At Pro Football Focus, our Signature Stats are built from the stats we collect while grading each game. In turn, we're able to provide our Premium Stats subscribers with some advanced numbers that give a clearer picture of certain aspects of a player's game than regular box score stats can provide.
In this scan through one of our most popular Signature Stats, we're looking at quarterback accuracy, breaking it down into three categories: Overall Accuracy Percentage, Acc% on deep attempts, and Acc% when under pressure.
Our Accuracy Percentage stat goes beyond your standard quarterback completion percentage, taking into account dropped passes, throw aways, spiked balls, batted passes and passes where the quarterback was hit while attempting to throw.
So, with all that in mind, here is our look at quarterback accuracy around the league.
Accuracy Percentage
The Top 10
The best of the best in terms of Accuracy Percentage features some of the players you'd expect to find at the top of this list, and a few who come as a bit of a surprise. Leading the way among the 41 QBs who surpassed the 175 drop-back mark to qualify is Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, accurate on 79.3% of his passes after finishing second in 2012 with 80.2%. That's impressively consistent from the Packers' signal caller, and he's joined inside the Top 10 by backup Matt Flynn who, despite his struggles, managed to be accurate on 74.7% of his passes, tied with Ben Roethlisberger and Sam Bradford for the seventh-best mark in 2013.
Name | Team | Accuracy % |
Aaron Rodgers | GB | 79.3% |
Philip Rivers | SD | 78.7% |
Matt Ryan | ATL | 78.4% |
Josh McCown | CHI | 77.8% |
Peyton Manning | DEN | 77.0% |
Drew Brees | NO | 77.0% |
Sam Bradford | STL | 74.7% |
Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | 74.7% |
Matt Flynn | GB | 74.7% |
Nick Foles | PHI | 74.2% |
Ever prominent atop most quarterback rankings regardless of which stat you're looking at, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning were tied for fifth with an Acc% of 77.0%, with Manning seeing 6.5% of his catchable passes dropped by receivers. In fourth we have Josh McCown, highlighting his impressive season and something that will surely catch the attention of teams looking for a quarterback this offseason while Matt Ryan, much maligned for a midseason slump, was still in the Top 3.
The Bottom 10
Like the Top 10, the Bottom 10 won't come as much of a shock to anyone who watched these quarterbacks play in 2013. Oakland's Matthew McGloin was at the bottom of the pile with an Acc% of just 66.5%, and he was joined in the lower group, sadly for Raiders fans, by teammate Terrelle Pryor.
Name | Team | Accuracy % |
Kellen Clemens | STL | 68.7% |
E.J. Manuel | BUF | 68.4% |
Terrelle Pryor | OAK | 68.3% |
Brandon Weeden | CLV | 68.2% |
Joe Flacco | BLT | 67.8% |
Thaddeus Lewis | BUF | 67.5% |
Case Keenum | HST | 67.5% |
Geno Smith | NYJ | 67.4% |
Eli Manning | NYG | 67.2% |
Matthew McGloin | OAK | 66.5% |
High profile signal-callers in the Bottom 10 include former Super Bowl MVP's Joe Flacco and Eli Manning, with neither justifying their lofty contracts in 2013. Neither come as too much of a surprise, however, with Flacco having the sixth-worst mark in 2012, and Manning 11th from the bottom.
AFC East rookies Geno Smith and E.J. Manuel find themselves here too, an indication of their struggles in their first seasons in the league, but Smith improved as the year went on and Manuel saw his season interrupted by injury, so there will be an expectation that both can lift themselves higher in 2014.
Acc%: Deep Passing
The Top 10
Deep Accuracy gives a good indication of which quarterbacks were most accurate challenging defenses downfield and, with a big start in limited action in Houston, Case Keenum tops the list with a Deep Acc% of 53.1%. Rodgers is once again amongst the best here, as the only quarterback other than Keenum to finish above 50%. Super Bowl QBs Russell Wilson and Peyton Manning round out the Top 5 along with the surprise inclusion of Kellen Clemens.
Name | Team | Deep Acc. % |
Case Keenum | HST | 53.1% |
Aaron Rodgers | GB | 52.8% |
Russell Wilson | SEA | 48.3% |
Peyton Manning | DEN | 48.2% |
Kellen Clemens | STL | 48.0% |
Matt Cassel | MIN | 47.4% |
Geno Smith | NYJ | 46.7% |
Alex D. Smith | KC | 46.3% |
Matthew McGloin | OAK | 45.7% |
Mike Glennon | TB | 45.0% |
Despite his poor overall accuracy, Geno Smith was seventh-best on deep throws, completing 46.7% of passes 20 yards or more downfield, though that did come with seven interceptions — the only player in the Top 10 to throw more interceptions than touchdowns. He's joined by fellow rookie Mike Glennon who finishes the Top 10 at 45.0%, but had the best touchdown-to-interception ratio among them with seven TDs and just one INT.
