In the National Football League, the highest official passer rating that a quarterback can achieve is 158.3, which is considered a perfect passer rating. Thirty-five quarterbacks have had a "perfect game" since the advent of passer ratings in 1973.[1] Four games have occurred in the post-season. Seven men have achieved the feat more than once: Peyton Manning has thrown four, Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner have thrown three, and Craig Morton, Dave Krieg, Ken O'Brien, and Tom Brady have two. Of these, only Roethlisberger has had more than one in a single regular season, when he had two perfect ratings in 2007. Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Terry Bradshaw, Len Dawson, Bob Griese, James Harris, Bob Lee, Craig Morton, and Eli Manning had at least one game with a perfect passer rating and at least one game with a passer rating of zero, the lowest possible passer rating. The 1989 season was the only season in which two different QBs threw a perfect game for the same team, the San Francisco 49ers, accomplished by Steve Young (week 7) and Joe Montana (week 10). To qualify, a QB must attempt at least 10 passes, have zero interceptions, and have a minimum of a 77.5% completion percentage, 11.875% touchdown passes percentage, and 12.5 yards per attempt. This is a list-in-progress of NFL perfect games (list complete back to 1960):
Contents |
Quarterback | Date | Team | Opponent | Result | CMP | ATT | YDS | TDS | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ray Mallouf[2] | October 17, 1948 | Chicago Cardinals | @New York Giants | W 63–35 | 14 | 18 | 252 | 4 | |
Sammy Baugh[3] | October 16, 1949 | Washington Redskins | New York Bulldogs | W 38–14 | 16 | 20 | 254 | 4 | |
Len Dawson[4] | September 7, 1963 | Kansas City Chiefs | Denver Broncos | W 59–7 | 12 | 15 | 278 | 4 | |
Y.A. Tittle[5] | November 10, 1963 | New York Giants | Philadelphia Eagles | W 42–14 | 16 | 20 | 261 | 3 | |
Frank Ryan[6] | December 12, 1964 | Cleveland Browns | New York Giants | W 52–20 | 12 | 13 | 202 | 5 | |
Sonny Jurgensen[7] | October 24, 1965 | Washington Redskins | @St. Louis Cardinals | W 24–20 | 12 | 14 | 195 | 3 | |
Joe Namath[8] | October 22, 1967 | New York Jets | @Miami Dolphins | W 33–14 | 13 | 15 | 199 | 2 | |
Johnny Unitas[9] | November 12, 1967 | Baltimore Colts | Atlanta Falcons | W 49–7 | 17 | 20 | 370 | 4 | |
Don Meredith[10] | December 12, 1967 | Dallas Cowboys | Cleveland Browns | W 52–14 | 10 | 12 | 212 | 2 | NFL Divisional |
Craig Morton[11] | October 5, 1969 | Dallas Cowboys | @Philadelphia Eagles | W 38–7 | 14 | 18 | 261 | 3 | |
Fran Tarkenton[12] | October 25, 1970 | New York Giants | St. Louis Cardinals | W 35–17 | 15 | 18 | 280 | 5 | |
Daryle Lamonica[13] | September 17, 1972 | Oakland Raiders | @Pittsburgh Steelers | L 34–28 | 8 | 10 | 172 | 2 | Did not start game |
Dick Shiner[14] | September 16, 1973 | Atlanta Falcons | New Orleans Saints | W 62–7 | 13 | 15 | 227 | 3 | Had an unofficial 0.0 game (9 attempts) the following week |
Bob Lee[15] | October 14, 1973 | Atlanta Falcons | Chicago Bears | W 46–6 | 11 | 13 | 181 | 2 | Had a 0.0 game later that season |
James Harris[16] | October 20, 1974 | Los Angeles Rams | San Francisco 49ers | W 37–14 | 12 | 15 | 276 | 3 | |
Ken Anderson[17] | November 3, 1974 | Cincinnati Bengals | Baltimore Colts | W 24–14 | 17 | 21 | 297 | 3 | |
Jim Hart[18] | November 23, 1975 | St. Louis Cardinals | New York Jets | W 37–6 | 11 | 13 | 242 | 2 | |
Dan Fouts[19] | September 26, 1976 | San Diego Chargers | St. Louis Cardinals | W 43–24 | 15 | 18 | 259 | 4 | |
Scott Hunter[20] | October 31, 1976 | Atlanta Falcons | New Orleans Saints | W 23–20 | 10 | 11 | 138 | 2 | |
