Innovative Statistics
Football Outsiders exclusive statistics

QUARTERBACKS 2016

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 7/28/2017

Quarterbacks are ranked according to DYAR, or Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement. This gives the value of the quarterback 's performance compared to replacement level, adjusted for situation and opponent and then translated into yardage. DYAR (and its cousin, YAR, which isn't adjusted based on opponent) is further explained here.

The other statistic given is DVOA, or Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. This number represents value, per play, over an average quarterback in the same game situations. The more positive the DVOA rating, the better the player's performance. Negative DVOA represents below-average offense. DVOA (and its cousin, VOA, which isn't adjusted based on opponent) is further explained here.

The simple version: DYAR means a quarterback with more total value. DVOA means a quarterback with more value per play.

Effective Yards, listed in red, translate DVOA into a yards per attempt figure. This provides an easy comparison: in general, players with more Effective Yards than standard yards played better than standard stats would otherwise indicate, while players with fewer Effective Yards than standard yards played worse than standard stats would otherwise indicate. Effective Yards are not the best way to measure total value because they are more dependent on usage than DYAR.

Total QBR (listed as just QBR) is a metric created by the ESPN Stats & Information group. Total QBR is based on the by the quarterback on each play, then adjusts the numbers to a scale of 0-100. There are five main differences between Total QBR and Football Outsiders' DVOAmetric (with further explanation here):

  • Total QBR incorporates information from game charting, such as passes dropped or thrown away on purpose.
  • Total QBR splits responsibility on plays between the quarterback, his receivers, and his blockers. Drops, for example, are more on the receiver, as are yards after the catch, and some sacks are more on the offensive line than others.
  • Total QBR has a clutch factor which adds (or subtracts) value for quarterbacks who perform best (or worst) in high-leverage situations.
  • Total QBR combines passing and rushing value into one number and differentiates between scrambles and planned runs.
  • Beginning in 2016, Total QBR is now adjusted for strength of opponent. Total QBR on other stats pages (pre-2016) has not yet been updated with oppponent adjustment. (Note: We plan on updating all QB Stats pages with adjusted QBR and a qualifying minimum of 200 passes sometime before the end of the 2017 season.)

Further information about the table below:

  • Passes total includes sacks and aborted snaps. Both count against a quarterback's value.
  • Intentional clock-stopping spikes are not counted as passes, which may cause completion rate to be different from official NFL stats.
  • Fumbles count the same whether lost to the defense or retained by the offense.
  • DPI lists the number of plays and yards where the quarterback drew Defensive Pass Interference. These plays are incorporated into DVOA and DYAR, but are not included in the totals for Passes or Yards.
  • ALEX represents Air Less EXpected on third downs, the average difference between the length of the quarterback's throw and the distance needed for a new set of downs. The number listed here only includes third downs and is not adjusted for passes thrown away or batted down.

Clicking on a player's name will bring you to his FO player page with advanced stats through the most recent season.