The Bottom 10
Highlighting the myth about Flacco's arm, the Ravens' signal caller had the second worst Deep Accuracy of any quarterback in 2013, and had just one touchdown and eight interceptions. This comes a year after his 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions lead to claims that he was the best deep thrower in the league, despite finishing 18th with a Deep Acc% of 40.2% in 2012. Still, his accuracy on deep passes dropped by 14.1% in 2013, with only Jake Locker (23.3%) finishing with a lower mark.
Name | Team | Deep Acc. % |
E.J. Manuel | BUF | 34.1% |
Ryan Tannehill | MIA | 32.8% |
Cam Newton | CAR | 31.3% |
Carson Palmer | ARZ | 31.1% |
Chad Henne | JAX | 30.8% |
Robert Griffin III | WAS | 30.4% |
Terrelle Pryor | OAK | 30.0% |
Jason Campbell | CLV | 29.4% |
Joe Flacco | BLT | 26.1% |
Jake Locker | TEN | 23.3% |
Robert Griffin III finished with the fifth-worst mark in his second year after coming in as the fifth best a year ago — a drop of 19.6% as he heads into a key season in his development. Unlike fellow rookie Smith, Manuel wasn't able to balance out poor overall accuracy with a good showing on deep throws, rounding out the Bottom 10 in his first season. Carson Palmer also features here, completing just 31.1% of his deep passes and was the tied with Flacco for the most interceptions.
Acc%: Under Pressure
Top 10
It's the tale of two injury replacement in the NFC North at the top here, with free agents-to-be McCown and Flynn at the top of the table. They're joined in the first five by Philip Rivers and Peyton Manning, which hardly comes as a surprise. The Top 5 ends with a Ryan Fitzpatrick sighting and all five were accurate on at least 68.5% of their throws while under pressure.
Name | Team | Under Pressure Acc. % |
Josh McCown | CHI | 77.0% |
Matt Flynn | GB | 72.7% |
Philip Rivers | SD | 69.9% |
Peyton Manning | DEN | 69.0% |
Ryan Fitzpatrick | TEN | 68.5% |
Matt Ryan | ATL | 68.2% |
Nick Foles | PHI | 68.1% |
Christian Ponder | MIN | 67.7% |
Cam Newton | CAR | 66.4% |
Chad Henne | JAX | 65.2% |
Once again Ryan features in the Top 10, giving Falcons fans plenty of reason to believe that his drop in play was nothing more than a minor blip, while Eagles fans will be pleased to see Nick Foles make an appearance after a successful first stint as a starter under Chip Kelly. Christian Ponder and Chad Henne performed well here despite struggling in general, while Cam Newton threw the most touchdowns under pressure of players in this group with nine.
The Bottom 10
The theme for the Bottom 10 here seems to be inexperience, with most of the players here still fairly young in their careers. Nobody struggled under pressure as much as Buffalo's backup Thaddeus Lewis, who completed just 40% of his throws when pressure got to him. He's joined at the bottom by McGloin and Brandon Weeden with both showing why so many doubt their viability as a long-term starters in the league. St. Louis' Sam Bradford had the fourth-worst mark as we head into yet another offseason where he's coming off an injury.
Name | Team | Under Pressure Acc. % |
Andy Dalton | CIN | 56.7% |
Jake Locker | TEN | 56.6% |
Andrew Luck | IND | 56.0% |
Geno Smith | NYJ | 55.5% |
Colin Kaepernick | SF | 55.1% |
Matt Schaub | HST | 55.1% |
Sam Bradford | STL | 53.4% |
Brandon Weeden | CLV | 50.8% |
Matthew McGloin | OAK | 50.0% |
Thaddeus Lewis | BUF | 40.0% |
Andrew Luck and Andy Dalton also feature in the Bottom 10, with their up-and-down play leading to six pressured picks apiece. Geno Smith can be spotted once again, with pressure causing him plenty of problems in his rookie year, while veteran Matt Schaub's inclusion won't come as a surprise to anyone who saw him during what was as rough a year as he's had in the league.
As always it's important to note that, while these stats go well beyond the box score, they still aren't as good an indication to a quarterback's play as our grades. Context is still needed when looking at these numbers, with a two-yard dump off on 3rd-and-13 counting for the same as a 14-yard laser in terms of accuracy under pressure. Likewise for finding a receiver open downfield through blown coverage as opposed to a throw that splits coverage to find a home. Fortunately, our Signature Stats come as part of our PFF Premium Package so you can treat yourself to both and get the advanced stats and grades together.
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