Last updated: 3 October 2026
Reviewed by Jordan Morley, FA Level 2 Football Coach
The NFL passer rating (also called QBR, though technically distinct) scores a quarterback on four components: completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown percentage and interception percentage. Each is clamped to a 0–2.375 range, averaged and scaled so a perfect rating is 158.3. A season average above 100 is excellent; the maximum of 158.3 requires completing all passes, averaging 11.875 Y/A, throwing for TDs on 11.875% of attempts and never throwing an interception.
- Four components: comp%, Y/A, TD%, INT%
- Each clamped to 0–2.375
- Perfect rating = 158.3
- Season average 100+ is elite
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Open the NFL Passer Rating Calculator →In practice
NFL passer rating combines completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown rate and interception rate into a single number via a somewhat convoluted formula — while widely criticized by analysts for its arbitrary weighting and capped sub-components, it remains a standard quick-reference stat for broadcasters and fans comparing quarterback performance in a single game or season.
FAQ
What's considered a good NFL passer rating?
Above 100 is considered excellent for a season; the theoretical maximum is 158.3, with most starting quarterbacks landing in the 85-100 range in a typical season.
Why do analysts criticize passer rating as a stat?
Its formula weights completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdowns and interceptions somewhat arbitrarily, and caps each component in ways that don't reflect their true relative importance to winning, leading many analysts to prefer newer metrics like QBR.