The best and worst passing games of 2014

by Chase Stuart on August 20, 2015

in Passing, Quarterbacks, SRS, Statgeekery

On Monday, I looked at the SOS-adjusted Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt ratings of every quarterback and defense in the NFL in 2014. And just like last year, I want to follow that post by looking at the best and worst games of the year, from the perspectives of both the quarterbacks and the defenses.

Let’s start with the top 100 passing games from 2014. The top spot belongs to Ben Roethlisberger, for his scorched-earth performance against Indianapolis. The Steelers star threw for 522 yards and 6 touchdowns on just 49 pass attempts with no sacks or interceptions. For the game, that means Roethlisberger averaged 13.10 ANY/A. The league-average last season was 6.13 ANY/A, which means Roethlisberger was 6.97 ANY/A above average. Now since the game came against a Colts team that was 0.28 ANY/A worse than average last year, we have to reduce that by the same number. That puts Roethlisberger at 6.70 ANY/A above expectation; multiply that by his 49 dropbacks, and he produced 328 adjusted net yards of value above average after adjusting for strength of schedule. That was easily the top game of 2014.

After Roethlisberger, the next best games from 2014 came from… the 2015 Jets quarterbacks?

Rk	QB	Opp	Wk	Boxscore	Att	Yd	TD	INT	Sk	Skyd	ANY/A	SOS	VALUE
1	Ben Roethlisberger	IND	8	Boxscore	49	522	6	0	0	0	13.1	-0.28	328
2	Ryan Fitzpatrick	TEN	13	Boxscore	33	358	6	0	0	0	14.48	-0.38	263
3	Geno Smith	MIA	17	Boxscore	25	358	3	0	1	6	15.85	0.23	259
4	Tom Brady	BUF	6	Boxscore	37	361	4	0	2	15	10.92	1.61	250
5	Peyton Manning	SFO	7	Boxscore	26	318	4	0	2	14	13.71	0.94	239
6	Eli Manning	STL	16	Boxscore	32	391	3	0	1	5	13.52	-0.25	235
7	Aaron Rodgers	CHI	10	Boxscore	27	315	6	0	0	0	16.11	-1.28	235
8	Joe Flacco	TAM	6	Boxscore	28	306	5	0	0	0	14.5	-0.53	220
9	Matt Ryan	NOR	1	Boxscore	43	448	3	0	1	3	11.48	-0.65	207
10	Joe Flacco	CAR	4	Boxscore	31	327	3	0	0	0	12.48	0.29	206
11	Ben Roethlisberger	CIN	14	Boxscore	39	350	3	0	0	0	10.51	0.79	202
12	Tom Brady	CHI	8	Boxscore	35	354	5	0	0	0	12.97	-1.28	195
13	Ben Roethlisberger	BAL	9	Boxscore	37	340	6	0	3	19	11.03	-0.03	195
14	Andrew Luck	WAS	13	Boxscore	27	370	5	1	1	9	14.86	-1.81	194
15	Colin Kaepernick	STL	6	Boxscore	35	343	3	0	0	0	11.51	-0.25	180
16	Matt Ryan	TAM	3	Boxscore	24	286	3	0	1	6	13.6	-0.53	174
17	Matt Ryan	GNB	14	Boxscore	39	375	4	1	1	1	10.23	0.24	173
18	Matthew Stafford	NYG	1	Boxscore	32	346	2	0	1	5	11.55	-0.22	171
19	Russell Wilson	ARI	16	Boxscore	31	339	2	0	1	10	11.53	-0.06	171
20	Peyton Manning	ARI	5	Boxscore	47	479	4	2	1	3	9.71	-0.06	169
