---
slug: "passer-rating"
title: Passer Rating
depth_tier: entry
side: OFFENSE
category: Analytics
source_id: "ANA-0007"
created: 2026-04-19
updated: 2026-04-19
canonical: https://learningfootball.xyz/terms/passer-rating
aliases:
  - NFL passer rating
  - quarterback rating
  - QB rating
---
# Passer Rating

## Short Definition

The NFL's official quarterback formula combining completion %, yards per attempt, TD%, and INT%—scored 0 to 158.3, where 158.3 is a perfect rating.

## Definition

Passer rating is the NFL's official formula for measuring quarterback passing performance, combining completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown percentage, and interception percentage into a single number scaled between 0 and 158.3. The formula was created in 1973 and has been used in official NFL statistics ever since.

Each of the four components is calculated separately, capped between 0 and 2.375, then averaged and multiplied by 100/6. A league-average passer historically rated around 80–85; modern NFL inflation has pushed average ratings into the 90s. A single-season rating above 110 is elite; below 75 suggests significant struggles.

The formula's major limitation is its age—it predates the modern passing era and weights yards per attempt in ways that no longer reflect how offenses operate. It penalizes interceptions heavily but doesn't account for sacks, fumbles, dropped passes, receiver context, or the difficulty of throws attempted. A quarterback who checks down to easy completions and avoids interceptions will rate artificially high despite adding little offensive value.

Passer rating remains the most universally cited quarterback stat in broadcast coverage because it is familiar and sanctioned by the NFL. For analytical purposes it has largely been supplemented by QBR, CPOE, and EPA-based metrics, but it remains the official standard for milestones, records, and historical comparison.

## Example

"He's at 112.4 passer rating on the season—elite by any standard. But strip out the garbage time stats and his rating in close games in the fourth quarter drops to 84. The formula doesn't tell you when the numbers happened."

## Common Confusion

A perfect passer rating is 158.3, not 100. The formula was designed so that 100 would represent excellent play, but the mathematical ceiling of each component produces a maximum of 158.3. A quarterback who completes 100% of passes, averages 12.5+ yards per attempt, and throws no interceptions reaches the ceiling regardless of touchdowns.

## Related

- cpoe
- qbr
- epa-expected-points-added
- air-yards
- true-completion-percentage

---
Source: https://learningfootball.xyz/terms/passer-rating