Whenever your team’s quarterback lets go an epic diarrhea in the punch bowl performance this season, take solace in this, Jaguars fans: at least they did better than Garo Yepremian.
The pending Peyton Mannning Reunion Special game in Indy this upcoming season got me thinking about other great quarterbacks taking on their former teams in high-profile games. One of the most quintessential examples of this was Joe Montana leading the Chiefs against Steve Young and the 49ers in 1994. The entire game can be found (for now!) on YouTube – besides seeing two of the ten best (five best?) quarterbacks ever square off, how great is it to hear Summerall and Madden in their prime again? I’m telling you, this YouTube thing could be big someday.
You’ve all heard me talk about the importance of Yards per Pass Attempt in the past and how it’s probably the most important single statistic in determining who wins and loses football games. With that in mind, I decided it might be a good idea to look at the NFL’s career leaders in Yards per Attempt. After all, whichever player has the highest all-time yards per attempt in league history probably did the most to help his team win in league history, right? So here’s your career top 20 for Yards per Attempt in NFL history. Who comes out #1? Peyton Manning? Tom Brady? Joe Montana?
How about none of the above?
| Rk | Player | From | To | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Rate | Y/A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Miller | 1996 | 2007 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 81 | 1 | 158.3 | 81.00 |
| 2 | Mohamed Sanu | 2012 | 2012 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 73 | 1 | 158.3 | 73.00 |
| 3 | Mike Lind | 1963 | 1966 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 69 | 1 | 158.3 | 69.00 |
| 4 | Curtis Dickey | 1980 | 1986 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 63 | 1 | 158.3 | 63.00 |
| 5 | Jack Losch | 1956 | 1956 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 63 | 1 | 158.3 | 63.00 |
| 6 | Lance Rentzel | 1965 | 1974 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 58 | 1 | 158.3 | 58.00 |
| 7 | Tom Watkins | 1961 | 1968 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 58 | 1 | 158.3 | 58.00 |
| 8 | Arthur Marshall | 1992 | 1996 | 2 | 2 | 100.00% | 111 | 2 | 158.3 | 55.50 |
| 9 | Bobby Luna | 1955 | 1959 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 55 | 0 | 118.7 | 55.00 |
| 10 | Mike Kabealo | 1944 | 1944 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 54 | 1 | 158.3 | 54.00 |
| 11 | Cotton Speyrer | 1972 | 1975 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 54 | 1 | 158.3 | 54.00 |
| 12 | Darnay Scott | 1994 | 2002 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 53 | 0 | 118.7 | 53.00 |
| 13 | Ron Widby | 1968 | 1973 | 2 | 2 | 100.00% | 102 | 1 | 158.3 | 51.00 |
| 14 | Brandon Banks | 2010 | 2012 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 49 | 1 | 158.3 | 49.00 |
| 15 | Carlos Carson | 1980 | 1989 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 48 | 1 | 158.3 | 48.00 |
| 16 | Reggie Roby | 1983 | 1998 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 48 | 0 | 118.7 | 48.00 |
| 17 | Charley Sarratt | 1948 | 1948 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 48 | 0 | 118.7 | 48.00 |
| 18 | Alvin Harper | 1991 | 1999 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 46 | 0 | 118.7 | 46.00 |
| 19 | Russ Francis | 1975 | 1988 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 45 | 0 | 118.7 | 45.00 |
| 20 | Preston Ridlehuber | 1966 | 1969 | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 45 | 1 | 158.3 | 45.00 |
That’s right – the NFL’s career leader in yards per attempt is Josh Miller, the punter pictured above. No doubt, his passing performance in his career has elevated him above everyone else in league history. Does this mean that NFL teams should start giving punters more pass attempts during critical regular season moments and pay them the hundreds of millions of dollars we usually see reserved for franchise quarterbacks? It’s tough for me to say after just looking at this one table. But yes. Yes, they should.