PASSING: Minimum 200 passes, 34 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA QBR Rk Pass Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI ALEX
M.Ryan ATL 1,885 1 1,765 1 39.1% 1 35.9% 83.3 1 573 4,690 5,581 38 2 2 7 70.0% 10/171 -0.2
D.Brees NO 1,599 2 1,473 2 23.3% 4 20.6% 72.0 5 694 4,987 5,909 37 0 4 14 71.1% 5/87 1.5
K.Cousins WAS 1,317 3 1,197 6 20.9% 5 18.0% 71.7 6 626 4,738 5,102 25 3 2 12 67.3% 7/215 2.3
D.Prescott DAL 1,302 4 1,220 5 31.6% 3 28.9% 81.5 3 483 3,527 4,229 23 2 4 4 68.1% 4/77 1.1
T.Brady NE 1,286 5 1,361 3 33.4% 2 36.0% 83.0 2 446 3,447 4,072 28 2 0 2 67.8% 3/64 2.1
A.Rodgers GB 1,279 6 1,299 4 18.7% 8 19.2% 76.9 4 644 4,175 5,198 40 2 2 6 66.0% 7/239 3.8
D.Carr OAK 1,164 7 1,038 7 19.8% 6 16.4% 62.1 16 575 3,833 4,619 28 0 3 6 64.2% 19/287 1.0
B.Roethlisberger PIT 807 8 790 8 12.1% 9 11.6% 66.3 10 524 3,678 3,894 29 2 2 13 64.8% 8/121 4.2
M.Stafford DET 761 9 768 9 7.2% 14 7.3% 70.5 8 628 4,094 4,379 24 1 2 10 65.8% 13/162 1.7
A.Dalton CIN 738 10 667 12 7.6% 12 5.8% 58.3 20 605 3,915 4,165 18 5 2 8 65.0% 10/133 0.8
A.Luck IND 719 11 671 11 7.3% 13 6.1% 71.2 7 586 3,958 4,117 31 1 4 13 64.0% 10/230 1.5
A.Smith KC 688 12 538 16 9.4% 11 4.9% 66.1 11 518 3,372 3,635 16 1 4 8 67.3% 1/12 0.5
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA QBR Rk Pass Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI ALEX
M.Mariota TEN 681 13 719 10 11.1% 10 12.4% 64.9 12 473 3,252 3,392 26 1 3 9 61.7% 11/154 2.4
R.Wilson SEA 569 14 599 13 4.0% 15 4.8% 63.2 15 592 3,941 3,804 21 5 1 11 65.4% 8/170 0.9
J.Winston TB 556 15 539 15 3.6% 16 3.1% 64.7 13 603 3,824 3,820 28 2 5 16 61.0% 11/155 3.3
S.Bradford MIN 510 16 571 14 2.2% 17 3.8% 49.2 29 589 3,576 3,753 20 4 5 5 71.7% 6/87 -1.2
P.Rivers SD 498 17 435 18 1.4% 18 -0.2% 64.5 14 615 4,120 3,872 33 4 5 21 60.7% 9/98 1.3
B.Hoyer CHI 404 18 506 17 19.4% 7 27.1% 61.1 17 204 1,435 1,616 6 1 1 0 67.8% 2/32 1.3
T.Taylor BUF 275 19 347 19 -2.1% 19 0.3% 68.2 9 477 2,831 2,806 17 0 1 6 61.8% 5/110 2.6
E.Manning NYG 188 20 192 22 -6.5% 20 -6.4% 51.8 27 620 3,882 3,558 26 3 4 15 63.2% 9/85 2.9
C.Palmer ARI 137 21 283 20 -7.8% 23 -4.3% 58.9 18 643 3,908 3,549 26 9 4 14 61.7% 11/143 -0.1
T.Siemian DEN 137 22 214 21 -7.1% 21 -4.8% 55.8 21 516 3,182 2,891 18 1 2 9 59.6% 11/147 1.5
B.Bortles JAC 52 23 3 27 -10.0% 24 -11.1% 49.2 30 662 3,704 3,636 23 1 6 16 59.0% 18/313 1.7
C.Kessler CLE 50 24 80 25 -7.6% 22 -5.4% 49.6 28 218 1,225 1,196 6 3 1 2 66.0% 3/66 -0.8
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA QBR Rk Pass Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI ALEX
R.Tannehill MIA 10 25 92 24 -10.8% 25 -7.7% 54.6 24 419 2,743 2,155 19 6 2 12 67.6% 3/34 1.2
M.Barkley CHI 4 26 127 23 -10.9% 26 -2.2% 39.2 33 222 1,568 1,150 8 0 2 13 59.7% 4/104 4.3
C.Wentz PHI -36 27 12 26 -12.0% 27 -10.8% 52.8 26 641 3,580 3,254 16 5 2 14 62.7% 6/100 0.2
C.Newton CAR -64 28 -64 29 -13.0% 28 -13.0% 53.1 25 543 3,223 2,654 19 0 2 14 53.4% 6/95 3.5
C.Kaepernick SF -145 29 -99 30 -17.5% 30 -15.5% 55.2 23 366 2,044 1,636 16 6 1 4 59.4% 2/22 0.4
J.Flacco BAL -155 30 -44 28 -14.6% 29 -12.1% 58.4 19 700 4,055 3,422 20 2 3 14 65.7% 6/119 0.8
C.Keenum LARM -183 31 -174 31 -19.5% 31 -19.1% 43.4 32 345 2,054 1,507 9 2 1 11 60.9% 5/84 0.7
R.Fitzpatrick NYJ -319 32 -329 32 -22.6% 32 -23.0% 45.4 31 423 2,601 1,807 12 6 1 16 56.7% 8/131 1.7
B.Osweiler HOU -558 33 -502 33 -26.8% 33 -25.3% 55.3 22 535 2,739 2,105 15 3 1 15 59.5% 8/110 0.6
J.Goff LARM -881 34 -819 34 -74.8% 34 -70.3% 22.2 34 230 876 -85 5 3 2 7 54.9% 2/22 -2.5

