In the Detroit Lions 20-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Lions’ QB Matthew Stafford didn’t complete one touchdown pass in 51 air attempts.
Earlier this week, Cleveland Browns QB Brandon Weeden also had 52 pass attempts without a touchdown toss.
The question for Pro-Football-Reference.com’s Play Index:
How many times have QBs thrown the ball 50+ times without completing a TD pass?
According to PFR’s PI, since 1960 there have been 47 instances in which a QB has thrown the ball 50+ times without a TD pass.
This week marked the first time since 1996, and only the second time since 1960, that two different QBs had 50+ attempts without any touchdown passes. In Week 3 of ’96, Dave Brown of the New York Giants and Drew Bledsoe of the New England Patriots, both had such performances in losing efforts.
The last Lions’ QB with 50+ attempts and no touchdown passes was Joey Harrington in 2003, in a 31-6 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
While the last Browns’ QB to do so was Bernie Kosar in 1986, in a 26-16 Browns’ victory over the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football.
Four of the last ten performances of 50+ pass attempts and no touchdowns have come from Brett Favre.