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Today’s NFL, a look at the numbers via Passer Rating pre and post 20th Century
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:06 pm
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:06 pm
When the 20th Century ended, and the conclusion of the 1999 NFL Regular Season, your Top 5 in Single Season Passer Rating was:
1- Steve Young 112.8 in 1994
2- Joe Montana 112.4 in ‘89
3- Otto Graham 112.1 in ‘46
4- Milt Plum 110.4 in ‘60
5- Sammy Baugh 109.9 in ‘45
In fact, to get to the next Super Bowl era QB, it’s then:
6- Otto Graham 109.2 in ‘47
7- Kurt Warner 109.2 in 1999
Fast forward to today, Steve Young and Joe Montana’s ‘94 and ‘89 seasons now rank 17th and 18th respectively.
Top 5 today:
1- Aaron Rodgers 122.5 in 2011
2- Aaron Rodgers 121.5 in 2020
3- Peyton Manning 121.1 in 2004
That ‘04 season broke Young’s record.
4- Lamar Jackson 119.6 in 2024
5- Nick Foles 119.2 in 2013
To finally get to Brady, whom any consider the GOAT QB, you’d then go
6- Ryan Tannehill 117.5 in 2019
7- Tom Brady 117.2 in 2007
For career Top 5:
1- Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers 102.2
3- Joe Burrow 101.1
4- Patrick Mahomes 100.8
5- Russell Wilson 99.3
Brady is 10th with 97.2
Young is tied for 12th with Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff and Jordan Love at 96.8
Peyton Manning 16th with 96.5
Montana down at 27th with 92.3
Personally, and I’m sure I’m old man yelling at the clouds, but I liked the NFL (and college ball) better when the pass defenses were a bit more stout and forced more turnovers.
Thank you all for your time in listening to me. Have a blessed Friday Eve.
1- Steve Young 112.8 in 1994
2- Joe Montana 112.4 in ‘89
3- Otto Graham 112.1 in ‘46
4- Milt Plum 110.4 in ‘60
5- Sammy Baugh 109.9 in ‘45
In fact, to get to the next Super Bowl era QB, it’s then:
6- Otto Graham 109.2 in ‘47
7- Kurt Warner 109.2 in 1999
Fast forward to today, Steve Young and Joe Montana’s ‘94 and ‘89 seasons now rank 17th and 18th respectively.
Top 5 today:
1- Aaron Rodgers 122.5 in 2011
2- Aaron Rodgers 121.5 in 2020
3- Peyton Manning 121.1 in 2004
That ‘04 season broke Young’s record.
4- Lamar Jackson 119.6 in 2024
5- Nick Foles 119.2 in 2013
To finally get to Brady, whom any consider the GOAT QB, you’d then go
6- Ryan Tannehill 117.5 in 2019
7- Tom Brady 117.2 in 2007
For career Top 5:
1- Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers 102.2
3- Joe Burrow 101.1
4- Patrick Mahomes 100.8
5- Russell Wilson 99.3
Brady is 10th with 97.2
Young is tied for 12th with Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff and Jordan Love at 96.8
Peyton Manning 16th with 96.5
Montana down at 27th with 92.3
Personally, and I’m sure I’m old man yelling at the clouds, but I liked the NFL (and college ball) better when the pass defenses were a bit more stout and forced more turnovers.
Thank you all for your time in listening to me. Have a blessed Friday Eve.
9
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:18 pm to ragincajun03
I remember when throwing for 300 yards in a game was considered to be a lot.
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:25 pm to S
IIRC Super Tecmo Bowl would go ape shite if you threw for 300 yards in a game.
This post was edited on 7/23/26 at 12:26 pm
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:27 pm to ragincajun03
quote:
I liked the NFL (and college ball) better when the pass defenses were a bit more stout and forced more turnovers.
A lot of that was passing offenses being less sophisticated. Offensive coaches have learned a lot in the past 40 years.
I heard Phil Robertson talking one time about that very thing, talking about seeing routes and passing concepts today that quite simply nobody had thought of in previous eras.
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:38 pm to S
quote:The 2010s with that many concurrent Hall of Fame (4) and Hall of Great (~6) players coupled with favorable rule changes and teams abandoning running games more consistently were a bubble and messed with our standards
I remember when throwing for 300 yards in a game was considered to be a lot
Defenses have since adjusted (defender size, formations, rules familiarity) and passing yards/game have started to come back down. 2025 was down to 209.7 yards/game, which was less than 1995 (220.5) on 2 fewer passing attempts
The QB play today just isn’t good enough for consistent 300 yard games like it used to be
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:42 pm to S
quote:
I remember when throwing for 300 yards in a game was considered to be a lot.
Hell, in Tuberville’s time at Auburn, we used to celebrate getting 300 total yards of offense in a game.
I don’t blink unless a QB goes over 400 yards passing in today’s NFL.
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:46 pm to ragincajun03
quote:now do playoffs
For career Top 5: 1- Lamar Jackson
Posted on 7/23/26 at 1:04 pm to ragincajun03
quote:
but I liked the NFL (and college ball) better when the pass defenses were a bit more stout and forced more turnovers.