PASSING, OTHERS: 10-199 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA QBR Pass Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI ALEX
M.Moore MIA 259 285 34.7% 39.3% 82.9 87 718 807 8 0 0 3 64.7% 1/22 3.3
J.Garoppolo NE 225 182 44.4% 33.7% 89.9 68 489 634 4 1 1 0 68.8% 0/0 1.8
M.Glennon TB 65 64 65.8% 64.6% 96.9 11 75 156 1 0 0 0 90.9% 0/0 -2.0
T.Savage HOU 31 21 -5.4% -7.2% 63.1 78 432 482 0 0 1 0 63.0% 4/33 0.0
S.Hill MIN 15 39 -4.4% 6.1% 63.6 36 235 200 0 0 0 0 54.3% 0/0 6.7
M.McGloin OAK 6 -18 -4.0% -34.1% 14.5 15 50 73 0 0 0 0 53.3% 0/0 0.9
N.Foles KC 5 26 -9.9% -4.2% 35.3 59 376 307 3 0 0 0 65.5% 0/0 -1.0
J.Brissett NE 4 -4 -10.0% -12.2% 44.8 61 360 325 0 1 0 0 61.8% 3/19 0.4
T.Boykin SEA 0 14 -11.2% 0.5% 71.0 19 140 96 1 1 0 1 72.2% 0/0 -0.9
C.Whitehurst CLE -5 5 -14.1% -8.2% 37.9 26 168 124 1 0 0 1 58.3% 1/21 2.3
L.Jones PIT -14 46 -13.7% -2.8% 46.6 89 524 425 4 0 0 2 62.4% 1/7 1.9
C.Cook OAK -21 -66 -23.9% -51.6% 18.1 23 141 104 1 1 1 1 66.7% 0/0 -1.3
T.Pryor CLE -27 -28 -48.7% -51.4% 22.0 10 40 21 0 0 0 0 55.6% 0/0 0.0
D.Anderson CAR -27 -41 -17.9% -21.4% 18.2 53 453 286 2 0 0 5 67.9% 1/19 3.8
M.Cassel TEN -38 -68 -23.1% -32.7% 71.7 54 261 204 2 0 0 2 61.2% 0/0 0.8
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA QBR Pass Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI ALEX
P.Lynch DEN -46 -57 -18.8% -20.8% 28.8 91 455 419 2 2 0 1 59.8% 1/8 3.0
EJ Manuel BUF -58 -22 -47.2% -25.1% 29.3 29 112 50 0 0 1 0 42.3% 1/29 4.5
S.Tolzien IND -59 -63 -33.6% -35.5% 31.8 40 196 134 1 1 0 2 62.2% 1/7 -1.6
C.Jones BUF -62 -46 -84.6% -66.2% 18.5 12 94 -16 0 0 0 1 54.5% 0/0 5.0
G.Smith NYJ -68 -83 -70.8% -84.2% 30.9 17 105 -1 1 1 0 1 57.1% 0/0 1.5
J.Cutler CHI -69 -218 -18.5% -34.4% 33.2 154 955 663 4 2 3 5 59.1% 2/24 0.7
B.Hundley GB -80 -75 -109.2% -102.9% 6.3 11 16 -43 0 1 0 1 20.0% 0/0 5.7
M.Sanchez DAL -119 -139 -96.5% -111.0% 5.3 21 68 -50 0 0 0 2 55.6% 1/17 2.0
D.Stanton ARI -119 -84 -50.9% -39.3% 26.9 48 184 79 2 0 0 2 40.4% 0/0 5.4
K.Hogan CLE -131 -133 -86.2% -87.4% 70.3 28 94 -38 0 0 0 2 53.8% 0/0 2.5
B.Gabbert SF -158 -205 -25.4% -29.6% 60.3 172 876 679 5 0 0 6 57.1% 3/24 -1.2
J.McCown CLE -269 -276 -34.4% -35.0% 35.1 184 966 566 6 3 4 6 54.9% 2/47 2.8
R.Griffin CLE -270 -331 -36.0% -41.6% 45.0 170 743 507 2 2 1 3 59.2% 2/19 -2.0
B.Petty NYJ -414 -342 -57.5% -49.4% 19.4 146 732 158 3 0 1 7 56.4% 0/0 1.3

