Previously:
The numbers are astounding. In week 9, NFL teams completed 684 out of 1,006 passes, a 68.0% completion rate. These passers threw for 7,908 yards, averaging 7.86 yards per attempt and 282 yards per game. They threw 55 touchdowns and only 18 interceptions. They were sacked only 56 times, losing only 373 yards in the process. All told, the entire NFL had a passer rating of 102.3 this week and averaged 7.37 Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt.
Let’s begin with passer rating. The 9th week of the 2020 season was just the 5th time in pro football history that the league as a whole averaged triple digits in passer rating. It was the 2nd most efficient week in history by this measure, trailing only the 102.59 mark set in week 2 of the 2018 season. Below is a graph showing the passer rating in every week in NFL history, beginning in 1950 and going up until last night. The X-Axis shows the week, in chronological order; the Y-Axis shows the passer rating. For ease, week 9, 2020 is shaded in red:
Let’s compare week 2, 2018 to week 9, 2020: that week teams completed 814 out of 1173 passes (69.4% compared to 68.0% this week), for 8,914 gross passing yards (7.60, compared to 7.86 in week 9, 2020), throwing 65 touchdowns (5.54% compared to 5.47%) and 21 interceptions (1.79% both weeks). That’s how week 2, 2018 slightly edged out week 9, but there is one thing missing: in week 2, 2018, teams took 77 sacks and lost 530 yards in the process. As a result, teams in week 2, 2018 averaged 6.99 Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt, good enough for the top 10 but not the best week ever. In fact, it was week 10, 2010, when the NFL averaged 7.24 ANY/A, highlighted by the best game of Michael Vick’s career. But in week 9, 2020, the league averaged 7.37 ANY/A, making it the single most efficient week for passers in NFL history.
If you want to know who was great in week 9, well, the answer is just about everyone… except for Tom Brady. Below are the week 9 passing numbers, which uses my modified Adjusted Yards per Dropback measure, which starts with ANY/A but adds a bonus for first downs and a penalty for lost fumbles.
| Rk | Passer | Team | Opp | Result | Att | Yd | TD | INT | 1D | Sk | Yd | FL | AdjY/DB | DB | VALUE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Allen | BUF | SEA | W 44-34 | 38 | 415 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 7 | 29 | 0 | 13.11 | 45 | 151 |
| 2 | Aaron Rodgers | GNB | SFO | W 34-17 | 31 | 305 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 14.22 | 32 | 143 |
| 3 | Kirk Cousins | MIN | DET | W 34-20 | 20 | 220 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 16.38 | 21 | 139 |
| 4 | Kyler Murray | ARI | MIA | L 31-34 | 26 | 283 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 14.81 | 27 | 136 |
| 5 | Patrick Mahomes | KAN | CAR | W 33-31 | 45 | 372 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 12.46 | 46 | 124 |
| 6 | Joe Flacco | NYJ | NWE | L 27-30 | 25 | 262 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 13.23 | 26 | 90 |
| 7 | Justin Herbert | LAC | LVR | L 26-31 | 42 | 326 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 11.27 | 44 | 66 |
| 8 | Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | DAL | W 24-19 | 42 | 306 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.29 | 42 | 64 |
| 9 | Cam Newton | NWE | NYJ | W 30-27 | 35 | 274 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.17 | 35 | 49 |
| 10 | Tua Tagovailoa | MIA | ARI | W 34-31 | 28 | 248 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 27 | 0 | 11.32 | 31 | 48 |
| 11 | Deshaun Watson | HOU | JAX | W 27-25 | 32 | 281 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 11.15 | 34 | 47 |
| 13 | Matt Ryan | ATL | DEN | W 34-27 | 35 | 284 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 10.65 | 37 | 33 |
| 17 | Drew Brees | NOR | TAM | W 38-3 | 32 | 222 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9.82 | 33 | 2 |
| 18 | Lamar Jackson | BAL | IND | W 24-10 | 23 | 170 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 9.48 | 25 | -7 |
| 20 | Jake Luton | JAX | HOU | L 25-27 | 38 | 304 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 9.50 | 40 | -11 |
| 21 | Chase Daniel | DET | MIN | L 20-34 | 13 | 94 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.77 | 13 | -13 |
| 22 | Ryan Tannehill | TEN | CHI | W 24-17 | 21 | 158 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 22 | 0 | 9.21 | 24 | -13 |
| 23 | Teddy Bridgewater | CAR | KAN | L 31-33 | 49 | 310 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 9.37 | 51 | -20 |
| 25 | Nick Foles | CHI | TEN | L 17-24 | 52 | 335 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 8.98 | 55 | -43 |
| 26 | Alex Smith | WAS | NYG | L 20-23 | 32 | 325 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 8.44 | 34 | -45 |
| 27 | Drew Lock | DEN | ATL | L 27-34 | 48 | 313 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 8.82 | 49 | -46 |
| 28 | Derek Carr | LVR | LAC | W 31-26 | 23 | 165 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7.75 | 24 | -48 |
| 29 | Nick Mullens | SFO | GNB | L 17-34 | 35 | 291 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 7.50 | 36 | -81 |
| 30 | Matthew Stafford | DET | MIN | L 20-34 | 32 | 211 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 6.94 | 34 | -96 |
| 31 | Daniel Jones | NYG | WAS | W 23-20 | 34 | 212 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 28 | 0 | 7.08 | 39 | -105 |
| 32 | Garrett Gilbert | DAL | PIT | L 19-24 | 38 | 243 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 6.90 | 40 | -115 |
| 33 | Russell Wilson | SEA | BUF | L 34-44 | 41 | 390 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 5 | 28 | 2 | 7.15 | 46 | -120 |
| 34 | Philip Rivers | IND | BAL | L 10-24 | 43 | 227 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.53 | 43 | -139 |
| 35 | Tom Brady | TAM | NOR | L 3-38 | 38 | 209 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 3.44 | 41 | -259 |
| Total | Total | Total | 1006 | 7908 | 55 | 18 | 371 | 56 | 373 | 6 | 9.76 | 1062 | 0 |
This was just the 6th week ever where the NFL had at least three times as many passing touchdowns as interceptions (all occurring in the last five years). Heck, the Jets had three times as many passing touchdowns as interceptions. But never has the league seen a low sack rate, a sky-high completion percentage, along with great yards per attempt and TD/INT numbers quite like this. That’s why week 9, 2020, was the single best passing week in league history.