Our eyes can only do so much. Beyond the simple analysis of players on the field, the ruthless data on spreadsheets never lie. Here’s a look at 2019’s best quarterbacks from a statistical standpoint.
For an outline of how the ranking works, please visit Part I. You can view the spreadsheet here. Part II is here.
The numbers within the parentheses are the adjusted rank with 332 pass attempts and 400 pass attempts.
Key:
Y/A+ = yards per attempt index
NY/A+ = net yards per attempt index
AY/A+ = adjusted yards per attempt index
ANY/A+ = adjusted net yards per attempt index
Comp%+ = completion percentage index
TD%+ = touchdown percentage index
INT%+ = interception percentage index
Sack%+ = sack percentage index
Rate+ = passer rating index
40 – Kyle Allen, Carolina Panthers | 85.9 Grade (34, 35)
Allen had a bizarre year in 2019. After winning his first few starts, Allen blew up against the 49ers. In a 38-point loss to the eventual NFC champions, Allen looked lost with a passer rating under 30.0. Allen looked dazed for the rest of the season as the Panthers sputtered to a 1-8 finish in Allen’s starts. While he was in the main problem at some point, the defense was also was pretty bad. Allen is now in Washington with former head coach Ron Rivera to try to work things out as a backup to Dwayne Haskins.
39 – Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals | 87.7 Grade (33, 33)
Dalton, who is now a Cowboy, was unfortunately attached to a tanking team last season. His stats were bad by his standards, but he was on a team that did start 0-8. Dalton has the awkward distinction of being the only quarterback in NFL history to lead an 8-0 start and an 0-8 start. While Dalton is unlikely to be the starter in Dallas this season, he does give Dallas potential options regarding Dak Prescott‘s contract.
38 – Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears | 88.6 Grade (31, 32)
Trubisky regressed from his 2018 Pro Bowl form. After a reasonable sophomore season, Trubisky’s yards per attempt, completion percentage, and touchdown percentage plummeted. He had been relegated to the role of a game manager. His passer rating dipped by 12 points from a very good 95.4 to a pedestrian 83.0. He had his moments (especially against Detroit), but Trubisky needs to play better than he did in 2019 to defend off a threat from Nick Foles.
37 – Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns | 89.0 Grade (29, 31)
The chants of “Baker, Baker, touchdown maker” turned into “Baker, Baker, interception maker” as Mayfield threw 21 interceptions in the season. He had his moments of being a good quarterback including a 340-yard game against the Ravens in Week 4, but he threw many interceptions. Some of the interceptions were his fault, but some of the interceptions he threw were based on the pure comedy of wide receivers including an interception against the 49ers shown below. Mayfield will need to clean up his mechanics under new head coach Kevin Stefanski or else he may be finding a spot on the bench while Case Keenum takes the role of starting quarterback for the Browns.
Baker Mayfield had the most interceptions in 2019 that weren't his fault.
1. Landry abandons his route.
2. Callaway tips ball into the air.
3. Collision on timing route.
4. Hilliard drop.
5. Blown assignment on screen.
6. Njoku has ball ripped away. pic.twitter.com/JsNMLtAKa0— QB Data Mine (@QBDataMine) April 11, 2020
36 – Mason Rudolph, Pittsburgh Steelers | 89.3 Grade (38, 38)
The man famous for getting his head bashed in by Myles Garrett was a competent quarterback at times during the season. Before getting crushed by Earl Thomas against the Ravens, Rudolph had shown some flashes of being a potential starting quarterback in the league. Of course, he would not have been in the situation if Ben Roethlisberger had not gotten hurt in Week 2. Outside of two weeks against the Browns and Bengals late in the season, Rudolph was halfway decent. Before those games, he had a passer rating of 93.0. It came to a screeching halt as he had games of 36.3 and 39.8 against the Browns and Bengals. He replied with a 104.0 rating in Pittsburgh’s loss to the Jets.
35 – Nick Foles, Jacksonville Jaguars | 91.0 Grade (39, 40)
The former Super Bowl MVP signed a contract with the Jaguars last offseason. To say it went poorly would be the understatement of the decade. Foles wasn’t very good, and he was injured early in the season only to be replaced by Gardner Minshew. Foles has had his issues and other places besides Philadelphia, but he will try to resurrect his career once again in Chicago. Foles may be the starter coming into the season, but he must beat out Trubisky.
34 – Joe Flacco, Denver Broncos | 91.1 Grade (36, 36)
Flacco just looked off during his time with the Denver Broncos. The newly-minted Jet lost six of his eight starts and was generally incompetent at some points of the season. Eventually, an injury ended his season as Brandon Allen and Drew Lock took starts ahead of him. Flacco is going to be the backup for the Jets this season, but if Darnold struggles or gets injured, Flacco will be called on to take his place.
T-32 – Sam Darnold, New York Jets | 92.1 Grade (29, 30)
Speaking of Darnold, the man affectionately known as “Mono Man” had a terrific end of the season as he and the Jets rattled off six wins in their last eight games. The Jets started 1-7 and rebounded in a big way, but there are some holes still on the roster. Darnold is very talented, but his talent can go unused when he’s surrounded by “deck chairs and lawn furniture,” as Colin Cowherd would say.
T-32 – Daniel Jones, New York Giants | 92.1 Grade (27, 28)
“Danny Dimes” had some good moments in the 2019 season. He had 24 touchdowns to only 12 interceptions, a fairly solid ratio for a rookie. However, this ranking does not show the biggest flaw in Daniel Jones’s game: fumbles. Jones had a comic level of fumbles. He made Kerry Collins look safe with the ball. He made rookie Lamar Jackson look like he was a ball magnet. Jones had the comedic timing of a true professional as he fumbled the ball 18 times in 13 games, losing 11 of them. Jones needs to improve the fumbling issues this season.
Daniel Jones now has 12 fumbles on the season. Second one today and this one was not pretty.pic.twitter.com/QqXJFC9fvP
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 10, 2019
31 – Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills | 92.2 Grade (26, 27)
Speaking of comical fumbles, Allen’s attempted lateral in the Wild Card game was one of the highlights of the 2019 season.
https://twitter.com/novasportspicks/status/1213823633514254336?s=20
While Allen eventually led a game-tying drive, the Bills had been up 16-0 earlier in the game. Allen has a knack for being cool under pressure with his variety of fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives in his first two seasons, but he looked like a fish out of water in the playoffs. Allen has a cannon arm and may be asked to unload that cannon more with Stefon Diggs on his side. Allen is a darkhorse MVP candidate, but he still has room to grow. Perhaps unfairly to him, his rushing stats are not included in this ranking.