21	Tony Romo	NYG	12	Boxscore	26	275	4	0	2	9	12.36	-0.22	168
22	Philip Rivers	BUF	3	Boxscore	25	256	2	0	2	6	10.74	1.61	168
23	Andrew Luck	JAX	3	Boxscore	39	370	4	0	2	5	10.85	-0.64	167
24	Aaron Rodgers	CHI	4	Boxscore	28	302	4	0	1	0	13.17	-1.28	167
25	Drew Brees	GNB	8	Boxscore	32	311	3	0	2	9	10.65	0.24	162
26	Andrew Luck	TEN	4	Boxscore	41	393	4	1	0	0	10.44	-0.38	161
27	Aaron Rodgers	CAR	7	Boxscore	22	255	3	0	2	14	12.54	0.29	161
28	Aaron Rodgers	PHI	11	Boxscore	36	341	3	0	1	2	10.78	-0.42	157
29	Brian Hoyer	BAL	3	Boxscore	25	290	1	0	0	0	12.4	-0.03	156
30	Derek Carr	SFO	14	Boxscore	28	254	3	0	1	9	10.52	0.94	154
31	Kyle Orton	NYJ	8	Boxscore	17	238	4	0	4	25	13.95	-0.5	154
32	Philip Rivers	SEA	2	Boxscore	37	284	3	0	1	8	8.84	1.3	153
33	Tony Romo	IND	16	Boxscore	20	218	4	0	1	11	13.67	-0.28	152
34	Aaron Rodgers	NWE	13	Boxscore	38	368	2	0	3	20	9.46	0.35	151
35	Aaron Rodgers	DET	17	Boxscore	22	226	2	0	0	0	12.09	0.85	150
36	Philip Rivers	JAX	4	Boxscore	39	377	3	0	2	12	10.37	-0.64	147
37	Mark Sanchez	CAR	10	Boxscore	37	332	2	0	1	4	9.68	0.29	146
38	Joe Flacco	CLE	17	Boxscore	36	312	2	0	1	22	8.92	1.15	146
39	Drew Brees	PIT	13	Boxscore	27	257	5	0	1	7	12.5	-1.29	142
40	Ben Roethlisberger	CLE	1	Boxscore	34	365	1	1	3	14	8.81	1.15	142
41	Andrew Luck	CIN	7	Boxscore	42	344	2	0	2	9	8.52	0.79	140
42	Peyton Manning	KAN	2	Boxscore	26	242	3	0	1	5	11	0.31	140
43	Drew Brees	CHI	15	Boxscore	36	375	3	0	2	15	11.05	-1.28	139
44	Kirk Cousins	SEA	5	Boxscore	36	283	2	0	1	8	8.51	1.3	136
45	Alex Smith	NWE	4	Boxscore	26	248	3	0	2	12	10.57	0.35	134
46	Tom Brady	CIN	5	Boxscore	35	292	2	0	1	7	9.03	0.79	133
47	Philip Rivers	OAK	6	Boxscore	34	313	3	0	1	6	10.49	-0.7	128
48	Kirk Cousins	PHI	3	Boxscore	48	427	3	1	0	0	9.21	-0.42	128
49	Andrew Luck	NYG	9	Boxscore	46	354	4	0	1	9	9.04	-0.22	126
50	Alex Smith	OAK	15	Boxscore	30	297	2	0	1	2	10.81	-0.7	123
51	Tony Romo	NYG	7	Boxscore	23	279	3	1	2	12	11.28	-0.22	123
52	Ryan Tannehill	MIN	16	Boxscore	47	396	4	1	1	13	8.71	-0.02	123
53	Andy Dalton	NOR	11	Boxscore	22	220	3	0	1	1	12.13	-0.65	123
54	Josh McCown	WAS	11	Boxscore	23	288	2	0	2	7	12.84	-1.81	123
55	Aaron Rodgers	ATL	14	Boxscore	36	327	3	0	1	4	10.35	-0.91	122
56	Tony Romo	SEA	6	Boxscore	32	250	2	0	1	11	8.45	1.3	120
57	Peyton Manning	MIA	12	Boxscore	35	257	4	0	1	8	9.14	0.23	117
58	Ryan Tannehill	SDG	9	Boxscore	34	288	3	0	0	0	10.24	-0.72	115
59	Andrew Luck	HOU	6	Boxscore	44	370	3	1	3	7	8.04	0.52	115
60	Jay Cutler	ATL	6	Boxscore	38	381	1	0	2	6	9.88	-0.91	113
61	Drew Stanton	SFO	3	Boxscore	33	244	2	0	0	0	8.61	0.94	113
62	Drew Brees	BAL	12	Boxscore	45	420	3	1	4	21	8.45	-0.03	112
63	Tony Romo	NOR	4	Boxscore	29	262	3	0	1	7	10.5	-0.65	112
64	Tony Romo	JAX	10	Boxscore	27	246	3	0	1	6	10.71	-0.64	110
