Peyton Manning’s Week 10 performance is among the worst in NFL history

In order to qualify with a passer rating for a given game, a quarterback must attempt 20 passes. Unfortunately for future Hall of Fame Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, he threw exactly 20 on Sunday before being removed from a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

As a result, Manning — who went 5-of-20 for 35 yards with zero touchdowns and four interceptions — became the first quarterback in over a decade to post a 0.0 passer rating. Some additional facts:

Only three other quarterbacks this century have posted 0.0 ratings with at least 20 attempts: 

  • Jeff Garcia of the Browns went 8-of-27 and threw three interceptions in a 2004 loss to the Cowboys, but Garcia still had 71 passing yards.
  • Tim Hasselbeck of the Redskins was 6-of-26 for 56 yards, throwing four picks in a 2003 loss to the Cowboys.
  • Anthony Wright of the Cowboys was 5-of-20 for 35 yards (same as Manning) in a 2000 loss to the Titans, but Wright had only two interceptions.

Only Hasselbeck’s performance is close to as bad as Manning’s.

Only two other quarterbacks in modern NFL history have completed no more than 25 percent of their passes while throwing zero touchdown passes, four interceptions and averaging fewer than 2.0 yards per attempt.

  • Kim McQuilken of the 1975 Falcons had quite possibly the worst game of all time when he went 5-of-26 for 43 yards while throwing five interceptions in a loss to the Vikings.
  • Dan Pastorini of the 1972 Oilers went 3-of-21 for only 31 yards while throwing four interceptions in a loss to the Raiders.

Manning isn’t the player he once was, but when you see his name grouped with guys like Garcia, the “other Hasselbeck,” Anthony Wright and Kim McQuilken (whoever the hell that is) you begin to realize how unbelievably bad he was on Sunday, and you just have to believe he was so hurt that he had no business starting that game.

About Brad Gagnon

Brad Gagnon has been passionate about both sports and mass media since he was in diapers -- a passion that won't die until he's in them again. Based in Toronto, he's worked as a national NFL blog editor at theScore.com (covering Super Bowls XLIV, XLV and XLVI), a producer and writer at theScore Television Network and a host, reporter and play-by-play voice at Rogers TV. His work has also appeared at Deadspin, FoxSports.com, The Guardian, The Hockey News and elsewhere at Bloguin, but his day gig has him covering all things NFC East for Bleacher Report.

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