Terry Bradshaw[21] | December 19, 1976 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Baltimore Colts | W 40–14 | 14 | 18 | 264 | 3 | AFC Divisional |
Steve Grogan[22] | October 29, 1978 | New England Patriots | New York Jets | W 55–21 | 15 | 19 | 281 | 4 | |
Brian Sipe[23] | October 29, 1978 | Cleveland Browns | Buffalo Bills | W 41–20 | 12 | 15 | 217 | 3 | |
Bob Griese[24] | December 18, 1978 | Miami Dolphins | New England Patriots | W 23–3 | 12 | 13 | 171 | 2 | Monday Night Football |
Vince Evans[25] | December 7, 1980 | Chicago Bears | Green Bay Packers | W 61–7 | 18 | 22 | 316 | 3 | |
Craig Morton (2)[26] | September 27, 1981 | Denver Broncos | San Diego Chargers | W 42–24 | 17 | 18 | 308 | 4 | |
Dave Krieg[27] | December 24, 1983 | Seattle Seahawks | Denver Broncos | W 31–7 | 12 | 13 | 200 | 3 | AFC Wild Card |
Steve Bartkowski[28] | September 23, 1984 | Atlanta Falcons | Houston Oilers | W 42–10 | 11 | 13 | 195 | 3 | |
Ken O'Brien[29] | November 2, 1986 | New York Jets | Seattle Seahawks | W 38–7 | 26 | 32 | 431 | 4 | Only 400 yard game with a perfect rating |
Steve Young[30] | October 22, 1989 | San Francisco 49ers | New England Patriots | W 37–20 | 11 | 12 | 188 | 3 | |
Joe Montana[31] | November 12, 1989 | San Francisco 49ers | Atlanta Falcons | W 45–3 | 16 | 19 | 270 | 3 | |
Ken O'Brien (2)[32] | December 23, 1990 | New York Jets | New England Patriots | W 42–7 | 11 | 12 | 210 | 2 | |
Rich Gannon[33] | October 15, 1992 | Minnesota Vikings | Detroit Lions | W 31–14 | 8 | 10 | 146 | 2 | |
Bobby Hebert[34] | September 12, 1993 | Atlanta Falcons | New Orleans Saints | L 34–31 | 14 | 18 | 243 | 3 | 1st known QB to start and lose game w/perfect rating |
Mike Buck[35] | October 17, 1993 | New Orleans Saints | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 37–14 | 10 | 11 | 164 | 2 | Did not start game |
Drew Bledsoe[36] | December 26, 1993 | New England Patriots | Indianapolis Colts | W 38–0 | 9 | 11 | 143 | 2 | Rookie season |
Craig Erickson[37] | September 11, 1994 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Indianapolis Colts | W 24–10 | 19 | 24 | 313 | 3 | |
Dave Krieg (2)[38] | November 24, 1994 | Detroit Lions | Buffalo Bills | W 35–21 | 20 | 25 | 351 | 3 | |
Chris Chandler[39] | September 25, 1995 | Houston Oilers | Cincinnati Bengals | W 38–28 | 23 | 26 | 352 | 4 | |
Jeff Blake[40] | October 19, 1995 | Cincinnati Bengals | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 27–9 | 18 | 22 | 275 | 3 | |
Kurt Warner[41] | October 23, 1999 | St. Louis Rams | Cincinnati Bengals | W 38–10 | 17 | 21 | 310 | 3 | |
Kurt Warner (2)[42] | October 1, 2000 | St. Louis Rams | San Diego Chargers | W 57–31 | 24 | 30 | 390 | 4 | |
Peyton Manning[43] | October 22, 2000 | Indianapolis Colts | New England Patriots | W 30–23 | 16 | 20 | 268 | 3 | |
Doug Flutie[44] | December 24, 2000 | Buffalo Bills | Seattle Seahawks | W 42–23 | 20 | 25 | 366 | 3 | |
Peyton Manning (2)[45] | November 10, 2002 | Indianapolis Colts | Philadelphia Eagles | W 35–13 | 18 | 23 | 319 | 3 | |
Kerry Collins[46] | December 22, 2002 | New York Giants | Indianapolis Colts | W 44–27 | 23 | 29 | 366 | 4 | |
Peyton Manning (3)[47] | September 28, 2003 | Indianapolis Colts | New Orleans Saints | W 55–21 | 20 | 25 | 314 | 6 | |
Chad Pennington[48] | November 16, 2003 | New York Jets | Indianapolis Colts | L 38–31 | 11 | 14 | 219 | 3 | 2nd known QB to start and lose w/perfect rating |
Trent Green[49] | December 14, 2003 | Kansas City Chiefs | Detroit Lions | W 45–17 | 20 | 25 | 341 | 3 | |
Peyton Manning (4)[50] | January 4, 2004 | Indianapolis Colts | Denver Broncos | W 41–10 | 22 | 26 | 377 | 5 | AFC Wild Card |
Ben Roethlisberger[51] | September 11, 2005 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Tennessee Titans | W 34–7 | 9 | 11 | 218 | 2 | |
