QBR beats Passer Rating. This is Why NFL Quarterback Stats are Easy to Understand in 2021

Passer Rating is flawed, and QBR is the answer. If you Follow Football, Here is your key to NFL Quarterback Stats Why Passer Rating is flawed, and how QBR fixes some of the main issues.

Passer Rating: A combination of completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown percentage, and interception percentage. 

QBR: Is a much more complicated formula created by ESPN.com that includes many different pieces and stats to get to that rating. 

In short, the difference between the two is simple:

Passer rating is a pure passing statistic that does not give the passes context on a play to play basis. QBR is an overall quarterback statistic that also gives context to each play and how that affects the team. 

Here are a few examples of several stats and how QBR and Passer Rating account for them.

1. Throwing Distance-

1. 1. 1. Passer Rating- All 60 yard throws are created equal, irregardless of whether the ball traveled 60 yards in the air or it was caught right at the line of scrimmage and the receiver ran for 60 yards. 
      2. QBR: Gives a completely different value to the above cases. A 60 yard throw in the air gives a very high score for that play, as the quarterback was largely responsible for it, however a throw to the receiver at the line that happens to go for 60 yards because of the receiver, deserves very little credit with regard to the quarterback.

2. Rushing Yards-

1. 1. 1. Passer Rating- This does not take rushing into account at all, as this is specifically a passing statistic.
      2. QBR- In an evolving league where quarterbacks are running more than ever, this goes into their overall QBR.

3. Down and Distance- What down it is, and how many yards until the first down.

1. 1. 1. Passer Rating- If you throw for 7 yards on a 3rd down and 10 it counts as the same 7 yards.
      2. QBR- The 7 yards is not worth the same, as you still put yourself three yards short of the first down. 

4. Trash Time– When a team is either up by many points or down by many points, and the game is out of hand.

1. 1. 1. Passer Rating- Under this metric all yards and times are created equal.
      2. QBR- This changed over time. At first both clutch and trash times were counted. Now QBR only accounts for trash time as it is so much easier to get yards/ score during those times.

5. Sacks-

1. 1. 1. Passer Rating- Does not account for the quarterback taking sacks.
      2. QBR- Does account for sacks. It is important to take sacks into account when evaluating a quarterback as this can heavily impact wins and losses.

6. Fumbles Lost-

1. 1. Passer Rating- Not accounted for at all. It has has nothing to do with passing.
   2. QBR- An important negative aspect of a quarterbacks game that heavily influences the team is the Fumbles Lost.

A great example of the difference is found in Kirk Cousins, starting Quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings. He is 8th in completion percentage, but 20th in passer rating. 36 Sacks (7th most) 9 fumbles (tied for 3rd). According to the metric of passer rating Kirk Cousins is a better quarterback than Joe Montana, who is one of the all-time great quarterbacks. Now, we all know that that isn’t true by a big margin. 

While this article seems somewhat detailed. In reality, this is just a basic outlook so that when you hear these statistics thrown around you won’t feel like you fell from the moon. 

In summation, although no stat is perfect, QBR is a great barometer for how good a quarterback actually is. Passer Rating, while it has some value is a very flawed stat. When a General Manager needs to decide whether and how much to pay a quarterback, he should definitely not use passer rating, but rather use QBR.

Sources:

1. Hogsgaven
2. ESPN
3. FiveThirtyEight