Ryan Lindley Had the 9th Worst Passing Performance in Playoff History

by Chase Stuart on January 4, 2015

Ryan Lindley imploded against the Panthers in the Wildcard Round

Ryan Lindley had a very, very bad day against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday. He completed 16 of 28 passes for just 82 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. He was also sacked four times and lost 31 yards. Assigning 20 yards per passing touchdown and -45 per interception, and including the sack data, this means Lindley produced -19 adjusted net yards. Given his 32 dropbacks, that translates to a -0.59 ANY/A average.

Which, of course, is really bad. The fact that it came in the most pass-friendly era in history makes it look even worse, although that’s slightly tempered by the fact that the Panthers have an above-average defense. We can combine the era- and SOS-adjustments in one step by noting that Carolina allowed 5.84 ANY/A to opposing passers this year. As a result, this means Lindley fell 6.45 ANY/A short of what we would expect, given the Panthers defense and this era. Over the course of 32 dropbacks, that means Lindley produced 206 Adjusted Net Yards below expectation.

Using that methodology for every playoff game since 1950, Lindley’s mark is the 9th worst in playoff history. The worst? That belongs to Kerry Collins in Super Bowl XXXV. Here’s how to read the table below. Collins averaged -2.19 ANY/A against the Ravens over the course of 43 dropbacks; the Baltimore defense, of course, was very good against the pass, allowing just 3.88 ANY/A. Still, that means Collins fell 6.07 ANY/A short of expectation. Over 43 dropbacks, that’s -261 ANY below what we would expect given the Ravens defense, the worst ever.

One final note: in the table below, you can click on the “Year” cell for each player to go to the boxscore for that game.

Rk	Quarterback	Tm	Opp	Rd	Year	CMP	ATT	PYD	TD	INT	Sk	SkYd	ANY/A	DEF	VALUE
1	Kerry Collins	NYG	BAL	S	2000	15	39	112	0	4	4	26	-2.19	3.88	-261
2	Stan Humphries	SDG	MIA	D	1992	18	44	140	0	4	1	8	-1.07	4.55	-253
3	Jake Delhomme	CAR	ARI	D	2008	17	34	205	1	5	2	11	-0.31	6.71	-252
4	Dan Pastorini	HOU	PIT	C	1978	12	26	96	0	5	4	26	-5.17	2.84	-240
5	Jay Schroeder	RAI	BUF	C	1990	13	31	150	0	5	1	6	-2.53	4.68	-229
6	Bobby Layne	DET	CLE	C	1954	18	42	177	0	6	1	16	-2.53	2.71	-226
7	Daunte Culpepper	MIN	NYG	C	2000	13	28	78	0	3	4	18	-2.34	4.69	-225
8	Troy Aikman	DAL	ARI	W	1998	22	49	191	1	3	4	27	0.92	5.02	-217
9	Ryan Lindley	ARI	CAR	W	2014	16	28	82	1	2	4	31	-0.59	5.84	-206
10	Brett Favre	GNB	MIN	W	2004	22	33	216	1	4	2	15	1.17	6.86	-199