65	Andy Dalton	ATL	2	Boxscore	23	252	1	0	0	0	11.83	-0.91	110
66	Ben Roethlisberger	CIN	17	Boxscore	38	317	2	1	0	0	8.21	0.79	109
67	Charlie Whitehurst	CLE	5	Boxscore	21	194	2	0	2	11	9.7	1.15	108
68	Andy Dalton	PIT	14	Boxscore	29	302	2	0	2	5	10.87	-1.29	107
69	Russell Wilson	SFO	13	Boxscore	22	236	1	0	4	14	9.31	0.94	107
70	Drew Brees	MIN	3	Boxscore	35	293	2	0	1	5	9.11	-0.02	107
71	Peyton Manning	SDG	8	Boxscore	35	286	3	0	0	0	9.89	-0.72	106
72	Teddy Bridgewater	ATL	4	Boxscore	30	317	0	0	0	0	10.57	-0.91	106
73	Eli Manning	HOU	3	Boxscore	28	234	2	0	1	8	9.17	0.52	103
74	Peyton Manning	SDG	15	Boxscore	20	233	1	0	1	7	11.71	-0.72	102
75	Philip Rivers	BAL	13	Boxscore	45	383	3	1	2	7	8.32	-0.03	102
76	Matthew Stafford	TAM	14	Boxscore	34	311	3	0	4	17	9.32	-0.53	101
77	Tom Brady	DEN	9	Boxscore	53	333	4	1	1	1	6.8	1.19	101
78	Ben Roethlisberger	ATL	15	Boxscore	35	360	0	0	1	7	9.81	-0.91	99
79	Austin Davis	SEA	7	Boxscore	20	155	2	0	0	0	9.75	1.3	99
80	Brian Hoyer	PIT	6	Boxscore	17	217	1	0	1	7	12.78	-1.29	97
81	Carson Palmer	PHI	8	Boxscore	42	329	2	0	0	0	8.79	-0.42	94
82	Matt Ryan	ARI	13	Boxscore	41	361	2	1	1	3	8.4	-0.06	93
83	Teddy Bridgewater	NYJ	14	Boxscore	27	309	2	1	3	12	9.73	-0.5	93
84	Andy Dalton	NWE	5	Boxscore	24	204	2	0	1	8	9.44	0.35	92
85	Brian Hoyer	OAK	8	Boxscore	28	275	1	0	1	8	9.9	-0.7	89
86	Derek Carr	BUF	16	Boxscore	34	214	2	0	1	7	7.06	1.61	89
87	Andrew Luck	TEN	17	Boxscore	16	160	2	0	1	1	11.71	-0.38	88
88	Drew Brees	DET	7	Boxscore	45	342	2	1	1	7	7.17	0.85	87
89	Ben Roethlisberger	HOU	7	Boxscore	33	265	2	0	3	16	8.03	0.52	87
90	Drew Stanton	DET	11	Boxscore	32	306	2	2	0	0	8	0.85	87
91	Andy Dalton	BAL	1	Boxscore	38	301	1	0	0	0	8.45	-0.03	87
92	Eli Manning	DAL	7	Boxscore	33	248	3	0	0	0	9.33	-0.58	87
93	Philip Rivers	NYJ	5	Boxscore	28	288	3	1	3	11	9.42	-0.5	86
94	Tony Romo	PHI	15	Boxscore	31	265	3	0	3	16	9.09	-0.42	86
95	Aaron Rodgers	MIN	5	Boxscore	17	156	3	0	2	14	10.63	-0.02	85
96	Joe Flacco	NOR	12	Boxscore	24	243	1	0	1	9	10.16	-0.65	85
97	Derek Carr	SDG	6	Boxscore	34	282	4	1	0	0	9.32	-0.72	84
98	Russell Wilson	STL	7	Boxscore	36	313	2	0	3	21	8.51	-0.25	83
99	Ben Roethlisberger	KAN	16	Boxscore	25	220	1	0	1	6	9	0.31	83
100	Peyton Manning	IND	1	Boxscore	36	269	3	0	1	10	8.62	-0.28	82

Ryan Fitzpatrick had a 6-touchdown game on just 33 pass attempts, which is really impressive even if the opponent was Tennessee. And Geno Smith threw for 358 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 25 pass attempts against Miami in week 17, giving him the third best game of the year. Roethlisberger leads the way with eight games in the top 100, followed by Tony Romo, Peyton Manning, and Andrew Luck (seven each).

