QUARTERBACKS
Foto: All-Pro Reels / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Everything on this page is about one job and the numbers used to judge it. Start with what a completion actually counts, then with why two record books can print two different career totals for the same player.
12 pieces12,931 words in the section
Pro-Football-Reference defines completion percentage through a straightforward calculation: completions divided by passing attempts. ESPN records the metric under the abbreviation PCT in its…
Under the NCAA Football Statisticians’ Manual, total offense is defined as the combined result of rushing and forward passing only, calculated as the total of net gain rushing and net gain forward…
The NCAA pass-efficiency rating converts five box-score statistics into a single number using four weighted rate components. Defined in the 2022 NCAA Football Statisticians’ Manual, the calculation…
The traditional NFL passer rating relies on a fixed box-score formula with four passing components, while ESPN's Total QBR evaluates performance through a play-by-play model adjusted for game…
A standard box score defines passing yards per attempt through simple division: total passing yards divided by total passing attempts. That baseline calculation treats every completed yard equally,…
The NCAA Statistics Policies and Guidelines, updated in 2025, settle the fundamental bookkeeping of individual streaks in explicit terms: scorers count only the games in which the athlete actually…
Under NCAA Statistics Policies and Guidelines, postseason football games played before the 2002 season do not count toward official single-game, season, or career records. That cutoff changed in…
ESPN outlined four specific developments that drove the spread revolution across football: the Air Raid, the zone read, tempo, and the run-pass option. Coaches quoted in that report described modern…
NFL Next Gen Stats coverage classification relies on exact tracking markers, but a viewer on a sofa can determine a defensive structure within two seconds of the ball leaving the center's hands. The…
Under the official playing rules published by NFL Football Operations, an ineligible offensive player commits a foul if his entire body is more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage before a…
College football box scores record rushing yards as a net calculation, folding every quarterback sack directly into the running statistics rather than deducting it from passing totals. Rushing…
The NFL Scouting Combine operates as a four-day pre-employment physical and job interview disguised as a television broadcast. Front offices gather in Indianapolis to collect verified physical…
| Rank | Figure | Player | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1,619 | Chad Pennington | 1995-99 |
| 2. | 1,615 | Rakeem Cato | 2011-present |
| 3. | 1,442 | Byron Leftwich | 1998-02 |
| 4. | 1,108 | Michael Payton | 1989-92 |
| 5. | 1,059 | Carl Fodor | 1982-85 |
| 6. | 912 | Todd Donnan | 1991-94 |
| 7. | 873 | John Gregory | 1986-89 |
| 8. | 849 | Brian Anderson | 2007-10 |
| 9. | 831 | Tony Petersen | 1986-87 |
| 10. | 803 | Bernard Morris | 2004-07 |
| Rank | Figure | Player | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1,026 | Chad Pennington | 1995-99 |
| 2. | 1,018 | Rakeem Cato | 2011-present |
| 3. | 939 | Byron Leftwich | 1998-02 |
| 4. | 689 | Michael Payton | 1989-92 |
| 5. | 542 | Todd Donnan | 1991-94 |
| 6. | 521 | Carl Fodor | 1982-85 |
| 7. | 486 | John Gregory | 1986-89 |
| 8. | 483 | Brian Anderson | 2007-10 |
| (tie) | 483 | Bernard Morris | 2004-07 |
| 10. | 440 | Tony Petersen | 1986-87 |