For a backup who only played because the Packers wanted to give Aaron Rodgers the day off, Matt Flynn did pretty well for himself on Sunday.
Flynn was named the NFC offensive player of the week (joining defensive player of the week Curtis Lofton of the Falcons and special teams player of the week David Akers of the 49ers) for his record-breaking performance against the Lions.
Flynn completed 31 of 44 passes for 480 yards with six touchdowns and one interception, setting single-game franchise records for passing yards and touchdowns and producing numbers that exceeded anything Rodgers (or Brett Favre or Bart Starr or anyone else) ever produced in a Packers uniform. Only three other players in NFL history have had 475 yards and six touchdowns in a game, and they’re all in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Y.A. Tittle, Joe Namath and Joe Montana.
With Flynn’s showing coming a week after Rodgers threw for five touchdowns against the Bears, the Packers are the first team ever to have different quarterbacks throw for five touchdowns in back-to-back weeks.
Flynn, who also had a solid game in his only other career start, in 2010 against the Patriots, is just the third player since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to throw for at least three touchdowns in both of his first two starts. The other two are Dan Marino and Kurt Warner.
Lofton won his defensive player of the week award for registering 14 tackles and a 26-yard interception-return for a touchdown in the Falcons’ 45-24 win over the Buccaneers. Lofton concluded his third straight season as the Falcons’ leading tackler.
Akers won his special teams player of the week award for making two field goals and four extra points on top of his 14-yard touchdown pass on a fake field goal. With 166 points this season, Akers had the highest-scoring season for a kicker in NFL history.