There were 5 teams that experienced a decline of at least 1.00 Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt last season. The Lions, with Matt Stafford, dropped by 1.27 ANY/A, while the Cardinals (-1.32) and Bills (-1.41) saw declines after switching to rookie quarterbacks. The Jaguars experienced the scary half of the Blake Bortles roller coaster last year, as the team’s passing game declined by 1.43 ANY/A.
But it was Washington — who evicted Kirk Cousins — that saw the biggest decline, a drop-off of 1.56 ANY/A. The Redskins problems were compounded by the injury to Alex Smith, as Washington averaged 4.82 ANY/A for the year but Smith averaged 5.81 ANY/A.
It made me wonder: which teams have had the biggest decline in their passing games each year? The table below shows that for each year since the merger.
| Year | Team | N-1 ANY/A | N-1 Rk | Yr N-1 QB | Yr N ANY/A | Yr N Rk | Yr N QB | ANY/A Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | WAS | 6.38 | 12 | Kirk Cousins (100%) | 4.82 | 28 | Alex Smith (64%) | -1.56 |
| 2017 | GNB | 7.08 | 6 | Aaron Rodgers (98%) | 4.66 | 30 | Brett Hundley (56%) | -2.42 |
| 2016 | ARI | 8.03 | 1 | Carson Palmer (96%) | 5.72 | 23 | Carson Palmer (92%) | -2.31 |
| 2015 | DAL | 7.96 | 2 | Tony Romo (91%) | 4.99 | 32 | Matt Cassel (39%) | -2.97 |
| 2014 | PHI | 7.84 | 2 | Nick Foles (62%) | 6.05 | 16 | Nick Foles (50%) | -1.79 |
| 2013 | WAS | 7.46 | 2 | Robert Griffin (89%) | 5.04 | 21 | Robert Griffin (75%) | -2.42 |
| 2012 | GNB | 9.42 | 1 | Aaron Rodgers (91%) | 7.37 | 4 | Aaron Rodgers (99%) | -2.05 |
| 2011 | TAM | 6.89 | 5 | Josh Freeman (96%) | 4.69 | 27 | Josh Freeman (94%) | -2.2 |
| 2010 | MIN | 7.7 | 3 | Brett Favre (96%) | 4.08 | 30 | Brett Favre (71%) | -3.62 |
| 2009 | MIA | 7.19 | 3 | Chad Pennington (97%) | 4.52 | 23 | Chad Henne (83%) | -2.67 |
| 2008 | NWE | 8.77 | 1 | Tom Brady (99%) | 6 | 12 | Matt Cassel (97%) | -2.77 |
| 2007 | STL | 6.37 | 6 | Marc Bulger (99%) | 3.78 | 31 | Marc Bulger (66%) | -2.59 |
| 2006 | OAK | 5.3 | 16 | Kerry Collins (96%) | 2.67 | 32 | Andrew Walter (57%) | -2.64 |
| 2005 | MIN | 7.95 | 2 | Daunte Culpepper (99%) | 4.94 | 20 | Brad Johnson (58%) | -3.01 |
| 2004 | TEN | 7.73 | 1 | Steve McNair (80%) | 5.21 | 19 | Billy Volek (61%) | -2.51 |
| 2003 | OAK | 6.94 | 2 | Rich Gannon (100%) | 4.08 | 26 | Rich Gannon (43%) | -2.86 |
| 2002 | STL | 7.47 | 1 | Kurt Warner (99%) | 5.02 | 22 | Kurt Warner (35%) | -2.45 |
| 2001 | DEN | 7.12 | 4 | Brian Griese (59%) | 4.71 | 24 | Brian Griese (88%) | -2.41 |
| 2000 | CAR | 6.72 | 3 | Steve Beuerlein (99%) | 4.71 | 17 | Steve Beuerlein (94%) | -2.01 |
| 1999 | SFO | 7.23 | 2 | Steve Young (93%) | 4.56 | 23 | Jeff Garcia (67%) | -2.66 |
| 1998 | PHI | 5.17 | 17 | Ty Detmer (42%) | 2.95 | 29 | Bobby Hoying (42%) | -2.22 |
| 1997 | CAR | 5.79 | 6 | Kerry Collins (75%) | 3.64 | 28 | Kerry Collins (71%) | -2.15 |
