What’s the NFL Record for Passing Yards in a Game?

The NFL record for most passing yards in a game is 713 yards, which was set by Norm Van Brocklin in 1951.

Drew Brees

On October 8, 2012, in a Monday Night Football game against the San Diego Chargers, Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke the NFL single-game passing yardage record. He completed 43 of his 65 passes for 554 yards and five touchdowns, leading the Saints to a 31-24 victory.

New Orleans Saints

In 2009, Brees helped lead the New Orleans Saints to their first ever Super Bowl championship. In doing so, he set the Super Bowl record for most completions in a game with 32. He was also named the Super Bowl MVP.

In 2010, Brees broke the NFL single-season passing yardage record previously held by Dan Marino. He finished the season with 5,476 passing yards, eclipsing Marino’s record of 5,084 yards set in 1984.

On October 7, 2012, Brees threw for a career-high 510 yards against the Green Bay Packers, becoming only the second quarterback in NFL history to do so. The other was Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin who accomplished the feat in 1951.

5,476 yards

In the National Football League (NFL), the record for the most passing yards in a game is 5,476 yards, set by Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints against the Los Angeles Rams on November 8, 2020. Brees’ performance surpassed the previous record of 5,444 yards, set by Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos in 2013.

Peyton Manning

On November 27, 1995, Peyton Manning, then a rookie for the Indianapolis Colts, set an NFL record for the most passing yards in a single game. The record has since been broken, but Manning’s performance that day was nothing short of extraordinary. Here’s a look at what he did and how the record has changed over the years.

Denver Broncos

Peyton Manning is a former American football quarterback who played 18 seasons in the National Football League, primarily with the Indianapolis Colts. He also played for the Denver Broncos. Considered to be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, he spent 14 seasons with the Colts and was a member of their Super Bowl XLI-winning team. As of 2019, he holds NFL records for most career passing yards, most career passing touchdowns, most touchdown passes in a season, and sharing the mark for most touchdown passes in a game.

5,477 yards

In 2013, Peyton Manning set the record for most passing yards in a single game with 5,477 yards. This record was previously held by Drew Brees, who set the record in 2012 with 5,462 yards.

Tom Brady

As of September 8th, 2019, the NFL record for most passing yards in a game is 754 yards, achieved by Peyton Manning in 2013.

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Gillette Stadium in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is located 28 miles (45 km) southwest of downtown Boston.

The Patriots are also headquartered at Gillette Stadium. An original member of the American Football League (AFL), the Patriots joined the NFL in the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. The team changed its name from the original Boston Patriots after relocating to Foxborough in 1971. The Patriots played their home games at Foxboro Stadium from 1971 to 2001, then moved to Gillette Stadium at the start of the 2002 season.

5,235 yards

In the National Football League (NFL), the record for the most passing yards in a game is 5,235 yards, which was set by Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints on November 1, 2020, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The game was Brees’s third career 500-yard passing game, tying him with Peyton Manning for the most such games in NFL history. It was also the second-highest yardage total in NFL history behind only Norm Van Brocklin’s 554-yard performance in 1951.