Offenses try to avoid it, defenses battle to create it. Big money is spent on offensive players who prevent it, and defensive players who provide it. Of course we’re talking about pressure, and no one charts and quantifies it as well as PFF.

We know that it’s important for defenses to pressure the quarterback, but PFF has been the first to put numbers to our intuitive football knowledge. This entire series will take a look at how quarterbacks fare when pressured from various points on the field, but to start, let’s take a look at the broad scope of quarterback performance when they’re pressured as opposed to playing within a clean pocket.

QB Performance Under Pressure

How important is pressure? This chart is pretty revealing, as the statistical difference between pressured and un-pressured quarterbacks is drastic.

Pressure vs. No Pressure 2012:

Pressure vs. No Pressure Five-year (2008-2012):

In 2012, when throwing from a clean pocket, quarterbacks notched a QB Rating of 95.0  — but that number drops to 59.3 with defenders in their face. To put that into perspective, Drew Brees had a QB Rating of 96.3 last season and Brady Quinn came in at 60.1. So, loosely defined, putting pressure on a the average NFL quarterback can turn him from Brees into Quinn. Of course QB Rating is not the greatest barometer, but it’s a fine indication of the impact of pressuring the quarterback.

Among the other notables statistics, Accuracy Percentage takes a huge hit, as does yards per attempt, which is often used as the ultimate measure for the passing game. Even though quarterbacks face pressure on only a little over 31% of the time, the difference in their performance is astronomical.

Beyond the traditional stats, of course, lies our very own PFF Grade that assesses the quality of every play of a quarterback’s season. How do they fare in a cumulative look?

PFF Grading:

Nothing ground-breaking here; quarterbacks are much more effective when given time to throw and our PFF Grades back this up.

How does depth of target compare when quarterbacks are pressured?

Average Depth of Target:

Interestingly enough, quarterbacks throw the ball farther downfield when under heat. These numbers are likely skewed because of screen passes which very rarely face pressure and bring the average depth of target down significantly.

What does a QB end up doing most often when under pressure?

Actions Under Pressure:

Again, not much is surprising here. Quarterbacks who are pressured are more likely to scramble and, obviously, they can’t be sacked if they’re not facing pressure.

Check Page 2 for a look at where the pressure comes from…