If you missed yesterday’s results, click here. That post also has pre-Week 15 standings and an explanation of some of the different tiebreakers that may come into play down the stretch. Fun times! Here’s the back half of Week 15′s action:
1968 New York Jets (6-8) 13, 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4) 10
Joe Namath shook off four interceptions to throw a game-tying 27-yard touchdown pass to Don Maynard with 1:39 remaining and Jim Turner won the game with a 47-yard field goal with two seconds remaining as the Jets kept their pencil-thin playoff hopes alive for another week. Mel Blount and Glen Edwards each picked off Namath twice, but Namath led the Jets on a nine-play, 51-yard drive that culminated with that touchdown throw to Maynard. Joe Gilliam, playing in relief of Terry Bradshaw, led the Steelers to the edge of Roy Gerela’s field goal range, but Gerela’s 50-yard field goal attempt went wide right with 32 seconds to play. Then Namath completed three quick passes to George Sauer, Bill Mathis and Pete Lammons to set up Turner for the game-winner. The loss likely cements the Steelers in the #4 slot in the playoffs; they’re now a game behind the Patriots for the #3 slot and New England owns the tiebreaker due to their Week 2 win.
1999 St. Louis Rams (11-3) 39, 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) 7
Marshall Faulk rushed for 140 yards on 14 attempts, including a 60-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and the Rams routed their greatest nemesis from the Greatest Show on Turf days, clinching a first-round bye in the process. Kurt Warner was efficient, going 10-of-14 for 177 yards and a 59-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl (one can only assume that the entire Bucs secondary died on the play). Jeff Wilkins added six field goals for the Rams. Tampa Bay could only gain 76 rushing yards on 32 attempts and missed an opportunity to jump back into first place in the NFC South.
2000 Tennessee Titans (13-1) 27, 1964 Cleveland Browns (1-13) 7
As was expected in a battle of teams tied for the league’s best and worst records, respectively, the Titans rolled into Cleveland Stadium and took care of business, getting one step closer to clinching a first-round bye in the AFC. Steve McNair went 15-of-20 for 211 yards and a touchdown pass to Yancey Thigpen; Eddie George and Rodney Thomas added rushing touchdowns for Tennessee, as well. Jim Brown played well in defeat, rushing for 157 yards on 23 attempts; his quarterback, Frank Ryan, was miserable as usual, however, going 17-of-28 for 89 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
1979 San Diego Chargers (13-1) 25, 1991 Houston Oilers (6-8) 24
Meanwhile in San Diego, 16 unanswered fourth quarter points culminating in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Dan Fouts to Charlie Joiner with seven seconds left also sent the Chargers to 13-1, setting up a winner-take-all showdown with Tennessee next week for home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs. When Ernest Givins caught an eight-yard score from Warren Moon to give Houston a 24-9 lead late in the third quarter, however, things weren’t looking bright for San Diego. Fouts, though, led the Chargers back with a 5-yard touchdown throw to Joiner early in the fourth quarter. Then, after a Rolf Benirschke field goal moved the score to 24-19, Fouts led the Chargers 44 yards in ten plays to win the game with his second touchdown pass to Joiner. San Diego failed to pick up the two-point conversion, but Houston was unable to run a play from scrimmage after the resulting kickoff. The loss all but ends the Oilers’ fading playoff dreams.
1992 Dallas Cowboys (11-3) 23, 1991 Washington Redskins (9-5) 6
The Cowboys clinched a season sweep of the Redskins, the NFC East title and a first-round bye in the NFC through stingy defense, 132 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Emmitt Smith and a 14-of-16 performance from Troy Aikman. Dallas kept Washington out of the end zone until the fourth quarter – by then, they had already built a 16-point advantage on three Lin Elliott field goals and Smith’s 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. After Mark Rypien’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Gary Clark cut the lead to 16-6, Smith put the game away with a 9-yard run with 1:46 remaining. Aikman finished with 147 yards on those 16 attempts; Rypien only threw for 174 yards on 25 attempts for the Redskins, who can now only make the playoffs through the wild card.
