A polite smattering of applause is in order for Josh McCown. First guy in NFL history to go over 340 passing yards three weeks in a row for different teams. He did it back in 2013, recall, with the Bears. He’s also gone over 340 yards in games for Arizona and Tampa Bay. Will we in our lifetimes see another quarterback pass for 340 yards for four different teams?
Next order of business for McCown is tying the NFL record (which isn’t actual a “record” but whatever) of going over 340 yards four weeks in a row. So far that’s been down by only Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Andrew Luck. Once each for each guy.
McCown: better than you might think.
It will be tough for him to do, however. He’s working today against a Denver defense that might be the best in the league.
Here’s the rundown of all quarterbacks who’ve gone over 340 straight straight weeks in a season since the move to 16-game seasons in 1978. Note that on this one, I’m working with the actual weeks. So a guy happens to have a bye or miss a game because of an injury that would end his streak. (Like I said, it’s not an official “record”).
For the three guys with four-game streaks, I’ve got them flagged with asterisks, and I’ve got the streaks listed as two overlapping three-game chunks (so each block below is a three-game streak.
| THREE STRAIGHT GAMES OVER 340 PASSING YARDS (1978-) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Weeks | Com | Att | Yds | TD | Int |
| 1980 | Dan Fouts, S.D. | 6-8 | 70 | 124 | 1,203 | 7 | 7 |
| 1984 | Dan Marino, Mia. | 14-16 | 87 | 138 | 1,214 | 12 | 5 |
| 1984 | Lynn Dickey, G.B. | 6-8 | 76 | 115 | 1,119 | 7 | 6 |
| 1994 | Warren Moon, Min. | 10-12 | 92 | 149 | 1,169 | 6 | 5 |
| 1994 | Drew Bledsoe, N.E. | 1-3 | 88 | 143 | 1,166 | 8 | 6 |
| 1998 | Randall Cunningham, Min. | 13-15 | 70 | 121 | 1,053 | 10 | 3 |
| 2000 | Kurt Warner, St.L. | 1-3 | 83 | 116 | 1,221 | 6 | 6 |
| 2005 | Donovan McNabb, Phi. | 2-4 | 86 | 129 | 1,076 | 10 | 2 |
| 2006 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 10-12 | 89 | 129 | 1,257 | 5 | 3 |
| 2011 | Tom Brady, N.E. | 1-3 | 93 | 133 | 1,327 | 11 | 5 |
| 2011 | Matthew Stafford, Det. | 15-17 | 94 | 147 | 1,284 | 12 | 2 |
| 2011 | Eli Manning, NYG | 12-14 | 83 | 134 | 1,153 | 7 | 3 |
| 2011 | * Drew Brees, N.O. | 4-6 | 92 | 134 | 1,093 | 4 | 6 |
| 2011 | * Drew Brees, N.O. | 3-5 | 94 | 133 | 1,080 | 6 | 5 |
| 2013 | * Tom Brady, N.E. | 13-15 | 95 | 148 | 1,153 | 6 | 3 |
| 2013 | * Tom Brady, N.E. | 12-14 | 95 | 143 | 1,133 | 7 | 2 |
| 2013 | Josh McCown, Chi. | 12-14 | 86 | 119 | 1,055 | 8 | 1 |
| 2014 | Ben Roethlisberger, Pit. | 8-10 | 95 | 129 | 1,205 | 13 | 2 |
| 2014 | Peyton Manning, Den. | 9-11 | 99 | 155 | 1,167 | 8 | 6 |
| 2014 | Ben Roethlisberger, Pit. | 13-15 | 84 | 132 | 1,145 | 5 | 2 |
| 2014 | * Andrew Luck, Ind. | 6-8 | 78 | 131 | 1,114 | 8 | 3 |
| 2014 | * Andrew Luck, Ind. | 7-9 | 78 | 133 | 1,098 | 9 | 2 |
| 2015 | Josh McCown, Clev. | 3-5 | 96 | 141 | 1,154 | 6 | 1 |
—Ian Allan