Previously:
In 2015, Ryan Fitzpatrick had a breakout year for the Jets at the age of 33; not only did he post the first winning season of his career, but he set a career high in both yards and touchdowns. In 2016, Fitzpatrick and the Jets had a contract dispute that lasted nearly the entire offseason; he struggled in ’16, and looked to be finished.
Since then? He’s been a backup in Tampa Bay, posted league-leading efficiency numbers in Tampa Bay, been a backup in Miami, played well in Miami, been a mentor to a rookie in Miami, produced a two-incompletion game with the Dolphins, and … at almost 38 years old, just posted the top passing performance of week five of the 2020 season.
On the road in San Francisco, Fitzpatrick had 30 dropbacks and gained 342 yards, with 3 TDs and no interceptions. He also scrambled once, for a 17-yard first down. That gave him 13 first downs on 31 dropbacks, but his day was marked mostly by big plays: there was a 70-yard completion to Mike Gesicki, 47- and 32-yard deep passes to Preston Williams, a screen to Matt Breida that went for 31 yards (all YAC), and two deep passes to DeVante Parker for 28 and 22 yards.
The second-best passing performance of week five belongs to another former Jets quarterback: Teddy Bridgewater. The former Vikings star was signed by New York in 2018, but traded before ever playing a game with the Jets. Bridgewater’s raw stats were pleasing enough to the eye — 313 yards, 2 TDs, no interceptions or sacks — but it was the first down rate that set him apart. He picked up a first down on 18 of 37 dropbacks, and five of Carolina’s eight drives ended in scores. That was the second-highest first down rate of the week, slightly behind Ryan Tannehill’s 50% rate.
The full week 5 passing stats, below.
| Rk | Passer | Team | Opp | Result | Att | Yd | TD | INT | 1D | Sk | Yd | FL | AdjY/DB | DB | VALUE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | MIA | SFO | W 43-17 | 28 | 350 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 16.10 | 30 | 225 |
| 2 | Teddy Bridgewater | CAR | ATL | W 23-16 | 37 | 313 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.43 | 37 | 179 |
| 3 | Derek Carr | LVR | KAN | W 40-32 | 31 | 347 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13.81 | 32 | 167 |
| 4 | Kyler Murray | ARI | NYJ | W 30-10 | 37 | 380 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 12.84 | 38 | 161 |
| 5 | Deshaun Watson | HOU | JAX | W 30-14 | 35 | 359 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 12.33 | 36 | 134 |
| 6 | Ryan Tannehill | TEN | BUF | W 42-16 | 28 | 195 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.64 | 28 | 113 |
| 7 | Jared Goff | LAR | WAS | W 30-10 | 30 | 309 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 12.13 | 31 | 109 |
| 8 | Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | PHI | W 38-29 | 34 | 239 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 10.89 | 35 | 80 |
| 9 | Justin Herbert | LAC | NOR | L 27-30 | 34 | 264 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 10.57 | 37 | 73 |
| 10 | Patrick Mahomes | KAN | LVR | L 32-40 | 43 | 340 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 9.67 | 46 | 49 |
| 11 | Cedrick Wilson | DAL | NYG | W 37-34 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31.00 | 1 | 22 |
| 12 | Jalen Hurts | PHI | PIT | L 29-38 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 1 | 18 |
| 12 | Odell Beckham Jr. | CLE | IND | W 32-23 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 1 | 18 |
| 14 | Dak Prescott | DAL | NYG | W 37-34 | 21 | 166 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 9.27 | 22 | 15 |
| 15 | Drew Brees | NOR | LAC | W 30-27 | 47 | 325 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 8.82 | 49 | 10 |
| 16 | Matt Barkley | BUF | TEN | L 16-42 | 5 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.00 | 5 | -3 |
| 17 | Taysom Hill | NOR | LAC | W 30-27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | -9 |
| 18 | Andy Dalton | DAL | NYG | W 37-34 | 11 | 111 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7.67 | 12 | -11 |
| 19 | Russell Wilson | SEA | MIN | W 27-26 | 32 | 217 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 27 | 0 | 7.94 | 36 | -24 |
| 20 | Baker Mayfield | CLE | IND | W 32-23 | 37 | 247 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 7.92 | 38 | -26 |
| 21 | Kirk Cousins | MIN | SEA | L 26-27 | 39 | 249 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7.81 | 42 | -33 |
| 22 | Tom Brady | TAM | CHI | L 19-20 | 41 | 253 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 7.80 | 44 | -36 |
| 23 | Kyle Allen | WAS | LAR | L 10-30 | 13 | 74 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 6.07 | 15 | -38 |
| 24 | Gardner Minshew II | JAX | HOU | L 14-30 | 49 | 301 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 7.87 | 52 | -38 |
| 25 | Joe Flacco | NYJ | ARI | L 10-30 | 33 | 195 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 7.46 | 35 | -40 |
| 26 | Daniel Jones | NYG | DAL | L 34-37 | 33 | 222 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 7.43 | 35 | -41 |
| 27 | Josh Allen | BUF | TEN | L 16-42 | 41 | 263 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 7.40 | 42 | -50 |
| 28 | Philip Rivers | IND | CLE | L 23-32 | 33 | 243 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7.06 | 34 | -53 |
| 29 | Carson Wentz | PHI | PIT | L 29-38 | 35 | 258 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 5 | 34 | 0 | 6.83 | 40 | -71 |
| 30 | Matt Ryan | ATL | CAR | L 16-23 | 37 | 226 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 6.59 | 39 | -79 |
| 31 | Nick Foles | CHI | TAM | W 20-19 | 42 | 243 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 35 | 0 | 6.67 | 45 | -87 |
| 32 | Lamar Jackson | BAL | CIN | W 27-3 | 37 | 180 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 6.26 | 38 | -89 |
| 33 | C.J. Beathard | SFO | MIA | L 17-43 | 18 | 94 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 4.00 | 20 | -92 |
| 34 | Alex Smith | WAS | LAR | L 10-30 | 17 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 31 | 0 | 1.04 | 23 | -174 |
| 35 | Jimmy Garoppolo | SFO | MIA | L 17-43 | 17 | 77 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 0 | -0.45 | 20 | -181 |
| 36 | Joe Burrow | CIN | BAL | L 3-27 | 30 | 183 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 48 | 1 | 3.27 | 37 | -197 |
| Total | Total | Total | 1009 | 7329 | 47 | 24 | 359 | 68 | 429 | 6 | 8.61 | 1077 | 0 |
The worst passer of the week was either Joe Burrow or Jimmy Garoppolo, depending on how much you value quantity vs. (lack of) quality. Garoppolo was terrible: in fact, he was worse than Kirk Cousins in week 2, which was about as bad as it gets. Garoppolo averaged -1.8 ANY/A for the 49ers, a drastically low mark typically seen only once or twice a season. In terms of efficiency, it was the worst game of 2020.
But Burrow was bad on almost twice as many plays, so that counts for something. There were some positives — he did pick up 9 first downs, which isn’t awful — but they were more than outweighed by the many negatives. That included 7 sacks and two turnovers, while only producing 135 net passing yards on 37 dropbacks. Cincinnati’s first 11 drives ended with 7 punts, three turnovers (two by Burrow), and one incomplete 4th down pass. The Bengals ran just 8 plays in Ravens territory. It was a one-sided disaster of a game that ended with a pity field goal for the Bengals to avoid a shutout.
Speaking of one-sided disaster games, the Dolphins/49ers game is one of the great passing mismatches in recent history. Passer rating has its flaws, but you are not going to lose any games where you nearly quadruple your opponent’s passer rating.
What stands out to you?