11	Richard Todd	NYJ	MIA	C	1982	15	37	103	0	5	4	26	-3.61	1.22	-198
12	Todd Marinovich	RAI	KAN	W	1991	12	23	140	0	4	2	16	-2.24	5.67	-198
13	Craig Morton	DEN	DAL	S	1977	4	15	39	0	4	2	16	-9	2.12	-193
14	Y.A. Tittle	NYG	GNB	C	1961	6	20	65	0	4	1	14	-6.03	2.93	-192
15	Matt Cassel	KAN	BAL	W	2010	9	18	70	0	3	3	17	-3.9	5.11	-189
16	Elvis Grbac	BAL	PIT	D	2001	18	37	153	0	3	3	25	-0.18	4.49	-186
17	Vince Ferragamo	RAM	WAS	D	1983	20	43	175	1	3	3	22	0.83	4.84	-185
18	Roger Staubach	DAL	MIN	C	1973	10	21	89	0	4	3	26	-4.88	2.72	-182
19	Gary Danielson	DET	SFO	D	1983	24	38	236	0	5	2	12	-0.03	4.52	-182
20	Dave Krieg	SEA	RAI	C	1983	3	9	12	0	3	1	11	-13.4	4.53	-179
21	Tom Brady	NWE	BAL	W	2009	23	42	154	2	3	3	22	0.82	4.79	-179
22	Donovan McNabb	PHI	CAR	C	2003	10	22	100	0	3	3	22	-2.27	4.74	-176
23	Dan Marino	MIA	NWE	W	1997	17	43	141	0	2	4	21	0.64	4.36	-175
24	Jay Fiedler	MIA	OAK	D	2000	18	37	176	0	3	2	12	0.74	5.16	-172
25	Tommy Kramer	MIN	PHI	D	1980	19	39	209	1	5	3	30	-0.62	3.44	-171
26	Norm Van Brocklin	RAM	CLE	C	1955	11	25	166	1	6	2	21	-3.9	2.45	-170
27	Neil O'Donnell	PIT	DAL	S	1995	28	49	239	1	3	4	32	1.74	4.93	-169
28	Jack Kemp	LAC	HOU	C	1960	21	41	171	0	2	3	28	1.2	4.94	-164
29	Jim Everett	RAM	SFO	C	1989	16	36	141	0	3	1	11	-0.14	4.27	-163
30	David Woodley	MIA	NYJ	C	1982	9	21	87	0	3	4	27	-3	3.4	-160
31	Brett Favre	GNB	STL	D	2001	26	44	281	2	6	2	16	0.76	4.22	-159
32	Todd Blackledge	KAN	NYJ	W	1986	12	21	80	0	2	1	2	-0.53	6.64	-159
33	Ron Jaworski	PHI	DAL	C	1980	9	29	91	0	2	2	14	-0.42	4.58	-155
34	Doug Williams	TAM	DAL	D	1981	10	29	187	0	4	4	39	-0.97	3.7	-154
35	Chad Pennington	NYJ	OAK	D	2002	21	47	183	1	2	4	16	1.9	4.9	-153
36	Steve Young	SFO	GNB	D	1995	32	65	328	0	2	3	20	3.21	5.43	-151
37	Chris Miller	ATL	WAS	D	1991	17	32	178	0	4	4	28	-0.83	3.33	-150
38	Brad Johnson	TAM	PHI	W	2001	22	36	202	0	4	1	7	0.41	4.44	-149
39	Mike Tomczak	PIT	NWE	D	1996	16	29	110	0	2	2	15	0.16	4.94	-149
40	Matt Ryan	ATL	ARI	W	2008	26	40	199	2	2	3	9	3.26	6.71	-148
41	Steve Bartkowski	ATL	DAL	D	1978	8	23	95	1	3	5	43	-2.25	3.01	-147
42	Jim Plunkett	OAK	CLE	D	1980	14	30	149	0	2	2	17	1.31	5.87	-146
43	John Elway	DEN	SFO	S	1989	10	26	108	0	2	5	30	-0.37	4.27	-145
44	Jay Fiedler	MIA	IND	W	2000	19	34	185	1	3	2	9	1.69	5.65	-142
45	Neil O'Donnell	PIT	BUF	D	1992	15	29	163	0	2	7	52	0.58	4.53	-142
46	Peyton Manning	IND	NYJ	W	2002	14	31	137	0	2	1	13	1.06	5.43	-140
47	Steve Fuller	CHI	SFO	C	1984	13	22	87	0	1	9	50	-0.26	4.25	-140
48	Byron Leftwich	JAX	NWE	W	2005	18	31	179	0	1	5	33	2.81	6.7	-139
49	Mike Phipps	CLE	MIA	D	1972	9	23	131	1	5	2	13	-3.48	2.04	-138
50	Jim Harbaugh	CHI	DAL	W	1991	22	44	218	1	2	3	11	2.91	5.85	-138