What about the worst games of the year? As bad as Andy Dalton was in a Thursday Night game against the Browns — and he was really, really bad — it wasn’t the worst game of the year, at least once you adjust for strength of schedule. The Browns ranked 4th in SOS-adjusted ANY/A last year, giving Dalton’s performance a bit of a boost. As a result, the worst performance belongs to Matt Cassell. The Vikings quarterback dropped back 42 times against the Patriots in week 2, and gained just 163 net yards, while throwing four interceptions (and one touchdown). That’s an ANY/A average of just 0.07; throw in a modest SOS adjustment, and Cassel still produced -240 yards of value on that day. Here are the worst 100 passing games of the year:

Rk	QB	Opp	Wk	Boxscore	Att	Yd	TD	INT	Sk	Skyd	ANY/A	SOS	VALUE
1	Matt Cassel	NWE	2	Boxscore	36	202	1	4	6	39	0.07	0.35	-240
2	Andy Dalton	CLE	10	Boxscore	33	86	0	3	2	14	-1.8	1.15	-237
3	Teddy Bridgewater	DET	6	Boxscore	37	188	0	3	8	45	0.18	0.85	-229
4	Joe Flacco	HOU	16	Boxscore	50	195	2	3	2	17	1.6	0.52	-208
5	Derek Carr	STL	13	Boxscore	39	173	0	2	3	23	1.43	-0.25	-208
6	Chad Henne	WAS	2	Boxscore	28	193	1	1	10	70	2.58	-1.81	-204
7	Cam Newton	PHI	10	Boxscore	40	306	2	3	9	91	2.45	-0.42	-201
8	Jay Cutler	NOR	15	Boxscore	31	194	2	3	7	41	1.53	-0.65	-200
9	Christian Ponder	GNB	5	Boxscore	44	222	0	2	6	34	1.96	0.24	-197
10	Alex Smith	TEN	1	Boxscore	35	202	1	3	4	24	1.62	-0.38	-191
11	Eli Manning	SFO	11	Boxscore	45	280	1	5	2	15	1.28	0.94	-184
12	Matthew Stafford	CHI	16	Boxscore	39	243	0	2	4	14	3.23	-1.28	-180
13	Colin Kaepernick	OAK	14	Boxscore	33	174	1	2	5	23	2.13	-0.7	-179
14	Colt McCoy	STL	14	Boxscore	32	199	0	2	6	45	1.68	-0.25	-179
15	Blake Bortles	PIT	5	Boxscore	36	191	0	2	1	4	2.62	-1.29	-177
16	Blake Bortles	BAL	15	Boxscore	37	210	0	1	8	63	2.27	-0.03	-175
17	Matt Ryan	CAR	17	Boxscore	47	260	0	2	6	35	2.55	0.29	-174
18	Geno Smith	BUF	8	Boxscore	8	5	0	3	0	0	-16.25	1.61	-166
19	Drew Brees	ATL	16	Boxscore	47	313	1	2	5	42	3.87	-0.91	-165
20	Colin Kaepernick	CHI	2	Boxscore	34	248	1	3	4	16	3.08	-1.28	-164
21	Josh McCown	CHI	12	Boxscore	48	341	1	2	5	40	4.36	-1.28	-162
22	Philip Rivers	MIA	9	Boxscore	23	138	0	3	3	11	-0.31	0.23	-161
23	Robert Griffin	TAM	11	Boxscore	32	207	1	2	6	40	2.55	-0.53	-156
