Today’s Sports Stat: December 8, 2018
One of the best ways to evaluate an NFL quarterback’s effectiveness is his touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio. Based on that formula, a quartet of current NFL QBs may be setting a new standard in this stat.
Steve Young holds the NFL record for most TD passes in a season without an interception with 10. He did that in 1987. Josh McCown currently holds the NFL single-season mark for most TD passes in a season with only one interception when he threw for 13 TDs in 2013 with just a single pick. That mark by McCown, however, may be challenged this year.
Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers this season has 21 TD passes with only one interception. If he ends the ’18 campaign without another interception, he would set the record for most TD passes in a season with only one interception. Of course, there are four games remaining in the schedule and McCown’s record could stay intact.
Let’s take a look at those quarterbacks who have thrown the most TD passes in a season with zero, one, two, three, four or five interceptions.
0 interceptions in a season
Steve Young, 1987, 10 TD passes
Brian Hoyer, 2016, 6 D passes
1 interception in a season
Aaron Rodgers, 2018, 21 TD passes (* 2018 season not complete)
Josh McCown, 2013, 13 TD passes
Damon Huard, 2006, 11 TD passes
2 interceptions in a season
Tom Brady, 2016, 28 TD passes
Nick Foles, 2013, 27 TD passes
Boomer Esiason, 1997, 13 TD passes
3 interceptions in a season
Drew Brees, 2018, 30 TD passes (* 2018 season not complete)
David Garrard, 2007, 18 TD passes
Dave Krieg, 1994, 14 TD passes
Bart Starr, 1966, 14 TD passes
4 interceptions in a season
Tom Brady, 2010, 36 TD passes
Steve DeBerg, 1990, 23 TD passes
Dak Prescott, 2016, 23 TD passes
5 interceptions in a season
Aaron Rodgers, 2014, 38 TD passes
Russell Wilson, 2018, 29 TD passes (* 2018 season not complete)
Alex Smith, 2017, 26 TD passes
Matt Ryan, 2018, 25 TD passes (* 2018 season not complete)
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Is Aaron Rodgers the NFL’s best QB ‘quarter by quarter?’
(Photo credit: elviskennedy)
If you want to get into a heated debate, start a discussion about who is the best quarterback in the NFL today. Is it Peyton Manning? Aaron Rodgers? Tom Brady? Drew Brees? How about Russell Wilson, RG III or Andrew Luck?
Everyone has their own criteria for determining the best. Let me offer some thoughts for discussion.
First, let’s use the Passer Rating as the numerical yardstick. Secondly, let’s look at how well QBs perform in each quarter. Are some QBs better in the first quarter and less effective in the fourth quarter.
Following is a breakdown of the QBs with the best Passer Ratings since 2010 in the first, second, third and fourth quarters (minimum of 100 passes attempted in each quarter to qualify for the list).
First Quarter
1. Aaron Rodgers, 114.4
2. Drew Brees, 109.8
3. Russell Wilson, 107.5
4. Andrew Luck, 105.6
5. Matt Ryan, 103.5
Second Quarter
1. Peyton Manning, 111.8
2. Shaun Hill, 111.6
3. Russell Wilson, 107.3
4. Robert Griffin III, 105.1
5. Aaron Rodgers, 102.8
Third Quarter
1. Aaron Rodgers, 117.1
2. Philip Rivers, 108.7
3. Colin Kaepernick, 106.1
4. Peyton Manning, 105.9
5. Matt Schaub, 103.2
Fourth Quarter
1. Aaron Rodgers, 108.9
2. Peyton Manning, 101.7
3. Tony Romo, 100.6
4. Tom Brady, 98.8
5. Russell Wilson, 98.2
Based on the numbers above, we discover some interesting talking points:
* Rodgers is the only QB who had a 100 or higher rating in each of the four quarters.
* Brees and Brady had a 100 Passer Rating in the first, second and third quarters, but not the fourth.
* Rodgers, Peyton and Tony Romo were the only QBs to have a 100 Passer Rating in both the third and fourth quarters.
Let’s look at the 2013 season. Peyton Manning is having a great season and his Broncos have been an early season favorite to make it to the Super Bowl. Peyton has the highest Passer Rating this season of QBs in the first and fourth quarters. Peyton’s Passer Rating is 128.9 in the first quarter and 124.3 in the fourth quarter. Seattle Russell Wilson has the best second quarter rating at 127.34, and Cam Newton has the best third quarter rating at 139.1.
For those Aaron Rodgers fans wondering where Rodgers is at in these 2013 by-quarter Passer Ratings, he is still near the top. His first quarter rating is 106.7, second quarter 93.3, third quarter 117.2, and fourth quarter 105.1. Rodgers is very consistent in his overall passing performance over the course of a game; but it is interesting to note that he seems to do his best work (statistically) in the third quarter, yet the second quarter is his worst (in terms of Passer Rating) of the four quarters. Theories? I’ll throw one out there: Rodgers and his coach Mike McCarthy may be the best at making adjustments at halftime to what their offense needs to do to be successful in the second half.
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SIX STATS you might not know about… University of Wisconsin football team
Image via Wikipedia
SIX STATS… is a bonus feature of Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’
1. The Badgers football team has never won 10 or more games three seasons in a row. They won 11 in 2010; 10 in 2009.
2. Three Wisconsin coaches have won a bowl game with the Badgers: Barry Alvarez won eight bowl games; Bret Bielema has won two; Dave McClain won one.
3. The last losing season for the Badgers was in 2001 when they went 5-7. Their longest streak of losing seasons was 10 from 1964-73.
4. Their current streak of nine straight winning seasons is not a record. The school had 18 straight winning seasons from 1892-1909.
5. Bret Bielema has started his career as head coach with five straight winning seasons. Three other head coaches had winning seasons in their first six seasons (or more). Phil King had eight straight winning seasons to start his coaching career at Wisconsin from 1896-1905. Two other coaches had six straight winning seasons to start their Wisconsin head coaching careers… JR Richards (1919-24) and Ivy Williamson (1949-54).
6. The highest the Badgers have been ranked in a preseason AP poll was #4 in 2000. The highest the team has been ranked in the AP poll at the end of a season is #2 after the 1962 campaign.
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