Posted on 7/23/26 at 1:05 pm to UnluckyTiger
quote:
quote:
For career Top 5: 1- Lamar Jackson
now do playoffs
Lamar Jackson: 84.6
Dan Marino: 77.1
John Elway: 79.7
Posted on 7/23/26 at 1:07 pm to BranchDawg
quote:
I heard Phil Robertson talking one time about that very thing, talking about seeing routes and passing concepts today that quite simply nobody had thought of in previous eras.
This is why I argue Mike Leach's legacy is underrated. How he simplified passing concepts and changed the entire philosophy on passing has changed football like few others. Then his tree just took it and ran with it, especially combined with the spread option concepts.
He change how passing was conceptualized
This conceptualization made passing far less dangerous
Making passing less dangerous changed how much it was used, which changed efforts to adapt and develop passing. Then you had a flip where for 100 years it was run to set up the pass and now you passed to set up the run.
Posted on 7/23/26 at 3:36 pm to ragincajun03
quote:
Personally, and I’m sure I’m old man yelling at the clouds, but I liked the NFL (and college ball) better when the pass defenses were a bit more stout and forced more turnovers.
You mean when you actually had to interfere to get a flag and you were allowed to "head hunt" receivers coming across the middle?
Posted on 7/23/26 at 4:04 pm to ragincajun03
I have no respect for any QB or receiver records set in this century. They are meaningless.
Posted on 7/23/26 at 4:18 pm to SoFla Tideroller
quote:Receiver records aren’t going to be broken because 1) Jerry Rice and 2) the ball is distributed to more targets
I have no respect for any QB or receiver records set in this century. They are meaningless.
I’m not sure why there’s a sense that today’s records are any less meaningful because other ones were set in eras in which 3 WR on the field was aggressive or against part-time athletes who were actively smoking in their playing days, but it’s weird
Posted on 7/23/26 at 5:47 pm to S
quote:when Dan Fouts had that run of 400 yard games back in the early eighties, it was unheard of. Air Coryell. He had more by himself than the decade of the 70s
remember when throwing for 300 yards in a game was considered to be a lot.
Posted on 7/23/26 at 6:23 pm to ragincajun03
If you look at the all time yards per completion leaders, no QB in the top 50 we’re post 2000.
Posted on 7/23/26 at 9:59 pm to ragincajun03
quote:
Personally, and I’m sure I’m old man yelling at the clouds, but I liked the NFL (and college ball) better when the pass defenses were a bit more stout and forced more turnovers.
Modern football with all these passes over the middle, back in the day you couldn’t do any of that because the WRs would all get literally killed doing that.
Posted on 7/24/26 at 7:22 am to T1gerNate
quote:
Modern football with all these passes over the middle, back in the day you couldn’t do any of that because the WRs would all get literally killed doing that.
Don’t even have to go back all that far for examples. Just look at any 3rd receiver from the mid-2000s Colts.
Posted on 7/24/26 at 8:34 am to ragincajun03
quote:
1- Aaron Rodgers 122.5 in 2011
2- Aaron Rodgers 121.5 in 2020
3- Peyton Manning 121.1 in 2004
That ‘04 season broke Young’s record.
4- Lamar Jackson 119.6 in 2024
5- Nick Foles 119.2 in 2013
Personally, and I’m sure I’m old man yelling at the clouds, but I liked the NFL (and college ball) better when the pass defenses were a bit more stout and forced more turnovers.
It should be noted that the NFL changed the defensive rules in 2004 making passing much, much easier and defensive penalties easier to be called. It shouldn't be surprising that there was an escalation of passer ratings following that rule change.
This post was edited on 7/24/26 at 8:43 am
Posted on 7/24/26 at 10:13 am to BranchDawg
quote:
A lot of that was passing offenses being less sophisticated. Offensive coaches have learned a lot in the past 40 years.
Rule changes aside, there’s been more offensive innovation through the decades (because there’s more room for it plus the offense dictates the style of play) and that’s made a big difference. Joe Montana played almost exclusively under center with WR’s in three point stances at one time.
quote:
Modern football with all these passes over the middle, back in the day you couldn’t do any of that because the WRs would all get literally killed doing that.
A defense like the 1985 Bears 46 would get picked apart by a modern NFL offense even accounting for size and speed differences. And I don’t care whose rules you use. If smurfs like Duper and Clayton could set records in 1984 and shred the Bears in 1985, I think a modern offenses could survive the “barbaric” rules of the time.
Posted on 7/25/26 at 10:46 am to T1gerNate
quote:
Personally, and I’m sure I’m old man yelling at the clouds, but I liked the NFL (and college ball) better when the pass defenses were a bit more stout and forced more turnovers.
Modern football with all these passes over the middle, back in the day you couldn’t do any of that because the WRs would all get literally killed doing that.
True.
I seem to remember a lot more short swing and dump passes to the RBs in the 70's through the early 2000's, letting the RBs take the heat from the LBs and safetys rather than the receivers.
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