Kirk Cousins joined the 500-yard club but couldn’t top Norm Van Brocklin’s 73-year-old record

AP Pro Football Writer

Inside the Numbers dives into NFL statistics, streaks and trends each week. For more Inside the Numbers, head here.

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Kirk Cousins delivered a signature moment to his career last Thursday night with 509 yards passing capped by a game-ending TD pass in overtime in Atlanta’s 36-30 victory over Tampa Bay.

It still fell short of one of the NFL’s most surprisingly enduring records, with Norm Van Brocklin’s 554-yard performance in 1951 remaining as the single-game passing record even as production has spiked in the modern era.

While the single-game records for yards rushing, yards receiving, TD passes, runs and catches, field goals, interceptions and almost every other noteworthy stat have been set or matched in more recent years, Van Brocklin’s mark stands.

It was an improbable record, with Van Brocklin getting the nod to start for the Los Angeles Rams only days before the game because Bob Waterfield was injured. Van Brocklin had never thrown for 300 yards in a game before he carved up a New York Yanks team that was in its final season as an NFL franchise.

Van Brocklin, who broke Johnny Lujack’s 1949 record of 468 yards for the Bears, had 27 completions — 15 fewer than Cousins had in his 500-yard game — with nine of them going to Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch for 173 yards.

Van Brocklin had only five other games with at least 300 yards passing in his Hall of Fame career and only four other players hit that mark in 1951, when teams averaged 183.9 yards passing per game. There were six seasons in the past 10 years when teams averaged more than 250 yards passing a game, but no one has topped Van Brocklin’s mark.

The closest anyone has come since 1951 was Matt Schaub, who threw for 527 yards for Houston against Jacksonville on Nov. 18, 2012.

Most other key single-game records have been set or matched in modern times, with Adrian Peterson setting the rushing record with 296 yards in 2007, Flipper Anderson setting the receiving record with 336 yards in 1989 and the record for rushing TDs getting matched in 2020 by Alvin Kamara and TD passes getting matched most recently by Drew Brees in 2020.

One of the only major single-game records to predate Van Brocklin’s mark was the 40 points scored by Ernie Nevers on six TDs and four extra points in the Cardinals’ 40-6 win over the Bears on Nov. 28, 1929.

Coaching carousel

The coaching carousel is off to another early start with Robert Saleh getting fired by the New York Jets just five games into the season.

Early season coaching changes are becoming more of the norm in recent years, with the Jets becoming the sixth team in the last six seasons to make a change after five games or fewer. There had been only six coaching changes that early in the season in a 27-season span from 1992-2018.

There have been 10 early season coaching changes since the start of the 2008 season, with the Raiders responsible for three of them. Lane Kiffin (2008) and Dennis Allen (2014) were each fired after four games, and Jon Gruden resigned after five games in 2021 following the release of offensive emails he had sent before being hired.

Gruden was replaced that season by Rich Bisaccia, who helped lead Las Vegas to the playoffs. Bisaccia is one of two coaches who took over during a season and guided a team into the playoffs, with Wally Lemm leading the 1961 Houston Oilers to an AFL title after replacing Lou Rymkus following five games.

Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich will try to match that performance this season for the Jets.

Happy returns

Sunday was a big day for returns, with Seattle’s Rayshawn Jenkins returning a fumble 102 yards for a TD against the New York Giants and Denver’s Pat Surtain II taking back an interception 100 yards for a score against the Raiders.

This marked the first week in NFL history with two defensive touchdowns scored on returns of at least 100 yards.

Special teams also got into the mix, with two blocked field goals getting returned for touchdowns on Sunday with Bryce Ford-Wheaton of the Giants sealing the win in Seattle with his 60-yard return and San Francisco’s Deommodore Lenoir having a 61-yarder against Arizona.

This was the seventh week in NFL history and the first since Week 16 in 2012 with two blocked field goal returns for a touchdown.

Old man Flacco

There’s a surprising name at the top of the NFL’s passer rating chart, with 39-year-old Joe Flacco besting everyone else with his 115.6 mark for Indianapolis.

Flacco has never had a rating higher than 93.6 in a season when he threw at least 50 passes, but has he had a late-career renaissance with Cleveland last season and now the Colts.

Flacco is the oldest player ever with five straight starts in the regular season with at least 300 yards passing and two TD passes dating to the end of last season, when he helped the Browns reach the playoffs.

Flacco’s streak of seven straight games with at least two TD passes is the longest of his career and tied with Green Bay’s Jordan Love for the longest active streak. The only players age 38 or older with a longer streak with at least two TD passes are Tom Brady, who had two nine-game streaks, Peyton Manning, who had nine straight once, and Warren Moon, who did it eight games in a row.

Flacco also showed off his legs on an 18-yard scramble that was his longest run since 2016. He reached 18.76 mph, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, for his fastest speed in the NGS era that started in 2016. The run was the third-longest by a player age 39 or older since at least 1975, trailing only a 27-yarder by Brett Favre in 2008 and a 23-yarder by Vince Evans in 1994.

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