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Adam Steele is back with another quarterback recap. He has a broken arm and a detached retina, and he’s ready to win it.


This may have been the least interesting week of the 2021 season for overall game quality (favorites were 12-2 with some totally noncompetitive matchups), but it was still a fascinating slate for analyzing quarterback performance.

#QB Week 14PlaysPFFQBRzPlayszPFFzQBRzAvgDiff
1Russell Wilson3589.592.8-0.951.732.101.300.38
2Matthew Stafford3690.186.3-0.851.771.811.260.04
3Josh Allen7275.857.12.800.720.501.070.23
4Joe Burrow4190.654.1-0.341.810.360.941.45
5Kyler Murray6579.336.12.090.98-0.450.771.43
6Ryan Tannehill4179.066.7-0.340.960.930.690.03
7Tom Brady5663.175.21.18-0.201.310.531.52
8Baker Mayfield3976.257.2-0.550.750.500.420.25
9Justin Herbert3874.760.0-0.650.640.630.380.02
10Patrick Mahomes3970.368.9-0.550.321.030.360.71
11Aaron Rodgers4172.459.2-0.340.480.590.350.11
12Ben Roethlisberger5271.132.90.770.38-0.600.170.98
13Taysom Hill3472.054.4-1.050.450.370.120.07
14Tyler Huntley4962.357.40.47-0.260.510.110.77
15Jimmy Garoppolo5066.339.40.570.03-0.300.040.33
16Matt Ryan3565.962.6-0.950.000.740.030.74
17Teddy Bridgewater2867.762.8-1.660.130.75-0.040.62
18Derek Carr5160.234.20.67-0.42-0.54-0.240.12
19Davis Mills5555.926.81.07-0.73-0.87-0.410.14
20Jared Goff4455.242.2-0.04-0.78-0.18-0.450.61
21Cam Newton3463.528.3-1.05-0.18-0.80-0.540.63
22Kirk Cousins3562.822.6-0.95-0.23-1.06-0.620.83
23Justin Fields4849.637.80.37-1.19-0.37-0.640.82
24Zach Wilson5153.220.00.67-0.93-1.18-0.680.25
25Mike Glennon4253.122.4-0.24-0.94-1.07-0.840.13
26Dak Prescott5047.49.90.57-1.35-1.63-1.050.28
27Trevor Lawrence4744.018.90.26-1.60-1.23-1.120.38
28Taylor Heinicke3534.04.9-0.95-2.33-1.86-1.910.48

This week’s top five represent a fun contrast in game planning. Russell Wilson and Matthew Stafford were hyper efficient on relatively low volume while Josh Allen and Kyler Murray sacrificed some efficiency to carry a huge offensive load. I think it’s entirely subjective as to which type of game you find more impressive.

Speaking of Murray, his MNF performance showed how deceiving box score numbers can really be. The Cardinals QB had no touchdowns and two interceptions, which would lead one to believe that he had a bad game. But PFF graders credit Murray with five big time throws vs. LA, tied for the most this week (Stafford also had five). Conversely, Aaron Rodgers tossed four TD’s but only had two big time throws.

In week 14 the correlation between PFF grades and QBR was 0.78; this is much more in line with the norm than week 13 where the metrics butted heads quite often. That said, there were still a handful of quarterbacks who looked very different depending on the measurement used. I added a differential column to the weekly tables so you can sort by the magnitude of this difference. For reasons I don’t understand, Joe Burrow continues to be loved by PFF and hated by QBR.

Now onto the season rankings:

#QB 2021 SeasonPlaysPFFQBRzPlayszPFFzQBRzAvgDiff
1Tom Brady61991.567.71.361.661.601.580.06
2Justin Herbert61486.367.51.311.151.581.310.43
3Josh Allen63683.357.51.540.860.720.950.14
4Kirk Cousins54888.354.70.621.350.480.940.87
5Matthew Stafford53481.467.40.480.671.570.900.90
6Aaron Rodgers47383.264.9-0.150.851.360.800.51
7Joe Burrow50290.049.40.151.520.030.801.49
8Kyler Murray43084.761.5-0.601.001.070.700.07
9Ryan Tannehill53582.854.10.490.810.430.630.38
10Derek Carr59279.354.41.080.470.460.590.01
11Patrick Mahomes61873.957.31.35-0.060.710.450.77
12Mac Jones46683.051.7-0.230.830.220.440.61
13Dak Prescott55579.945.90.700.53-0.270.320.80
14Jalen Hurts51480.048.50.270.54-0.050.310.59
15Carson Wentz51873.058.20.31-0.150.780.220.93
16Matt Ryan53676.549.20.500.190.010.200.19
17Tua Tagovailoa32978.857.7-1.650.420.740.100.32
18Teddy Bridgewater49174.548.70.030.00-0.030.000.03
19Lamar Jackson57470.349.80.89-0.410.06-0.010.47
20Russell Wilson36378.351.5-1.300.370.21-0.010.16
21Jimmy Garoppolo42373.754.1-0.67-0.080.43-0.050.51
22Daniel Jones47271.641.8-0.17-0.29-0.63-0.360.34
23Jacoby Brissett27876.048.9-2.180.15-0.02-0.370.16
24Taylor Heinicke52762.246.60.41-1.21-0.21-0.590.99
25Baker Mayfield42867.739.1-0.62-0.67-0.86-0.720.19
26Ben Roethlisberger53160.843.40.45-1.34-0.49-0.730.85
27Trevor Lawrence58857.132.01.04-1.71-1.47-1.090.24
28Jared Goff52559.631.60.38-1.46-1.50-1.100.04
29Sam Darnold38162.635.4-1.11-1.17-1.18-1.160.01
30Justin Fields34761.527.3-1.46-1.27-1.87-1.490.60
31Davis Mills32555.629.2-1.69-1.85-1.71-1.780.14
32Zach Wilson34257.124.0-1.51-1.71-2.16-1.800.45

Not much has changed since last week, though Stafford breaks into the top five and Dak Prescott coughs up three spots.

This year’s rookie class continues to be spectacularly bad. With nearly a full season under their belts, how would you rate the career prospects of these noobies going forward? At what point do our priors have to be shoved aside to account for what we’ve actually seen from them on the professional field? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

 

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