24	Brian Hoyer	IND	14	Boxscore	30	136	0	2	1	3	1.39	-0.28	-156
25	Andy Dalton	IND	7	Boxscore	38	126	0	0	3	17	2.66	-0.28	-154
26	Colin Kaepernick	SEA	13	Boxscore	29	121	0	2	4	21	0.3	1.3	-149
27	Matt Ryan	CIN	2	Boxscore	44	231	1	3	2	19	2.11	0.79	-149
28	Johnny Manziel	CIN	15	Boxscore	18	80	0	2	3	26	-1.71	0.79	-148
29	Josh McCown	GNB	16	Boxscore	26	147	0	1	7	54	1.45	0.24	-146
30	Brian Hoyer	JAX	7	Boxscore	41	215	0	1	3	18	3.45	-0.64	-146
31	Andy Dalton	TAM	13	Boxscore	27	176	1	3	2	11	1.72	-0.53	-143
32	Charlie Whitehurst	IND	17	Boxscore	28	72	1	0	4	29	1.97	-0.28	-142
33	Cam Newton	NOR	9	Boxscore	28	151	0	1	4	29	2.41	-0.65	-140
34	Kirk Cousins	NYG	4	Boxscore	33	257	1	4	2	14	2.37	-0.22	-139
35	Tom Brady	NYJ	16	Boxscore	35	182	1	1	4	36	3.1	-0.5	-138
36	Zach Mettenberger	NYG	14	Boxscore	24	125	0	1	5	33	1.62	-0.22	-137
37	Andy Dalton	PIT	17	Boxscore	38	244	2	2	3	23	4.17	-1.29	-133
38	Tony Romo	PHI	13	Boxscore	29	199	0	2	4	25	2.55	-0.42	-132
39	Blake Bortles	IND	12	Boxscore	27	146	0	1	4	32	2.23	-0.28	-130
40	Andrew Luck	DAL	16	Boxscore	22	109	0	2	0	0	0.86	-0.58	-129
41	Blake Bortles	CLE	7	Boxscore	31	159	1	3	2	8	1.09	1.15	-128
42	Derek Carr	KAN	15	Boxscore	56	222	1	0	4	20	3.7	0.31	-127
43	Nick Foles	SFO	4	Boxscore	43	195	0	2	1	4	2.3	0.94	-127
44	Shaun Hill	SDG	12	Boxscore	35	198	1	2	1	7	3.36	-0.72	-126
45	Blake Bortles	HOU	17	Boxscore	33	117	0	0	5	28	2.34	0.52	-124
46	Russell Wilson	DAL	6	Boxscore	28	126	0	1	2	0	2.7	-0.58	-120
47	Austin Davis	ARI	10	Boxscore	30	216	1	2	6	42	2.89	-0.06	-119
48	Case Keenum	BAL	16	Boxscore	42	185	0	1	0	0	3.33	-0.03	-119
49	Joe Flacco	IND	5	Boxscore	38	235	0	1	4	38	3.62	-0.28	-117
50	Drew Brees	TAM	17	Boxscore	38	281	1	3	2	13	3.83	-0.53	-113
51	Michael Vick	SDG	5	Boxscore	19	47	0	0	2	14	1.57	-0.72	-111
52	Brian Hoyer	ATL	12	Boxscore	40	322	0	3	1	9	4.34	-0.91	-111
53	Geno Smith	CHI	3	Boxscore	43	316	1	2	3	16	5	-1.28	-111
54	Eli Manning	DET	1	Boxscore	33	163	1	2	2	19	2.11	0.85	-111
55	Josh McCown	CAR	1	Boxscore	35	183	2	2	3	21	2.95	0.29	-110
56	Aaron Rodgers	BUF	15	Boxscore	42	185	0	2	1	10	1.98	1.61	-109
57	Blake Bortles	SDG	4	Boxscore	37	254	1	2	3	19	4.13	-0.72	-109
58	Tom Brady	MIA	1	Boxscore	56	249	1	0	4	23	4.1	0.23	-108
59	Michael Vick	BUF	12	Boxscore	19	76	0	1	5	30	0.04	1.61	-107