1952 Detroit Lions (3-11) 17, 1976 Oakland Raiders (3-11) 14
Jug Girard caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Bobby Layne with 14 seconds remaining to give the Lions the road victory. Girard also rushed for 85 yards on just seven attempts and Layne threw for 141 yards and two touchdowns on 20 attempts. Ken Stabler went 13-of-16 for 168 yards and a score for Oakland.
1986 New York Giants (6-8) 45, 1960 Philadelphia Eagles (1-13) 10
Joe Morris took his turn swinging at the Eagles’ run defense pinata, rushing for 224 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries as the Giants routed the Eagles at Giants Stadium. Morris scored on runs of 12, 20, 41, and 2 yards. Phil Simms added 198 passing yards and two touchdowns on 29 attempts.
1985 Chicago Bears (9-5) 20, 1973 Minnesota Vikings (4-10) 10
Backed by touchdown runs greater than 20 yards from Walter Payton and Matt Suhey, the Bears scored 20 unanswered points in the second half to clinch a season sweep of the Vikings and move into first place in the NFC North, due to their Week 5 win over Green Bay at Lambeau Field. The Bears could clinch the division by beating the Packers next week at Soldier Field. Payton finished with 121 yards on 18 attempts and Suhey added 77 on 11 carries. Fran Tarkenton was decent, going 18-of-30 for 192 yards and a touchdown, but the Vikings only gained 61 yards on the ground on 35 attempts.
Next week: The NFC North likely gets decided when the ’62 Packers travel to face the ’85 Bears; the ’92 Cowboys and ’99 Rams try to keep up with each other in the race for home-field advantage in the NFC when they take on the ’02 Buccaneers and ’75 Steelers, respectively; and the ’79 Chargers and ’00 Titans decide who will be the #1 seed in the AFC when they meet in Nashville.
AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
AFC West
NFC East
NFC North
NFC South
NFC West
With only three weeks left in the Greatest of All Time season, I’m going to run the pre-Week 15 standings below so you all can see where we’re at heading into this week’s games:
AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
AFC West
NFC East
NFC North
NFC South
NFC West
Some notes on tiebreakers: Carolina is in the NFC South lead currently because they beat Tampa Bay back in Week 4 (they play again the final week of the season in Charlotte) and Chicago has the lead on the Bucs for the final wild-card spot because they have a better conference record…Dallas has the edge over St. Louis for home-field advantage in the NFC because they have a better conference record…Miami and Kansas City both currently have better division records than Buffalo and Denver, respectively, so the tie for the last AFC wild-card spot comes down to the Dolphins and Chiefs and the Dolphins currently have a better record than the Chiefs in common games…New England beat Pittsburgh back in Week 2, so they’re currently seeded #3 in the AFC as a result…And as far as Tennessee and San Diego are concerned, currently they’re so close in the standings that their tiebreaker goes down to such a weird, uncommon level that I’m not going to bother computing it – mainly because they play each other in Nashville in Week 16 and the tiebreaker will be slightly easier to comprehend after that. For now, I’m subjectively seeding the Titans #1.
That’s it for the tiebreaker talk. Let’s actually play this week’s games! (And by “play,” I of course mean “simulate on a computer.”)
1969 Kansas City Chiefs (8-6) 16, 1999 Jacksonville Jaguars (8-6) 3
Robert Holmes’ nine-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter proved to be all the points the Chiefs needed, as they held the Jaguars to 178 total yards and came away with an important win in Jacksonville. Neither team’s quarterback had a good day: Len Dawson went 14-of-27 for 137 yards and two interceptions (and Mike Livingston came off the bench to throw another pick for the Chiefs), but Mark Brunell could only come up with 108 yards on 29 attempts and threw two interceptions of his own in addition to being sacked four times. Otis Taylor had 67 receiving yards for Kansas City.
