What is Passer Rating?

Passer rating (also known as QB rating or Quarterback Rating) is a metric that's used to measure the efficiency of quarterbacks in the NFL. Though originally developed in 1973, passer rating is still one of the most popular statistics available for quantifying the play of NFL quarterbacks.

Passer rating rewards quarterbacks for touchdown passes, yards gained, and completions, while penalizing quarterbacks for interceptions. It does not consider rushing yards, sacks, or fumbles. Each individual stat is measured on a per attempt basis, which makes passer rating a measure of efficiency, not total performance.

How Passer Rating is Calculated

In the NFL, passer rating constrains the score a quarterback gets for any individual metric to between 0 and 2.375 before dividing the individual factors by 6 and multiplying the entire equation by 100. The formula evaluates four key components:

1. Completion Percentage - (Completions/Attempts - 0.3) × 5
2. Yards per Attempt - (Yards/Attempts - 3) × 0.25
3. Touchdown Percentage - (Touchdowns/Attempts) × 20
4. Interception Percentage - 2.375 - (Interceptions/Attempts × 25)

Each component is capped at 2.375 (max) and 0 (min). The sum is then divided by 6 and multiplied by 100.

Perfect Passer Rating: 158.3

A rating of 158.3 is considered a "perfect" passer rating since it's the highest rating a quarterback can receive. To achieve a perfect passer rating, a quarterback must:

• Complete at least 77.5% of passes
• Average at least 12.5 yards per attempt
• Throw a touchdown on at least 11.875% of attempts
• Throw zero interceptions

What is a Good Passer Rating?

Perfect ratings are quite rare in the NFL, so it's more useful to look at passer rating along a scale. Benchmarks have changed over time as the NFL has become more pass-friendly. Today, a rating of 100+ is considered quite good:

• 158.3 - Perfect passer rating (maximum possible)
• 120+ - Elite performance
• 100-119 - Very good performance
• 90-99 - Above average
• 80-89 - Average
• 70-79 - Below average
• Under 70 - Poor performance

How to Use the Passer Rating Calculator

Entering completions, attempts, yards, passing touchdowns, and interceptions into the fields above will instantly calculate a passer rating. Since the passer rating calculator updates in real time, you can easily see how changes to individual statistics change the overall rating.

The passer rating calculator also includes instant validation and will tell you if you've entered a stat line that can't exist. For instance, if you enter more touchdown passes than total completions (which can't occur in a real game), you'll see an error and the passer rating calculator won't update.

Additional Rate Statistics

In addition to calculating a passer rating, the calculator will also display several other useful rate statistics:

• Completion Percentage - Completions divided by attempts
• Yards per Attempt - Total yards divided by attempts
• Touchdown Percentage - Touchdowns divided by attempts
• Interception Percentage - Interceptions divided by attempts

Limitations of Passer Rating

Passer rating does have its limitations. In today's NFL, quarterbacks are throwing for more yards, more touchdown passes, and fewer interceptions. As a result, today's ratings are meaningfully higher than those of the past.

Additionally, since passer rating does not include any scoring for:

• Yards lost to sacks
• Yards gained rushing
• Rushing touchdowns
• Fumbles
• Game situation or clutch performance

It doesn't paint a full picture of quarterback performance. That said, the formula is still quite popular and this calculator can help build a better understanding of how it works.

Related Calculators

• Sportsbook Hold Calculator - Calculate betting hold percentages
• Hedge Calculator - Calculate optimal hedge bet sizes
• Parlay Calculator - Calculate parlay payouts