What's the NFL record for passing yards in a single game?

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Nick Bosa opened up about how he was facing tough coverage from the Titans offensive line all night and how he’s disappointed the 49ers defense couldn’t get off the field.

Joe Burrow had himself a day against the Baltimore Ravens.

In Cincinnati's 41-21 victory at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday, the Bengals quarterback racked up a staggering 525 yards, the most in team history (breaking Boomer Esiason's record of 490 yards) and the fourth-most in NFL history. Burrow was just the 21st player ever to record 500 yards passing in a single game.

The second-year signal caller also became the first in league history to have multiple games of at least 400 yards passing against the same team in a single season. He passed for 416 yards and three touchdowns in a Week 7 win over Baltimore.

Burrow tore apart the Ravens' defense even more on Sunday, going 18 of 21 for 299 yards, three touchdowns and a perfect passer rating (158.3) in the first half alone on Sunday. The former No. 1 overall pick didn't slow down in the second half either, finishing 37 of 46 for 525 yards, four touchdowns and a 143.2 rating. Burrow made more history in being just the third player ever to pass for at least 500 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions (h/t Sheil Kapadia).

This 52-yard connection with running back Joe Mixon in the game's final minutes gave Burrow the franchise record and put him over the 500-yard milestone:

Rather than trying to add a few more yards to Burrow's total following the 52-yard completion, the Bengals opted to hand the ball off to Mixon and then take a knee to close out the game.

What's the NFL record for passing yards in a single game?

Just how close was Burrow to breaking the NFL's all-time record? Well, he would have needed another series (or a couple of offensive penalties to back the Bengals' offense up) to have a chance to surpass it.

Playing for the Los Angeles Rams in 1951, Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin threw for a record-setting 554 yards in a rout of the New York Yanks. Seventy years later, no one has even come within 25 yards of Van Brocklin's mark.

But Burrow was very close to overtaking the No. 2 spot on the all-time list, as two players are tied for second with 527 yards. Hall of Famer Warren Moon passed for 527 yards to power a Houston Oilers win over the Kansas City Chiefs in 1990. And Matt Schaub matched that total over 20 years later to help the Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in a 2012 shootout.

The 25-year-old Burrow will now look to join Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees as the only quarterbacks with multiple 500-yard games. Roethlisberger has achieved the feat three times, while Brees has done it twice.

Here's a look at all 24 500-yard performances in NFL history (per Pro Football Reference):

1. Norm Van Brocklin, 1951: 554 yards

T-2. Matt Schaub, 2012: 527

T-2. Warren Moon, 1990: 527

4. Joe Burrow, 2021: 525

T-5. Ben Roethlisberger, 2014: 522

T-5. Boomer Esiason, 1996: 522

7. Dan Marino, 1988: 521

8. Matthew Stafford, 2012: 520

T-9. Jared Goff, 2019: 517

T-9. Tom Brady, 2011: 517

T-11. Derek Carr, 2016: 513

T-11. Phil Simms, 1985: 513

T-13. Eli Manning, 2012: 510

T-13. Drew Brees, 2006: 510

15. Vince Ferragamo, 1982: 509

T-16. Ben Roethlisberger, 2017: 506

T-16. Tony Romo, 2013: 506

T-18. Drew Brees, 2015: 505

T-18. Y.A. Tittle, 1962: 505

20. Elvis Grbac, 2000: 504

T-21. Matt Ryan, 2016: 503

T-21. Philip Rivers, 2015: 503

T-21. Ben Roethlisberger, 2009: 503

24. Dak Prescott, 2020: 502

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