2005 Seattle Seahawks (6-7-1) 13, 1958 Baltimore Colts (6-8) 6
Shaun Alexander rushed for 149 yards and the game’s only touchdown on 22 attempts and the Seahawks likely ended the Colts’ playoff hopes with a seven-point win at Qwest Field. Baltimore had a chance in the waning seconds to tie the game, but Johnny Unitas’ last-ditch throw from the Seattle 16 fell incomplete. Baltimore outgained Seattle 275-230 and won the turnover battle 2-0, but could never punch the ball in the end zone and Steve Myhra’s field goal struggles continued as he missed two of his four attempts. Unitas finished 18-of-27 for 131 yards and no interceptions.
2007 New England Patriots (11-3) 24, 1972 Miami Dolphins (7-7) 21
Tom Brady went 24-of-32 for 311 yards and two touchdowns and the Patriots withstood a late Dolphins charge to come away with a road victory, a season sweep over Miami and the AFC East title all in one fell swoop. Brady threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Faulk in the second quarter to give the Patriots a 14-3 lead and later threw a three-yard score to Ben Watson in the third to increase their lead to 24-10. The Dolphins came back in the fourth quarter, though, behind a Garo Yepremian field goal and Larry Csonka’s second touchdown run of the game which, after a successful two-point conversion, cut the Patriots’ lead to 24-21. But on Miami’s last possession, Howard Twilley fumbled the ball away at his own 41-yard line and the Patriots were able to run out the clock from there. Bob Griese played well for Miami in defeat, going 13-of-23 for 243 yards.
2006 Indianapolis Colts (3-11) 34, 1998 Denver Broncos (7-7) 21
For one of the few times this season, the Colts actually resembled the high-powered outfit that dominated the NFL’s regular seasons during the 2000s and it came at a terrible time for Denver, as the disappointing home loss dropped them a game in back of Kansas City in the wild-card race with two games to play. Peyton Manning went 16-of-27 for 260 yards and three touchdowns – two to Reggie Wayne and one to Marvin Harrison. Joseph Addai added 151 yards on 15 rushing attempts, including a long run of 58 yards. Terrell Davis continued the trend of rushers dominating the Colts’ run defense with 222 yards and three touchdowns on 23 attempts, but John Elway only went 8-of-13 for 84 yards and threw an interception.
2012 Atlanta Falcons (5-9) 33, 2005 Carolina Panthers (8-6) 7
Matt Ryan went 17-of-23 for 189 yards and two touchdowns and the Falcons shocked the Panthers in Charlotte, bringing an end to Carolina’s five-game winning streak. Michael Turner added 102 yards on 13 rushing attempts and Atlanta’s pass rush got to Jake Delhomme seven times – John Abraham contributed two of those sacks. Jonathan Babineaux also recorded a sack and picked off Delhomme.
2009 New Orleans Saints (6-8) 50, 2008 Arizona Cardinals (5-9) 43
The biggest shootout of the season was ultimately won by the home team, as Drew Brees went 21-of-29 for 387 yards and five touchdowns and the Saints outlasted the Cardinals at the Superdome. Here’s a partial list of the outstanding offensive performers from the game: Kurt Warner threw for 382 yards and four touchdowns on 36 attempts, Larry Fitzgerald had 157 receiving yards and a touchdown on seven catches, Edgerrin James rushed for 158 yards on 13 attempts, Reggie Bush scored three touchdowns (two on the ground, one through the air) and Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey both had over 90 yards receiving. However, it was Jonathan Vilma’s second interception of the day that ended the Cardinals’ comeback threat with under a minute to go.
1981 Cincinnati Bengals (7-7) 21, 1990 Buffalo Bills (7-7) 16
Ken Anderson threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns on 26 attempts and the Bengals kept their playoff hopes alive while severely damaging Buffalo’s at the same time. Turk Schonert came on in relief of Anderson in the third quarter and added a touchdown throw to Steve Kreider which turned out to be the game-winner. Cris Collinsworth had 110 receiving yards on six catches and Dan Ross was the recipient of Anderson’s two touchdown tosses. Jim Kelly went 14-of-22 for 182 yards and two touchdowns but the Bills couldn’t get the ball back after scoring a touchdown with 4:31 remaining in the game.
