In American football, passer rating is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks.[2] Passer rating is calculated using a player's passing attempts, completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and interceptions. Passer rating in the National Football League (NFL) is measured on a scale from 0 to 158.3, with a higher passer rating reflecting a stronger overall performance.[2]
Since 1973, passer rating has been the official formula used by the NFL to determine its passing leader.[3] Passer rating is sometimes colloquially referred to as “quarterback rating” or “QB rating”, however the statistic applies only to passing (not to other contributions by a quarterback) and applies to any player at any position who throws a forward pass, not just to quarterbacks.
The single-season passer rating record is held by Aaron Rodgers who had a rating of 122.5 in 2011 with the Green Bay Packers.[1] Steve Young has led the NFL in passer rating a record six different times while Len Dawson achieved the same feat in the AFL.
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
Leader | The player who recorded the highest passer rating in the NFL |
Rate | The passer rating of the player |
GP | The number of games played by a player during the season |
† | Pro Football Hall of Fame member |
^ | The player is an active player |
* | Player set the single-season passer rating record |
(#) | Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list |
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
Leader | The player who recorded the highest passer rating in the AFL |
Rate | The passer rating of the player |
GP | The number of games played by a player during the season |
† | Pro Football Hall of Fame member |
* | Player set the single-season passer rating record |
(#) | Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list |
Season | Player | Rate | GP | Team | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | Tom Flores† | 71.8* | 14 | Oakland Raiders | [4][62] |
1961 | George Blanda† | 91.3* | 14 | Houston Oilers | [4][63] |
1962 | Len Dawson† | 98.3* | 14 | Dallas Texans | [4][64] |
1963 | Tobin Rote | 86.7 | 14 | San Diego Chargers | [4][14] |
1964 | Len Dawson† (2) | 89.9 | 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | [4][64] |
1965 | Len Dawson† (3) | 81.3 | 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | [4][64] |
1966 | Len Dawson† (4) | 101.7* | 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | [4][64] |
1967 | Len Dawson† (5) | 83.7 | 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | [4][64] |
1968 | Len Dawson† (6) | 98.6 | 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | [4][64] |
1969 | Greg Cook | 88.3 | 11 | Cincinnati Bengals | [4][65] |
Count | Player | Seasons | Team(s) | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|
6 | Len Dawson | 1962, 1964–1968 | Dallas Texans (1) / Kansas City Chiefs (5) | [4][64] |
Steve Young | 1991–1994, 1996, 1997 | San Francisco 49ers | [4][41] | |
4 | Ken Anderson | 1974, 1975, 1981, 1982 | Cincinnati Bengals | [4][30] |
Aaron Rodgers | 2011, 2012, 2020, 2021 | Green Bay Packers | [4][52] | |
Bart Starr | 1964, 1966, 1968, 1968 | Green Bay Packers | [4][25] | |
Roger Staubach | 1973, 1973, 1978, 1979 | Dallas Cowboys | [4][28] | |
3 | Sammy Baugh | 1940, 1945, 1947 | Washington Redskins | [4][7] |
Sid Luckman | 1941, 1943, 1946 | Washington Redskins (1) / Chicago Bears (2) | [4][8] | |
Peyton Manning | 2004–2006 | Indianapolis Colts | [4][48] |