Simms Passes for 513 Yards in Loss

CINCINNATI —  Quarterback Phil Simms of the New York Giants couldn’t even manage a smile after passing for the second-highest yardage total in NFL history Sunday.

Simms set three team records by completing 40 of 62 pass attempts for a whopping 513 yards against Cincinnati, but his third-quarter interception and fumble handed the Bengals a pair of easy touchdowns and a 35-30 victory.

Simms’ 513 yards trails only the 554 yards by the Rams’ Norm Van Brocklin against the New York Yankees in 1951. Simms broke Y.A. Tittle’s team record of 505 passing yards, set in 1962.

“It doesn’t mean much,” Simms said of his statistics. “When we look at the game (films) tomorrow, all I’ll see is what I screwed up. We gave away too many opportunities to win this game.”

The Bengals (2-4) stunned the NFL’s top-ranked defense by rolling off 21 unanswered points to start the game behind the precise passing of Boomer Esiason.

But the Giants (3-3) used two field goals by Jess Atkinson and a touchdown by the rookie kicker on a fake field-goal try to trim the lead to 21-20 late in the third quarter.

That’s when Simms committed the two big mistakes against a Bengal defense ranked third-worst in the league. Safety James Griffin returned an interception 24 yards for a touchdown, and Simms fumbled the ball to the Bengals on the Giants’ one-yard line two plays later, leading to a touchdown and a 35-20 Cincinnati lead.

“It wasn’t the prettiest victory, but it was one of two, so it was satisfying,” Bengal Coach Sam Wyche said. “Our defense gets stars on their lockers this week. They made the plays that won the game.”

Simms was sacked seven times for 70 yards in losses.

Griffin’s third career touchdown came on his second interception of the game, as he stepped in front of rookie tight end Mark Bavaro and had a clear path to the end zone.

Two plays later, Simms was hit by Eddie Edwards on a pass attempt and fumbled, with linebacker Reggie Williams recovering at the one. After a four-yard loss, Esiason hit tight end Rodney Holman with his third touchdown pass of the game.

Simms hit George Adams with a 24-yard touchdown pass with 1:28 to play, but the Bengals recovered an onside kick to protect the victory.

The Giants’ Bavaro caught a team-record 12 passes for 176 yards.

Esiason completed 15 of 24 passes for 193 yards.

Simms’ record-breaking performance came on the heels of a 432-yard effort in a loss to Dallas last Sunday night.

All-Time Single-Game Passing-Yardage Leaders

Yds Player Team Opponent Year 554 Norm Van Brocklin L.A. Rams N.Y. Yankees 1951 513 Phil Simms N.Y. Giants Cincinnati 1985 509 Vince Ferragamo Rams Chicago 1982 505 Y.A. Tittle N.Y. Giants Washington 1962 496 Joe Namath N.Y. Jets Baltimore 1972 486 Doug Williams Tampa Bay Minnesota 1980 470 Dan Marino Miami L.A. Raiders 1984 468 Neil Lomax St. Louis Washington 1984 468 Johnny Lujack Chicago Bears Chicago Cardinals 1949 466 Bill Wade Chicago Bears Dallas 1962

Yds Passes 554 27 of 41, 5 touchdowns 513 40 of 62, 1 touchdown 509 30 of 46, 3 touchdowns 505 27 of 39, 7 touchdowns 496 15 of 28, 6 touchdowns 486 30 of 55, 4 touchdowns 470 35 of 57, 4 touchdowns 468 37 of 46, 2 touchdowns 468 24 of 39, 6 touchdowns 466 28 of 46, 2 touchdowns