Of course, some very good quarterbacks have made this list, including one appearance each from Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. And remember, this methodology does not adjust for the quarterback’s level of play, or else Lindley would no longer stand out, and guys like Brady and Manning would shoot up the list.

Perhaps most impressive: this wasn’t even the worst passing performance by a quarterback in a Cardinals/Panthers playoff game.

Finally, since I ran the numbers, here are the best 50 passing performances in the playoffs:

Rk	Quarterback	Tm	Opp	Rd	Year	CMP	ATT	PYD	TD	INT	Sk	SkYd	ANY/A	DEF	VALUE
1	Peyton Manning	IND	DEN	W	2003	22	26	377	5	0	0	0	18.35	5.2	342
2	Kurt Warner	ARI	GNB	W	2009	29	33	379	5	0	1	4	13.97	4.24	331
3	Dan Marino	MIA	PIT	C	1984	21	32	421	4	1	0	0	14.25	4.06	326
4	Daryle Lamonica	OAK	KAN	D	1968	19	39	347	5	0	1	11	10.9	2.84	322
5	Tobin Rote	DET	CLE	C	1957	12	19	280	4	0	0	0	18.95	2.26	317
6	Peyton Manning	IND	DEN	W	2004	27	33	458	4	1	1	4	14.38	5.26	310
7	John Elway	DEN	CLE	C	1989	20	36	385	3	0	1	8	11.81	4.01	289
8	Drew Brees	NOR	DET	W	2011	33	43	466	3	0	2	7	11.53	5.28	281
9	Joe Montana	SFO	DEN	S	1989	22	29	297	5	0	1	0	13.27	3.89	281
10	Daryle Lamonica	OAK	HOU	D	1969	13	17	276	6	1	1	5	19.45	3.83	278
11	Peyton Manning	IND	NYJ	C	2009	26	39	377	3	0	2	17	10.24	3.48	277
12	Daryle Lamonica	OAK	NYJ	C	1968	20	47	401	1	0	2	8	8.43	2.8	276
13	Tim Tebow	DEN	PIT	W	2011	10	21	316	2	0	0	0	16.95	4.52	261
14	George Blanda	HOU	LAC	C	1960	16	31	301	3	0	0	0	11.65	3.42	255
15	Kurt Warner	ARI	PIT	S	2008	31	43	377	3	1	2	3	8.64	3.17	246
16	Jim Plunkett	OAK	PHI	S	1980	13	21	261	3	0	1	1	14.55	3.44	244
17	Doug Williams	WAS	DEN	S	1987	18	29	340	4	1	2	17	11.56	3.77	241
18	Jeff Hostetler	RAI	DEN	W	1993	13	19	294	3	0	2	3	16.71	5.5	236
19	Jake Delhomme	CAR	NWE	S	2003	16	33	323	3	0	4	28	9.59	3.26	234
20	Joe Montana	SFO	MIN	D	1989	17	24	241	4	0	0	0	13.38	3.67	233
21	Terry Bradshaw	PIT	BAL	D	1976	14	18	264	3	0	1	5	17	4.64	232
22	Jim Kelly	BUF	MIA	D	1990	19	29	339	3	1	0	0	12.21	4.22	232
23	Joe Theismann	WAS	RAM	D	1983	18	23	302	2	0	0	0	14.87	4.91	229
24	Joe Montana	SFO	MIA	S	1984	24	35	331	3	0	1	5	10.72	4.43	227
25	Terry Bradshaw	PIT	DAL	S	1978	17	30	318	4	1	4	27	9.59	3.01	224
26	Steve Young	SFO	SDG	S	1994	24	36	325	6	0	3	15	11.06	5.31	224
27	Kurt Warner	STL	MIN	D	1999	27	33	391	5	1	2	17	12.26	5.89	223
28	Daunte Culpepper	MIN	NOR	D	2000	17	31	302	3	0	0	0	11.68	4.53	221
29	Brett Favre	GNB	SFO	D	1995	21	28	299	2	0	1	5	11.52	3.91	221
30	Bart Starr	GNB	DAL	C	1966	19	28	304	4	0	5	39	10.45	3.79	220
31	Joe Montana	SFO	CHI	C	1988	17	27	288	3	0	2	20	11.31	3.78	218
32	Peyton Manning	IND	KAN	D	2003	22	30	304	3	0	1	12	11.35	4.36	217
33	Tom Brady	NWE	DEN	D	2011	26	34	363	6	1	0	0	12.88	6.57	215
34	Joe Flacco	BAL	DEN	D	2012	18	34	331	3	0	1	7	10.97	4.87	214
35	Jake Delhomme	CAR	CHI	D	2005	24	33	319	3	1	1	8	9.59	3.37	211
36	Troy Aikman	DAL	BUF	S	1992	22	30	273	4	0	1	2	11.32	4.53	211
37	Kurt Warner	ARI	PHI	C	2008	21	28	279	4	0	2	12	11.57	4.57	210
38	Dan Fouts	SDG	PIT	W	1982	27	42	333	3	0	0	0	9.36	4.37	209
39	Jeff George	MIN	STL	D	1999	29	50	423	4	1	4	35	7.83	3.96	209
40	Kelly Holcomb	CLE	PIT	W	2002	26	43	429	3	1	2	20	9.42	4.79	208
41	Joe Montana	SFO	CIN	S	1988	23	36	357	2	0	3	16	9.77	4.46	207
42	Aaron Rodgers	GNB	ATL	D	2010	31	36	366	3	0	2	20	10.68	5.24	207
43	Warren Moon	HOU	DEN	D	1991	27	36	325	3	1	0	0	9.44	3.71	206
44	Philip Rivers	SDG	IND	D	2007	14	19	264	3	1	0	0	14.68	3.98	203
45	Matt Ryan	ATL	SFO	C	2012	30	42	396	3	1	1	0	9.56	4.88	201
46	Lynn Dickey	GNB	STL	W	1982	17	23	260	4	0	0	0	14.78	6.06	201
47	Aaron Rodgers	GNB	ARI	W	2009	28	42	423	4	1	5	19	9.34	5.08	200
48	Peyton Manning	DEN	NWE	C	2013	32	43	400	2	0	0	0	10.23	5.59	200
49	Rich Gannon	OAK	NYJ	W	2001	23	29	294	2	0	1	7	10.9	4.33	197
50	Phil Simms	NYG	DEN	S	1986	22	25	268	3	0	1	5	12.42	4.89	196

Tagged as: Daunte Culpepper, Kerry Collins, Ryan Lindley

{ 13 comments }