That was some game between the Browns and Broncos last night. Memorable, and fun to watch, albeit with some flaws. Sort of like the losing quarterback in the shootout, Jameis Winston.
Winston, as those who have watched or listened to his pregame and postgame audio and video in recent weeks are aware, is a colorful guy. Things flamed out for him in Tampa Bay (throwing 30 interceptions in a season will do that), but it's a shame he's been just a backup quarterback in recent years. The NFL is more interesting with him on the field.
Certainly in terms of passing production. Winston last night attempted 58 passes and threw for 497 yards. Against one of the league's best defenses coming in. Impressive stuff, and not the first time he's put up huge numbers.
Since entering the league in 2015, and despite being a backup for the past five years, Winston has had three games with over 50 passing attempts and at least 400 passing yards. There have been 40 total such games over the last 10 years. Interestingly, those quarterbacks usually come up on the losing end (just 15 and 25 in those games).
Search tools at pro-football-reference.com used in compiling this table.
| QBS WITH 50-PLUS ATTEMPTS, 400 YARDS, 2015-2024 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Year | Opp | Result | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int | Pick6 |
| Jared Goff, LAR | 2019 | T.B | L 40-55 | 45 | 68 | 517 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Derek Carr, Oak. | 2016 | T.B | W 30-24 (OT) | 40 | 59 | 513 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Kirk Cousins, Atl. | 2024 | T.B. | W 36-30 (OT) | 42 | 58 | 509 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Ben Roethlisberger, Pit. | 2017 | Bal. | W 39-38 | 44 | 66 | 506 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Philip Rivers, S.D. | 2015 | G.B. | L 20-27 | 43 | 65 | 503 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Dak Prescott, Dal. | 2020 | Cle. | L 38-49 | 41 | 58 | 502 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Jameis Winston, Cle. | 2024 | Den. | L 32-41 | 34 | 58 | 497 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Dak Prescott, Dal. | 2020 | Sea. | L 31-38 | 37 | 57 | 472 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Tom Brady, N.E. | 2015 | Buf. | W 40-32 | 38 | 59 | 466 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrew Luck, Ind. | 2018 | HOU | L 34-37 (OT) | 40 | 62 | 464 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Roethlisberger, Pit. | 2018 | DEN | L 17-24 | 41 | 56 | 462 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Kirk Cousins, Min. | 2022 | Ind. | W 39-36 (OT) | 34 | 54 | 460 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Matt Schaub, Atl. | 2019 | Sea. | L 20-27 | 39 | 52 | 460 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Kirk Cousins, Was. | 2016 | Cin. | T 27-27 (OT) | 38 | 56 | 458 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Josh McCown, Cle. | 2015 | Bal. | W 33-30 (OT) | 36 | 51 | 457 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Roethlisberger, Pit. | 2015 | Sea. | L 30-39 | 36 | 55 | 456 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Dak Prescott, Dal. | 2018 | Phi. | W 29-23 (OT) | 42 | 54 | 455 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Ben Roethlisberger, Pit. | 2018 | K.C. | L 37-42 | 39 | 60 | 452 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Ryan, Atl. | 2020 | Sea. | L 25-38 | 37 | 54 | 450 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Kirk Cousins, Was. | 2016 | Dal. | L 26-31 | 41 | 53 | 449 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 2022 | Ten. | W 20-17 (OT) | 43 | 68 | 446 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Dak Prescott, Dal. | 2021 | N.E. | W 35-29 (OT) | 36 | 51 | 445 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 2018 | Det. | L 23-31 | 32 | 52 | 442 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 2018 | NYJ | W 44-38 (OT) | 37 | 55 | 442 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Eli Manning, NYG | 2015 | S.F. | W 30-27 | 41 | 54 | 441 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Derek Carr, Oak. | 2018 | Cle. | W 45-42 (OT) | 35 | 58 | 437 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Derek Carr, L.V. | 2021 | Bal. | W 33-27 (OT) | 34 | 56 | 435 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Eli Manning, NYG | 2017 | Phi. | L 29-34 | 37 | 57 | 434 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Tom Brady, T.B. | 2021 | LAR | L 24-34 | 41 | 55 | 432 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Blake Bortles, Jac. | 2018 | K.C. | L 14-30 | 33 | 61 | 430 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Joe Burrow, Cin. | 2024 | Bal. | L 34-35 | 34 | 56 | 428 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Philip Rivers, LAC | 2018 | K.C. | L 28-38 | 34 | 51 | 424 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 2019 | Phi. | L 27-34 | 34 | 53 | 422 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mia. | 2019 | Cin. | W 38-35 (OT) | 31 | 52 | 419 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Andy Dalton, Cin. | 2019 | Sea. | L 20-21 | 35 | 51 | 418 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Derek Carr, Oak. | 2017 | K.C. | W 31-30 | 29 | 52 | 417 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jameis Winston, T.B. | 2016 | LAR | L 32-37 | 36 | 58 | 405 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Dak Prescott, Dal. | 2021 | T.B. | L 29-31 | 42 | 58 | 403 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Josh Allen, Buf. | 2022 | Mia. | L 19-21 | 42 | 63 | 400 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jameis Winston, T.B. | 2019 | Car. | L 26-37 | 30 | 54 | 400 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
To the surprise of no one, Winston is the only guy who threw multiple Pick Sixes while doing it. Players who have also done it this year include Kirk Cousins and Joe Burrow.
--Andy Richardson