Denver Broncos: Looking back at the top 3 passing yardage games in team history
- Following the huge day by Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, we look back at some big days for Denver Broncos quarterbacks.
On Sunday, Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud had one of the best games you will ever see out of a rookie quarterback. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he passed for 470 yards and five touchdowns while rallying his team to a last-second win.
Those 470 passing yards set an all-time record for a rookie quarterback in a game, breaking the previous mark of 433 yards set by Andrew Luck in 2012. Not bad for a rookie.
Looking back at the history of the Denver Broncos, we want to relive some big days of passing yardage by Broncos quarterbacks. Though these games weren't accomplished by rookies, these quarterbacks threw for the most yardage in a game by a Broncos passer.
These are not games that would instantly pop into the minds of even the biggest Broncos fans, particularly because the team actually lost two of these games. Enjoy this trip down memory lane.
No. 3: Kyle Orton vs. Indianapolis Colts, September 26, 2010
Kyle Orton's tenure in Denver is less than memorable. He was the team many fans basically feel the team got stuck with after head coach Josh McDaniels insisted on trading Jay Cutler the year before.
The Broncos and Colts met in Week 3 of the 2010 season and the Broncos were fresh off of a 31-14 win over the Seattle Seahawks. But if you recall this era of Broncos football, the Colts just had their number.
Peyton Manning was the quarterback on the other side of the field, a couple of years before he would come to Denver. He had a great day himself, passing for 325 yards and three touchdowns for a QB rating of 109.2, which was about 20 points higher than the rating Orton finished with.
But Orton would pass for 476 yards on this day, at the time the second-highest total in a game in Broncos history. He put the ball in the air 57 times, completing 37 of them.
Jabar Gaffney had 12 catches for 140 yards and Brandon Lloyd had 169 yards and a touchdown on six catches. With all these huge numbers, you have to wonder how the Broncos scored just 13 points in this game.
But that was the case as the Colts won it, 27-13.
It's interesting to note that Manning was the opposing quarterback in this game as strangely, Manning can be somewhat tied to every one of the games on this list.