1989 San Francisco 49ers (6-7-1) 16, 1962 Green Bay Packers (9-5) 9
In a game filled with more Hall of Famers than you could count on both hands and toes, it turned out to be Terrence Flagler of all people who scored the lone touchdown of the game and gave the 49ers their third win in a row and the Packers their third loss in a row. Joe Montana went 15-of-23 for 187 yards and an interception and Jerry Rice caught three passes for 80 yards. With under a minute left, Green Bay drove down to the 49er 9-yard-line, but Bart Starr’s 4th-down pass to Max McGee fell incomplete. The Packer running game was limited to 90 yards on 26 attempts and, as a result, the Packers could find themselves out of first place in the NFC North for the first time all season, pending the result of the Bears-Vikings game later this week.
Tomorrow: The ’99 Rams and ’02 Buccaneers meet in an important game for playoff positioning in the NFC; the ’00 Titans and ’79 Chargers try to take care of business against the ’64 Browns and ’91 Oilers, respectively, with their hugely important head-to-head matchup lingering in Week 16; the ’85 Bears try to move into first place in the NFC North against the ’73 Vikings; and the 9-4 ’91 Redskins travel to Irving to take on the 10-3 ’92 Cowboys. No biggie.
Please indulge the Bears fan in me for just a moment and recall how amazing Hester was in 2006 and (especially) 2007. My favorite part of this whole video is Dan Dierdorf repeatedly shaking his head and saying, “I don’t get it…I DON’T GET IT…” during Hester’s second return touchdown against the Broncos. Obviously, Todd Sauerbrun shouldn’t have been buying any green bananas in the week leading up to that game.
The first eight results from this week’s games can be found in this post. Eight more results can be found below, beginning with…
2005 Carolina Panthers (8-5) 17, 1999 Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5) 13
Jake Delhomme found Steve Smith with a 58-yard touchdown pass with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter and the red-hot Panthers won their fifth game in a row, moving into first place in the NFC South due to their Week 4 win over the Buccaneers. Before that play, Smith had been held completely in check, catching three passes for only ten yards – but as is his wont, he came up with a huge play at the right time. Delhomme finished 13-of-17 for 216 yards, two touchdowns and an interception; his other touchdown was a 34-yard strike to Keary Colbert in the first quarter. The Jaguars gained six more first downs than the Panthers but could only muster a total of 246 yards on offense.
1976 Oakland Raiders (3-10) 43, 2006 Indianapolis Colts (2-11) 27
Ken Stabler went 13-of-17 for 232 yards and four touchdowns and the Raiders also chewed up 225 yards on the ground as they won the battle of former Super Bowl champions having bitterly disappointing seasons. Clarence Davis had 110 yards on just 10 carries for Oakland and Mark Van Eeghen and Pete Banaszak combined for 109 more and two touchdowns on 18 combined carries. Peyton Manning was 22-of-34 for 335 yards (153 of those going to Reggie Wayne) and a touchdown but the Colts’ offense bogged down on Oakland’s side of the field too often, having to settle for four Adam Vinatieri field goals.
1999 St. Louis Rams (10-3) 31, 2008 Arizona Cardinals (5-8) 24
Marshall Faulk’s 67-yard touchdown run with 5:28 remaining in the game put the Rams back ahead after squandering a 17-point halftime lead and moved St. Louis into a tie with Dallas for the best record in the NFC (the Cowboys currently hold the tiebreaker due to their better performance in conference games). Faulk finished with 131 yards rushing on 15 attempts and also led the Rams in receiving with 69 yards. Like in their Week 2 meeting, the ’08 edition of Kurt Warner outplayed the ’99 version, as Arizona Kurt finished 24-of-37 for 368 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions compared to St. Louis Kurt’s line of 14-of-28 for 200 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The Rams’ 24-7 halftime lead proved to be too insurmountable for the Cardinals to come back from, however, and the game ended with a Warner-to-Larry Fitzgerald 50-yard pass…that, unfortunately, only got Arizona to the St. Louis 24.