Donovan McNabb[52] | September 23, 2007 | Philadelphia Eagles | Detroit Lions | W 56–21 | 21 | 26 | 381 | 4 | |
Tom Brady[53] | October 21, 2007 | New England Patriots | Miami Dolphins | W 49–28 | 21 | 25 | 354 | 6 | |
Ben Roethlisberger (2)[54] | November 5, 2007 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Baltimore Ravens | W 38–7 | 13 | 16 | 209 | 5 | Monday Night Football |
Ben Roethlisberger (3)[55] | December 20, 2007 | Pittsburgh Steelers | St. Louis Rams | W 41–24 | 16 | 20 | 261 | 3 | 2nd perfect game in the 2007 season |
Kurt Warner (3)[56] | September 14, 2008 | Arizona Cardinals | Miami Dolphins | W 31–10 | 19 | 24 | 361 | 3 | |
Eli Manning[57] | October 11, 2009 | New York Giants | Oakland Raiders | W 44–7 | 8 | 10 | 173 | 2 | Left game before half-time |
Drew Brees[58] | November 30, 2009 | New Orleans Saints | New England Patriots | W 38–17 | 18 | 23 | 371 | 5 | Monday Night Football |
Tom Brady (2)[59] | November 25, 2010 | New England Patriots | @Detroit Lions | W 45–24 | 21 | 27 | 341 | 4 | Thanksgiving Classic |
Franchises | Number of Games |
---|---|
Jaguars, Packers, Panthers, Ravens, Texans | 0 |
Bears, Bills, Broncos, Buccaneers, Chargers, Dolphins, Eagles, Lions, Raiders, Seahawks, Titans/Oilers, Vikings | 1 |
49ers, Bengals, Browns, Chiefs, Cowboys, Redskins, Saints | 2 |
Cardinals, Rams | 3 |
Giants, Jets, Patriots, Steelers | 4 |
Colts, Falcons | 5 |
Games with a perfect passer rating are rare in the NFL. Before the start of the 2010 NFL season, there have been 14,633 regular season games played and 467 postseason games,[60][61] meaning that NFL passers have had over 30,000 opportunities to reach the perfect rating milestone. Of the rare number of times this has happened, only Ken O'Brien has achieved it in a 400 yard game, another rare performance for an NFL QB. However, with the league's increasing passing efficiency, these performances are starting to become more common in recent decades.
Decade | Perfect Games |
---|---|
1940s | 2 |
1950s | 0 |
1960s | 8 |
1970s | 13 |
1980s | 7 |
1990s | 10 |
2000s | 17 |
2010s | 1 |
Perfect games have been thrown by two quarterbacks on the same day only once: October 29, 1978, when both Steve Grogan of the New England Patriots and Brian Sipe of the Cleveland Browns achieved the feat.
Only two quarterbacks have accomplished a perfect passer rating with 30-or-more attempts. Ken O'Brien threw 26-for-32 in his perfect game for a completion rate of 81%, while Kurt Warner threw 24-for-30 in his perfect game for a completion rate of 80%. Craig Morton holds the record for completion rate in a perfect game, throwing 17-for-18 for 94.4% in his 1981 perfect game.
Only two quarterbacks have accomplished a perfect passer rating with six touchdowns thrown. Peyton Manning was the first to achieve the record on 28 Sept 2003 against the New Orleans Saints, while Tom Brady matched the feat on 21 Oct 2007 against the Miami Dolphins. Thirteen quarterbacks have accomplished a perfect game with only two touchdowns thrown. It is impossible to achieve a perfect game with only one touchdown because of the 10 passing attempt minimum to qualify, combined with the minimum 11.875% touchdown-to-attempted-pass ratio.
Only one quarterback has accomplished a perfect passer rating with more than 400 passing yards. Ken O'Brien threw for 431 yards on 2 Nov 1986 against the Seattle Seahawks. Only three quarterbacks have accomplished a perfect game with fewer than 150 passing yards. Scott Hunter threw for 138 yards on 31 Oct 1976 against the New Orleans Saints, Drew Bledsoe threw for 143 yards on 26 Dec 1993 against the Indianapolis Colts, and Rich Gannon threw for 146 yards on 15 Oct 1992 against the Detroit Lions.