RUSHING: Minimum 8 rushes, 30 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
C.Kaepernick SF 134 1 129 1 31.9% 4 30.1% 64 473 536 2 2
D.Prescott DAL 121 2 127 2 43.6% 2 46.7% 44 301 439 6 2
A.Luck IND 93 3 93 5 26.2% 6 26.4% 47 356 380 2 1
B.Bortles JAC 90 4 101 3 23.3% 7 27.7% 51 364 394 3 1
A.Rodgers GB 89 5 99 4 22.4% 8 26.1% 51 383 370 4 3
T.Taylor BUF 65 6 48 10 2.1% 18 -1.6% 89 585 482 6 3
M.Stafford DET 64 7 66 7 29.3% 5 30.6% 29 216 263 2 0
A.Dalton CIN 60 8 53 9 20.6% 10 16.8% 34 192 271 4 2
B.Osweiler HOU 54 9 54 8 35.5% 3 35.2% 18 145 210 2 1
B.Gabbert SF 52 10 30 13 13.3% 14 2.7% 38 175 272 2 0
M.Mariota TEN 52 11 71 6 9.5% 16 17.7% 47 361 294 2 3
K.Hogan CLE 45 12 45 11 108.2% 1 110.5% 8 105 131 1 0
R.Griffin CLE 39 13 42 12 17.0% 12 19.5% 29 188 182 2 1
M.Ryan ATL 32 14 29 14 12.7% 15 10.3% 22 128 171 0 0
A.Smith KC 26 15 22 17 4.8% 17 2.2% 31 144 151 5 1
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
C.Keenum LARM 25 16 24 15 22.2% 9 20.6% 13 58 112 1 0
J.Flacco BAL 21 17 19 19 15.8% 13 12.3% 12 64 105 2 0
D.Brees NO 21 18 23 16 17.2% 11 19.5% 11 32 104 2 0
K.Cousins WAS 18 19 22 18 1.9% 19 5.0% 20 112 137 4 3
C.Wentz PHI 16 20 9 21 -3.6% 20 -7.3% 33 154 173 2 2
R.Tannehill MIA 8 21 -1 23 -7.0% 21 -12.8% 32 168 139 1 1
R.Wilson SEA -1 22 7 22 -12.3% 22 -9.8% 56 273 203 1 1
C.Newton CAR -2 23 17 20 -12.5% 23 -8.6% 85 364 339 5 1
T.Siemian DEN -4 24 -2 24 -17.0% 24 -14.3% 17 64 56 0 1
J.Brissett NE -8 25 -6 25 -24.4% 28 -22.4% 13 86 27 1 2
T.Brady NE -9 26 -12 28 -18.9% 25 -21.2% 19 73 76 0 1
R.Fitzpatrick NYJ -11 27 -9 26 -19.5% 26 -18.3% 26 129 79 0 2
P.Lynch DEN -12 28 -9 27 -43.0% 29 -34.5% 8 29 0 0 0
J.Winston TB -19 29 -16 29 -23.8% 27 -21.9% 34 183 72 1 3
D.Carr OAK -39 30 -33 30 -50.3% 30 -44.2% 22 94 -17 0 2