How does Henry Burris' single-game completion mark compare to other records?

Ottawa Redblacks' quarterback Henry Burris set the CFL's single-game completion record Thursday, notching 45 completions in Ottawa's 39-17 win over Montreal. That record was just part of a great overall performance from the 40-year-old Burris, as he threw for 504 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions while also scrambling seven times for 13 yards and two further touchdowns. He was efficient, too, as it only took him 53 passing attempts (giving him a remarkable 84.9 per cent completion rate). This was quite probably the best performance of Burris' career and the best single-game showing of any CFL quarterback this season, but how does it stack up against some of the best other passing performances in the league's history? To get an idea, let's examine some of the CFL's other single-game passing records and compare the quarterback's overall performance to what Burris did Thursday.

Most passing yards: Matt Dunigan, 713, for Winnipeg in a 50-35 win over Edmonton, July 14, 1994: Amazingly, this game wasn't even televised (so there aren't any clips of it), and it was seen by just 21,686 fans in Winnipeg at the old Polo Park Stadium. The stat sheet also isn't on the CFL website, but Ed Tait of The Winnipeg Free Press managed to track one down from former Bomber coach Mike Kelly (their offensive coordinator at the time) for this great oral history of Dunigan's record-setting night. It has Dunigan completing 33 of 52 passes (63.5 per cent) for 713 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. That puts him well ahead of Burris in yardage and slightly ahead in scoring (one more total touchdown), but significantly behind him in accuracy. Interestingly, Burris actually had one more attempt than Dunigan, which shows that he was throwing shorter routes; Tait's piece mentions that Edmonton was trying to single-cover speedy Winnipeg outside receivers Alfred ("Action") Jackson and David Williams, who both wound up breaking the club single-game receiving yardage record with seven catches for 308 yards and four touchdowns and 10 catches for 240 yards and a touchdown respectively, so that illustrates why Dunigan was throwing so many deep balls down the outside. On the whole, Dunigan's legendary 1994 night is probably slightly better than Burris' showing Thursday, but it's close; Dunigan's came with higher risks and rewards, while Burris' was closer to a mistake-free game.

Advantage: Dunigan.

Highest completion percentage: Ricky Ray, 95.0, for Toronto in a 35-19 win over Winnipeg, July 19, 2013: This is the other extreme from Dunigan's showing, as it was all about efficiency. Ray only threw 20 passes on the day, but completed 19 of them, breaking his own league-wide record (20/23, 92 per cent, from 2008) for a single-game completion percentage. Ray threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns in this one while also rushing for a team-high 24 yards and a touchdown on two scrambles. Ray's performance is a master class in mistake-free football, but it's not as impressive as the greater totals Burris put up while still maintaining a high level of efficiency.

Advantage: Burris. 

Most passing touchdowns: Joe Zuger, eight, for Hamilton in a 67-21 win over Saskatchewan, October 15, 1962: What's really remarkable about this one is that it was Zuger's first CFL start and that he entered the year as the Tiger-Cats' third-stringer, behind the injured Bernie Faloney and Frank Cosentino. This wasn't just about touchdowns, either, as Zuger threw for a club-record 572 yards. (Oddly enough, that total isn't listed in Wikipedia's list of the top single-game CFL passing yardage totals; it should be, giving Zuger the fifth-highest single-game passing total in CFL history.) Sadly, it looks like we only have a quarter-by-quarter box score for this one, so we can't find Zuger's attempts or efficiency. Eight touchdowns and 572 yards is amazing in its own right, though, and probably slightly better than what Burris did. Zuger had a successful 10-year playing career for Hamilton as both a quarterback and a punter (one who often led the league in punting average), and then went on to become the club's general manager, leading them to a 1986 Grey Cup win. He's in the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame, and as Curtis Rush wrote this year, he really should be in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Advantage: Zuger. 

All of these performances are special in their own right, and they each stand alone as the gold standard in their respective category. Zuger created the most points for his team, while Dunigan moved the sticks furthest, Ray was the most efficient and Burris completed the most passes. Burris' game Thursday clearly belongs in the pantheon of some of the greatest CFL quarterback performances ever. Whether it's at the very top or not is a matter of opinion; the vote here is that it's ahead of games like Ray's record, but behind the ones posted by Dunigan and Zuger, and possibly behind some other games with superior yardage or touchdown numbers (over 10 quarterbacks have thrown for more yards, and four have thrown seven touchdown passes in a game, while eight have thrown six TDs). Regardless of it's put on the very top of the mountain or not, though, Burris' showing Thursday is a game that will be long remembered. It's one further entry in the remarkable career renaissance he's having at 40, and yet more proof of his status as an all-time CFL great.