No. 1: Jake Plummer vs. Atlanta Falcons, October 31, 2004
This was a wild game in which Jake Plummer ended up with the most passing yards in a game by a Broncos quarterback. On Halloween in 2004, Plummer threw for 499 yards but a lot of that was fluff as some mistakes led directly to a Falcons win.
And that date, October 31, 2004, was the same day that Manning put up the 472 yards passing for the Colts, the most he had in his time with that team.
Like Manning when he threw for 479 yards against the Cardinals, Plummer also had a 200-yard receiver as Rod Smith caught nine passes for 208 yards and a touchdown. Plummer attempted 55 passes in the game, but three of those were intercepted, and that proved costly.
Trailing 34-21 in the fourth quarter and rallying for a score, Plummer threw an interception that Falcons defensive back Kevin Mathis returned 66 yards for a touchdown to pretty much put it out of reach.
The Broncos fell to 5-3 with the loss but Plummer set the passing record and the team put up 567 yards of total offense, which was also a team record. The 499 yards passing by Plummer on that day still ranks in the top 25 for a single game in league history.
Too bad it didn't lead to a win.