarterbacks have thrown 5 interceptions in a game. Only three of those guys managed to sneak away with wins – Goff on Sunday night, Matt Ryan at Arizona in 2012, and Tony Romo at Buffalo in 2007.
I don’t know that we’ll see another game in our lifetimes with a quarterback coming in completing 75 percent – a finalist for league MVP in the eyes of many – and then tossing 5 picks. Nobody saw that one coming.
QUARTERBACKS THROWING 5 INTERCEPTIONS | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Opp | Result | Com | Att | Yards | TD | Int |
2002 | Rich Gannon, Oak. | v. T.B. | L 21-48 | 24 | 44 | 272 | 2 | 5 |
2003 | Chad Pennington, NYJ | N.E. | L 16-21 | 24 | 43 | 229 | 0 | 5 |
2004 | Chris Chandler, St.L. | at Car. | L 7-20 | 16 | 29 | 246 | 1 | 6 |
2004 | A.J. Feeley, Mia. | Buff. | L 32-42 | 25 | 51 | 303 | 3 | 5 |
2005 | Daunte Culpepper, Min. | at Cin. | L 8-37 | 21 | 37 | 236 | 0 | 5 |
2005 | Joey Harrington, Det. | at Chi. | L 6-38 | 19 | 37 | 196 | 1 | 5 |
2005 | Brett Favre, G.B. | at Cin. | L 14-21 | 26 | 39 | 279 | 1 | 5 |
2005 | Ryan Fitzpatrick, St.L. | at Min. | L 13-27 | 26 | 45 | 235 | 0 | 5 |
2005 | Kyle Orton, Chi. | Cin. | L 7-24 | 17 | 39 | 149 | 0 | 5 |
2007 | • Tony Romo, Dall. | at Buff. | W 25-24 | 29 | 50 | 309 | 2 | 5 |
2007 | Gus Frerotte, St.L. | at Balt. | L 3-22 | 19 | 36 | 208 | 0 | 5 |
2007 | Peyton Manning, Ind. | at S.D. | L 21-23 | 34 | 56 | 328 | 2 | 6 |
2007 | Kurt Warner, Ari. | at Sea. | L 21-42 | 28 | 46 | 337 | 3 | 5 |
2007 | Jon Kitna, Det. | at S.D. | L 14-51 | 26 | 45 | 302 | 2 | 5 |
2008 | Jake Delhomme, Car. | Ari. | L 13-33 | 17 | 34 | 205 | 1 | 5 |
2009 | Matthew Stafford, Det. | at Sea. | L 20-32 | 22 | 42 | 203 | 2 | 5 |
2009 | Jay Cutler, Chi. | at S.F. | L 6-10 | 29 | 52 | 307 | 0 | 5 |
2009 | Josh Freeman, T.B. | at Car. | L 6-16 | 23 | 44 | 321 | 0 | 5 |
2009 | Keith Null, St.L. | at Ten. | L 7-47 | 28 | 44 | 165 | 1 | 5 |
2009 | Mark Sanchez, NYJ | Buff. | L 13-16 | 10 | 29 | 119 | 0 | 5 |
2009 | Kurt Warner, Ari. | Car. | L 21-34 | 27 | 46 | 242 | 2 | 5 |
2012 | Drew Brees, N.O. | at Atl. | L 13-23 | 28 | 50 | 341 | 0 | 5 |
2012 | Tony Romo, Dall. | Chi. | L 18-34 | 31 | 43 | 307 | 1 | 5 |
2012 | • Matt Ryan, Atl. | Ari. | W 23-19 | 28 | 46 | 301 | 0 | 5 |
2013 | Joe Flacco, Balt. | at Buff. | L 20-23 | 25 | 50 | 347 | 2 | 5 |
2013 | Eli Manning, NYG | Sea. | L 0-23 | 18 | 31 | 156 | 0 | 5 |
2014 | Eli Manning, NYG | S.F. | L 10-16 | 22 | 45 | 280 | 1 | 5 |
2016 | Ryan Fitzpatrick, NYJ | at K.C. | L 3-24 | 20 | 44 | 188 | 0 | 6 |
2016 | Russell Wilson, Sea. | at G.B. | L 10-38 | 22 | 39 | 240 | 1 | 5 |
2016 | Matt Barkley, Chi. | Was. | L 21-41 | 24 | 40 | 323 | 2 | 5 |
2017 | Nathan Peterman, Buff. | at LAC | L 24-54 | 6 | 14 | 66 | 0 | 5 |
2017 | Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | Jac. | L 9-30 | 33 | 55 | 312 | 0 | 5 |
2019 | Jameis Winston, T.B. | Car. | L 26-37 | 30 | 54 | 400 | 1 | 5 |
2024 | Jared Goff, Det. | at Hou. | W 26-23 | 15 | 30 | 240 | 2 | 5 |
Statistics compiled using search tools at Pro-Football-Reference.com
—Ian Allan