Van Brocklin was far from perfect that night, however. Note the white football often used for televised night games. Record-Setting Game Not Quite Perfect Embed from Getty Images Another interesting note is that Van Brocklin also added a rushing touchdown in the game. His receiver was pulled down at the one-yard line. Although Van Brocklin threw five touchdowns, he almost had six. There are a lot of interesting facts about that particular NFL season opener. Van Brocklin threw five touchdowns in that game, four of them to Elroy Hirsch. That record still stands going into the 2021 NFL season. Norm Van Brocklin threw his way into the NFL record book by throwing for a record 554 yards that game. The Los Angeles Rams easily beat the New York Yanks, 54-14, but the game’s remembered for a long-standing NFL passing record. The game was played on a Friday night, in late September. In 1951, one of the most famous records in pro football history was set in Week 1 of the NFL season. It's the most passing yards Newton has had since leaving high school, surpassing the 369 yards he had against Trinity Valley Community College while he played at Blinn College.In 1951, Rams QB Norm Van Brocklin broke the record held by Johnny Lujack.

Terry Bradshaw, Tom Brady, Jim Kelly, Bart Starr and Fran Tarkenton never threw for that many yards in a single game in their NFL careers. It took Newton all of one game to have 422 passing yards, while the list of notable quarterbacks to never throw for that many yards in a game is like a Hall of Fame roll call.

Like Newton, Manning also lost his game on the way to a 3-13 rookie season. He has some impressive company, as Peyton Manning did it for the Indianapolis Colts in 1998. Newton is also just the second rookie in NFL history to throw for more than 300 yards in his team’s season opener. In fact, only five other players even had a 300-yard passing game in their NFL debuts, most recently done by Ryan Fitzpatrick for the St. The previous record was 346 by Otto Graham for the Cleveland Browns in 1950. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Newton shattered the NFL record for the most pass yards in a player’s NFL debut.

Most passing yards in one game