The NFL's 500-Yard Club: Ranking the 10 Quarterbacks To Pull It Off

With everyone talking about the best postseason and Super Bowl performances (including myself), I thought to myself, what about those select few that have put together some of the most impressive games, but not necessarily on a huge stage in the playoffs?

The theme here is 500-plus yards passing, and what that exactly means.

Just think about it. At a minimum, that's equivalent to a quarterback marching his team from his own one-yard line, down the field four times, and then passing for four more yards.

There have been exactly 10 guys in NFL History to achieve the feat, and their record stands at 5-5 with their insane yardage.

Regardless of your opinion on what it means to be a part of the 500 Club, it's a select group, and it's an amazing stat.

Another interesting question: What is more surprising? Who is on this list or who isn't?

So, let's take a closer look and, in doing so, decide who is the greatest quarterback to top 500 yards passing in a single game.

10. Drew Brees (510 Yards)

There's no way we're going to take away an accomplishment like passing for 500-plus yards, but it's no secret that Brees is in a pass-first system that pads his stats, or at least allows (or asks) him to pass it all day.

Regardless, he gets mad props for joining this list of 10 players.

However, he lost his game 31-16 and, with his offense taken into consideration, that just doesn't compute for anything more than, "Hey good job, Drew!"

I'm sure he'll crack these rankings again in his career.

9. Elvis Grbac (504 Yards)

Grbac is one of the more surprising finds on this list, especially considering the fact that he was only a starter in the league for a few years and was known mostly as Steve Young's backup outside of his time with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Grbac was an underrated quarterback for much of his career and largely goes unnoticed when people think about the passers who have topped 500-plus passing yards.

Grbac had a solid game against the Oakland Raiders back in 2000, his last season with the Chiefs, as he passed for 504 yards and two touchdowns while running for another in a 49-31 loss.

Grbac hangs low on this list because he threw two interceptions and lost by 18 points, but considering his name and the fact that he still helped his team top 30 points, he gets the nod over Brees on this list.

For a guy who didn't get a whole lot of respect for much of his career, consider this a mild shout-out.

8. Vince Ferragamo (509 Yards)

Ferragamo came in at second on the 500-yard list back in 1982, becoming just the third quarterback to crack 500 yards and resting just behind fellow Rams great Norm Van Brocklin, who had 554.

Ferragamo is a notch above Grbac in our book and did his damage in an intense matchup with the Chicago Bears, as he added three touchdown passes in a 34-26 loss.

7. Dan Marino (521 Yards)

It took Marino 60 passes to crack 500 yards, which keeps him from getting too high on this list, regardless of the three touchdowns he threw.

Marino's performance was spectacular, especially considering that his team was down 30-10 at halftime and that he led the Dolphins all the way back to a 37-30 game late in the contest.

However, despite his yards and heroic efforts, Marino was also the reason the Dolphins struggled for most of the game and inevitably lost, 44-30, as he threw five interceptions and completed fewer than 60 percent of his passes.

6. Phil Simms (513 Yards)

Phil Simms and Dan Marino are the only two quarterbacks who needed 60-plus passes to crack 500 yards passing on this list, but, like Marino, Simms did so while leading his team back into contention after being down for much of the game.

Simms led the New York Giants back to a 34-30 defeat after trailing by as much as 18 points, bringing his team down from 21-3 to 21-20.

With just two picks (but only one touchdown), and more completions, Simms gets the slight nod over Marino.

Besides, Marino was known for his ability to torch secondaries throughout his career. The fact that Simms is even on this list is an amazing feat on its own.

5. Warren Moon (527 Yards)

Moon was sensational in a 27-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs as he burned what was considered a solid defense for 527 yards, good enough for second place on the yardage list.

Moon loses some points for pride here, though, as he was quoted after the game as saying that he was proud of himself.

Still, he passed for the most yards in a game since Norm Van Brocklin set the record of 554 in 1951, and that's a feat worth praising.

4. Boomer Esiason (522 Yards)

Boomer Esiason comes in fourth place on this list, but holds the third spot in the yardage ranking with 522 yards in a thrilling 37-34 overtime victory over the Washington Redskins.

Esiason's performance was especially impressive as he accomplished the feat in an extremely competitive contest and did so at the age of 34, one year before he retired.

3. Ben Roethlisberger (503 Yards)

Big Ben comes in last on this list in terms of yards, but he had quite arguably the most impressive performance of the group.

In a thrilling game against the Green Bay Packers in 2009, Roethlisberger completed 29-of-46 passes with no interceptions and threw three touchdowns, including the game winner as time expired.

It was one of the most clutch, flawless performances we have ever seen, and the only reason why it wasn't talked about more was because the Pittsburgh Steelers were in the middle of a disappointing season.

However, that win sparked a winning streak that had the Steelers in playoff contention up until the end of Week 17.

2. Norm Van Brocklin (554 Yards)

In quite easily the greatest opening day performance of any NFL season in the history of the league, Norm Van Brocklin set the NFL record for passing yards in a single game (which still stands), as he completed 27-of-41 passes and five touchdowns en route to a 54-14 win for the Los Angeles Rams.

He did more damage through the air with fewer attempts and the same amount of completions as the next guy on this list but, despite ranking at the top of this list with the most yards, he ultimately comes in second.

Still, don't be fooled. Van Brocklin's performance back in 1951 still stands as one of the greatest days by any quarterback as he spread the ball out to eight receivers while helping three of them top 100-yards receiving.

1. Y.A. Tittle (505 Yards)

It's been nearly 50 years (48, to be exact) since Y.A. Tittle led his New York Giants to an exciting win over the Washington Redskins, 49-34, accounting for nearly all of the team's offensive production.

Tittle has been out of the NFL for decades. His name is being forgotten by a younger generation, and even the elders who respected his game are beginning to forget.

It's time to remember. Anyone who reads up or watches tape on Tittle knows very well how great of a quarterback he is and that he should be mentioned as the top five of all-time before Tom Brady, or any other "flavor of the week" kid who wins a Lombardi Trophy.

That fantastic showing in 1962 best sums Tittle up and, if you hadn't heard of him or thought of him much before reading this article, do yourself a favor and find some old footage.

Tittle was absolutely on fire that day, putting together arguably the greatest performance by a quarterback in NFL History as he joined the 500-yard club with 505 yards through the air, while also tying the NFL record with seven touchdown pass in a game.

The fact that he did this all on just 27 completions (and in a win) adds to the legend.

This is a guy who threw 30-plus touchdown passes in two straight seasons, despite attempting less than 400 passes in both seasons.

He's impressive. He played hurt. He made the Giants winners and division champions. He was and is a legend.

And, while this list only catapults him at the top of the 500-yard club, it's arguable that he's the owner of the greatest game ever played.

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