Philip Rivers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published with a focus on stats that go beyond the numbers.

This past weekend, Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers had big games for their respective teams and in the process made a little history. Here’s a look at what made this past week’s games so noteworthy for Manning and Rivers.

Peyton Manning: Through the first four weeks of this season, Manning has 16 touchdown passes and no interceptions. With 16-0 after Week 4 games, Manning eclipsed Don Meredith’s mark for most TD passes without an interception after the first four weeks of an NFL season. Meredith, the happy-go-lucky Cowboys’ QB-turned-TV-broadcaster, in 1966 had 14 TD passes without an Interception through the first four weeks of the season. Here’s a look at the QBs who had the most TD passes through Week 4 without an interception (from 1960-current).

Quarterback, Team, Year, TD Passes
Peyton Manning, Denver, 2013, 16
Don Meredith, Dallas, 1966, 14
Gary Danielson, Detroit, 1984, 9
Roman Gabriel, LA Rams, 1969, 9
Brad Johnson, Washington, 1999, 9
Steve Bartkowski, Atlanta, 1983, 8
Joe Ferguson, Buffalo, 1976, 8
John Hadl, LA Rams, 1973, 8
Mark Sanchez, NY Jets, 2010, 8
Fran Tarkenton, NY Giants, 1969, 8

Through Week 4, Manning has a Passer Rating of 138.0. That ranks fourth on the all-time list of highest Passer Rating for a QB through Week 4 of a season. Topping the list is Milt Plum who had a Passer Rating of 152.7 for Cleveland through Week 4 in 1960. Here is a list of the QBs with the highest Passer Rating through Week 4 in NFL history.

Quarterback, Team, Year, Passer Rating through Week 4
Milt Plum, Cleveland, 1960, 152.7
John Hadl, LA Rams, 1973, 145.7
Craig Morton, Dallas, 1969, 143.3
Peyton Manning, Denver, 2013, 138.0
Don Meredith, Dallas, 1966, 136.9
Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams, 1999, 136.0
Tom Brady, New England, 2007, 134.7
Johnny Unitas, Baltimore, 1964, 133.6
Steve Young, San Francisco, 1997, 133.3

Philip Rivers: With 401 yards passing, three TD passes and a completion rate of 83.3%, Rivers became the fifth QB in history to attain those numbers in a game. Ironically, Rivers is the second QB this season to throw for 400-plus yards, three or more TD passes, and have a completion percentage over 80% in a game. Green Bay Aaron Rodgers did it in Week 2 versus the Redskins.

Here’s a look at the five QB who have reached the 400 yards-3 TD passes-80% completion mark in an NFL game

9-29-2013: Philip Rivers, San Diego, 401 passing yards, three TD passes, 83.3% completion
9-15-2013: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay, 480 passing yards, four TD passes, 80.9% completion
12-18-2011: Drew Brees, New Orleans, 412 passing yards, five TD passes, 80% completion
11-28-1993: Steve Young, San Francisco, 462 passing yards, four TD passes, 81.3% completion
11-2-1986: Ken O’Brien, NY Jets, 431 passing yards, four TD passes, 81.3% completion

In addition, Rivers, with his 401 passing yards and completion rate of 83.3%, now holds the record for the highest completion rate in a game for a QB passing for 400 or more yards. He also now holds the record for highest completion percentage for a QB throwing 40 or more passes in a game. Tampa Bay’s Jeff Garcia previously held that record; he was 37 for 45 (82.2%) in a 2007 game.

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