Week 5 Quick Reads: You and Your Cousins

Now updated with Monday Night Football.

It was a huge game for Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins on Thursday night, with over 500 passing yards and a late-game comeback to stun the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 36-30 in overtime. It was the best game of this year by far according to our DYAR stats. It was not close to the best games we’ve ever measured.

In fact, what’s interesting about the 500-yard passing games since 1979 is how few of them rank truly high among the top quarterback games by DYAR. Some of these games involve a lot of pass attempts, so that we don’t get as much efficiency. Some of them involve several sacks and interceptions. For example, Dan Marino threw for 521 yards against the Jets in an October 1988 loss where he also threw five interceptions! Ben Roethlisberger, who has thrown for 500 yards more than any other quarterback, did it in a playoff loss to Cleveland in January 2021 (the 2020 season) and added in four interceptions.

The best DYAR game ever is a 500-yard passing game, and it came from Roethlisberger. He had six touchdowns to go with his 526 passing yards, with no interceptions, no sacks, and only nine incomplete passes against the 2014 Colts. Roethlisberger also had a 2009 game against the Packers that ranked in the top 20. Tom Brady‘s Super Bowl LII performance against the Eagles ranks 26th. And that does it for 500-yard passing games in the DYAR top 40.

Here’s a list of the top 10 DYAR totals for games with at least 500 passing yards since 1979.

Cousins’ DYAR total will change as we get a better idea of the opponent adjustments for the 2024 season, but there’s no doubt that he had an absolutely fantastic performance on Thursday night. It certainly cleared up worries about whether he’s fully healthy coming back from last year’s Achilles injury.

Here are the rest of the DYAR stats from Week 5.

Quarterbacks

Joe Burrow took two sacks on third downs but also completed 8 of 9 passes for 9.3 net yards per pass with two touchdowns and six other conversions. He was stoned for no gain on a sneak at the goal line, leading to the negative rushing value… Trevor Lawrence led all quarterbacks with 96 passing DYAR on first downs, averaging 11.4 yards per pass including the 85-yard touchdown to Brian Thomas Jr... Lamar Jackson has negative rushing value because of the aborted snap that almost cost the Ravens the game. He led all quarterbacks with 96 DYAR on passes up the middle this week… Caleb Williams takes a big hit from opponent adjustments, going from 170 passing YAR to 131 DYAR… Baker Mayfield leads all quarterbacks this year with 360 DYAR on passes to the left side. Daniel Jones is second at 327 DYAR but Jones has -26 DYAR on passes to the right side.

Geno Smith had four scrambles for 72 yards, although two of those scrambles failed to make it to the line to gain on a third-and-11 and a third-and-12… Joe Flacco takes a big hit from opponent adjustments, going from 89 total YAR to just 25 total DYAR… Kyler Murray had a 50-yard touchdown on a designed run but also fumbled on a 3-yard scramble in the second quarter (recovered by the Cardinals)… Josh Allen had four scrambles for 54 yards including three first downs… Jayden Daniels surprisingly doesn’t get any rushing DYAR despite carrying the ball 11 times for 82 yards. He had three runs that lost yardage, including one from the Cleveland 3, to go with a couple of long scrambles including 34 yards on a fourth-and-3… Sam Darnold had 81 DYAR on deep passes including two long DPIs drawn by Justin Jefferson, but he -22 DYAR and just 3.1 yards per pass on shorter passes of 15 or fewer air yards… Justin Fields had -60 passing DYAR in the first half but 38 passing DYAR after halftime.

Brock Purdy had 57 passing DYAR in the first quarter and then -95 passing DYAR in the other three quarters… Gardner Minshew had 55 passing DYAR in the first quarter, -102 passing DYAR in the second and third quarter, and then got pulled from the game… Aaron Rodgers was even worse without opponent adjustments, putting up -151 YAR. Rodgers threw all three of his picks on third downs with only four conversions on 14 passes (plus a 1-yard DPI)… Deshaun Watson took four sacks on third downs and didn’t move the chains once. He is the only quarterback this year with negative passing value on both short passes (-64 DYAR) and deep passes (-70 DYAR).

Best Five Running Backs

Kyren Williams moved the sticks nine times including a 1-yard touchdown plunge, which helped make up for a lost fumble in the third quarter. All of his runs except one gained positive yardage… Much of Rico Dowdle‘s value came from a 22-yard touchdown reception on second-and-10 with the Cowboys losing by four in the fourth quarter… Derrick Henry‘s day ranged from a 2-yard tackle for loss and safety to a 51-yard gain that set up the game-winning field goal… Giants backup rookie Tyrone Tracy didn’t have a single run stuffed for a loss or no gain, and his longest carries went for 27 and 25 yards against a Seattle defensive line still missing a number of starters…

Worst Running Back

Ty Chandler only moved the sticks once, a 5-yard carry on second-and-4. That 5-yarder was also tied for his longest run of the game, with seven carries gaining 2 yards or less… Dare Ogunbowale of the Texans also had a poor day on the ground with 15 carries for 30 yards but made up for some of that with receiving value (6-of-7, 57 yards).

Top Five Wide Receivers or Tight Ends

Ja’Marr Chase passed Nico Collins this week to lead all NFL receivers with 190 DYAR on the season… Drake London moved the chains nine times including an 18-yard touchdown in the first quarter as well as conversions on third-and-3 and third-and-57… Alec Pierce continues to be the Colts’ designated deep threat, with just three receptions for 24, 45, and 65 yards on passes that went 24, 43, and 31 yards in the air respectively… Darius Slayton was targeted five times on third down, with three conversions… DJ Moore‘s two touchdowns both came on deep passes (30 and 21 air yards) on second downs.

Worst Wide Receiver or Tight End

Zach Ertz‘s day included failed completions on third-and-9 and third-and-10, plus an incomplete on third-and-10 and an interception target on third-and-5.