| 1996 | DET | 7.03 | 3 | Scott Mitchell (96%) | 4.53 | 24 | Scott Mitchell (81%) | -2.5 |
| 1995 | TAM | 5.54 | 12 | Craig Erickson (81%) | 3.83 | 28 | Trent Dilfer (82%) | -1.71 |
| 1994 | NYG | 6.19 | 5 | Phil Simms (94%) | 4.59 | 25 | Dave Brown (86%) | -1.59 |
| 1993 | WAS | 5.31 | 11 | Mark Rypien (99%) | 3.18 | 28 | Mark Rypien (60%) | -2.13 |
| 1992 | WAS | 8.33 | 1 | Mark Rypien (94%) | 5.31 | 11 | Mark Rypien (99%) | -3.02 |
| 1991 | PHI | 6.12 | 7 | Randall Cunningham (97%) | 3.64 | 25 | Jim McMahon (61%) | -2.48 |
| 1990 | SFO | 8.54 | 1 | Joe Montana (80%) | 6.48 | 6 | Joe Montana (89%) | -2.06 |
| 1989 | PHO | 5.54 | 9 | Neil Lomax (79%) | 3.92 | 27 | Gary Hogeboom (70%) | -1.62 |
| 1988 | NWE | 4.89 | 13 | Steve Grogan (37%) | 2.8 | 28 | Doug Flutie (46%) | -2.09 |
| 1987 | MIN | 6.85 | 2 | Tommy Kramer (72%) | 4.44 | 24 | Wade Wilson (59%) | -2.41 |
| 1986 | SDG | 6.35 | 4 | Dan Fouts (68%) | 4.27 | 16 | Dan Fouts (71%) | -2.08 |
| 1985 | MIA | 8.85 | 1 | Dan Marino (99%) | 6.37 | 3 | Dan Marino (98%) | -2.49 |
| 1984 | WAS | 7.23 | 1 | Joe Theismann (99%) | 5.57 | 5 | Joe Theismann (98%) | -1.65 |
| 1983 | SDG | 7.91 | 1 | Dan Fouts (98%) | 5.6 | 8 | Dan Fouts (54%) | -2.3 |
| 1982 | BUF | 6 | 6 | Joe Ferguson (99%) | 3.34 | 27 | Joe Ferguson (97%) | -2.67 |
| 1981 | RAM | 5.82 | 5 | Vince Ferragamo (90%) | 2.69 | 28 | Pat Haden (56%) | -3.13 |
| 1980 | SEA | 5.82 | 2 | Jim Zorn (97%) | 4.26 | 19 | Jim Zorn (94%) | -1.56 |
| 1979 | STL | 4.8 | 8 | Jim Hart (94%) | 3.32 | 25 | Jim Hart (77%) | -1.49 |
| 1978 | BAL | 5.38 | 2 | Bert Jones (99%) | 2.44 | 26 | Bill Troup (77%) | -2.94 |
| 1977 | OAK | 7.08 | 2 | Ken Stabler (81%) | 4.15 | 11 | Ken Stabler (91%) | -2.93 |
| 1976 | BUF | 5.85 | 3 | Joe Ferguson (91%) | 3.35 | 18 | Gary Marangi (61%) | -2.5 |
| 1975 | DEN | 5.13 | 8 | Charley Johnson (74%) | 2.77 | 20 | Steve Ramsey (55%) | -2.36 |
| 1974 | ATL | 4.82 | 9 | Bob Lee (72%) | -0.02 | 26 | Bob Lee (48%) | -4.84 |
| 1973 | BAL | 5.06 | 9 | Marty Domres (58%) | 1.9 | 23 | Marty Domres (64%) | -3.16 |
| 1972 | DAL | 6.61 | 1 | Roger Staubach (58%) | 4.09 | 14 | Craig Morton (92%) | -2.52 |
| 1971 | SFO | 7.6 | 1 | John Brodie (99%) | 4.62 | 10 | John Brodie (99%) | -2.98 |
| 1970 | GNB | 5.7 | 4 | Don Horn (53%) | 2.42 | 23 | Bart Starr (73%) | -3.28 |
Some notes:
12 times the biggest dropoff came from the team that ranked 1st in ANY/A the year before, which makes some sense, along with 10 more that ranked 2nd in ANY/A. Three teams went from average to horrible, which is even harder to pull off: the 1988 Patriots, the 1998 Eagles, and the 2006 Raiders. And a special nod to Mark Rypien and the Redskins, who led the NFL in ANY/A in 1991 at 8.33, had the biggest decline in ANY/A from ’91 to ’92 when the Redskins ranked 11th with 5.31 ANY/A, and then again suffered the biggest decline in ANY/A from ’92 to ’93 when the team averaged 3.18 ANY/A, ranking last in the league.