2005 Seattle Seahawks (5-7-1) 31, 1973 Minnesota Vikings (4-9) 13
Shaun Alexander rushed for 248 yards and three touchdowns on 22 attempts and the Seahawks steamrolled the Vikings at Qwest Field. Alexander scored from 2, 53, and 25 yards away and Mack Strong added a 16-yard run to begin the game’s scoring. Fran Tarkenton was held to 12 completions in 26 attempts for 157 yards and a touchdown to Carroll Dale.
1998 Denver Broncos (7-6) 24, 1969 Kansas City Chiefs (7-6) 20
Terrell Davis’s third touchdown run of the game gave the Broncos the lead with 6:24 left in the fourth quarter and the Denver defense fought back the Chiefs on a last-second goal-line stand to even both teams’ records at 7-6 and throw the race for the last wild-card spot in the AFC into a state of chaos. Despite Davis’s three touchdowns, the main offensive star for the Broncos was John Elway – he went 13-of-19 for 262 yards and one interception. Shannon Sharpe caught four passes for 129 yards and Ed McCaffrey and Rod Smith combined for 126 yards on 7 catches. Len Dawson was effective as well, going 15-of-27 for 248 yards, two touchdowns and an interception and led the Chiefs all the way down to the Bronco 1-yard line with 38 seconds left. There, however, the Broncos thwarted Dawson’s 4th-and-goal pass to Robert Holmes and Davis was able to get a game-clinching first down run on the next play.
2007 New England Patriots (10-3) 21, 1981 Cincinnati Bengals (6-7) 9
Tom Brady shook off two interceptions to finish 16-of-28 for 200 yards and three touchdowns and the Patriots ended their two-game losing skid with a home victory over Cincinnati. Randy Moss caught two of those touchdown passes and Laurence Maroney caught the other while also rushing for 77 yards. Ken Anderson, meanwhile, was rendered largely ineffective, going only 9-of-21 for 153 yards and two interceptions.
1975 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3) 17, 1991 Houston Oilers (6-7) 13
Rocky Bleier’s 14-yard touchdown run with 4:24 remaining led the Steelers to their tenth win of the season and, coupled with Baltimore and Cincinnati’s losses earlier in the day, the AFC North title. Bleier’s run was set up by Franco Harris’s 61-yard run on the prior play; outside of those two big runs, the Oilers held the Steelers to 81 yards on 29 carries. Those two big plays turned out to be a backbreaker, however, particularly since the Oilers had just taken the lead a minute prior to that on a 4-yard touchdown throw from Warren Moon to Ernest Givins. On their final possession of the game, however, Moon threw an interception to Donnie Shell and the Steelers were able to run out the clock from there.
2009 New Orleans Saints (5-8) 41, 2012 Atlanta Falcons (4-9) 31
Pierre Thomas rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 carries and the Saints finished off a season sweep of the Falcons by winning a shootout at the Georgia Dome. Reggie Bush added 76 yards and a touchdown on 9 carries and Drew Brees threw for 189 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 24 attempts. Matt Ryan threw for four touchdowns (two each to Roddy White and Julio Jones) and 299 yards on 33 attempts but also threw two interceptions and the Falcons defense allowed nearly 500 yards of offense to the Saints.
Next week: The ’69 Chiefs and ’99 Jaguars meet in a very important game in the AFC wild-card picture; the ’72 Dolphins try to keep up with the three other 7-6 AFC teams with a win against the ’07 Patriots; the ’85 Bears and ’05 Panthers look to take care of business against division foes (the ’73 Vikings and ’12 Falcons, respectively); and the ’92 Cowboys try to clinch the NFC East with a win against the ’91 Redskins.
AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
AFC West
NFC East
NFC North
NFC South
NFC West