60	Blake Bortles	NYG	13	Boxscore	35	194	1	0	7	54	3.81	-0.22	-107
61	Ryan Mallett	CIN	12	Boxscore	45	189	0	1	1	5	3.02	0.79	-107
62	Brandon Weeden	ARI	9	Boxscore	33	183	1	2	1	9	3.06	-0.06	-106
63	Jake Locker	CIN	3	Boxscore	34	185	0	2	2	8	2.42	0.79	-105
64	Drew Brees	CAR	14	Boxscore	49	235	1	1	2	17	3.78	0.29	-105
65	Josh McCown	NOR	17	Boxscore	23	115	1	1	3	18	2.77	-0.65	-104
66	Drew Brees	TAM	5	Boxscore	57	371	2	3	0	0	4.84	-0.53	-104
67	Geno Smith	SDG	5	Boxscore	12	27	0	1	0	0	-1.5	-0.72	-100
68	Teddy Bridgewater	CHI	11	Boxscore	28	158	1	1	2	11	4.07	-1.28	-100
69	Josh McCown	ATL	10	Boxscore	43	301	2	2	4	20	4.91	-0.91	-100
70	Joe Flacco	PIT	9	Boxscore	45	303	2	1	4	34	5.39	-1.29	-99
71	Austin Davis	SFO	9	Boxscore	24	105	1	2	1	3	1.28	0.94	-98
72	Alex Smith	PIT	16	Boxscore	45	311	0	0	6	29	5.53	-1.29	-96
73	Matt Ryan	BAL	7	Boxscore	44	228	1	0	5	42	4.2	-0.03	-96
74	Austin Davis	KAN	8	Boxscore	25	160	1	1	7	44	2.84	0.31	-95
75	Cam Newton	MIN	13	Boxscore	35	194	1	1	4	24	3.72	-0.02	-95
76	Michael Vick	BUF	8	Boxscore	36	153	0	1	4	21	2.18	1.61	-94
77	Blake Bortles	MIA	8	Boxscore	34	221	1	2	4	20	3.45	0.23	-93
78	Teddy Bridgewater	BUF	7	Boxscore	26	157	1	2	5	39	1.55	1.61	-92
79	Connor Shaw	BAL	17	Boxscore	28	177	0	1	4	27	3.28	-0.03	-92
80	Matthew Stafford	ARI	11	Boxscore	30	183	0	1	4	19	3.5	-0.06	-91
81	Derek Carr	DEN	10	Boxscore	47	192	2	2	0	0	3.02	1.19	-90
82	Joe Flacco	CIN	8	Boxscore	34	195	0	2	1	8	2.77	0.79	-90
83	Ryan Lindley	SEA	16	Boxscore	44	216	0	1	4	29	2.96	1.3	-90
84	Matt Schaub	STL	13	Boxscore	9	57	0	1	3	24	-1	-0.25	-89
85	EJ Manuel	HOU	4	Boxscore	44	225	2	2	2	5	3.7	0.52	-88
86	Shaun Hill	ARI	15	Boxscore	39	229	0	1	2	18	4.05	-0.06	-88
87	Tony Romo	WAS	8	Boxscore	28	209	1	0	5	54	5.3	-1.81	-87
88	Josh McCown	ATL	3	Boxscore	12	58	0	1	1	8	0.38	-0.91	-87
89	Ben Roethlisberger	TEN	11	Boxscore	32	207	1	1	5	27	4.19	-0.38	-86
90	Mark Sanchez	DAL	15	Boxscore	28	252	0	2	4	33	4.03	-0.58	-86
91	Peyton Manning	CIN	16	Boxscore	44	311	2	4	2	11	3.48	0.79	-86
92	Derek Carr	DEN	17	Boxscore	36	158	1	1	3	26	2.74	1.19	-85
93	Shaun Hill	SEA	17	Boxscore	37	243	0	2	4	40	2.76	1.3	-85
94	Derek Carr	SDG	11	Boxscore	34	172	0	0	2	10	4.5	-0.72	-85
95	Geno Smith	MIA	13	Boxscore	13	65	0	1	2	16	0.27	0.23	-84
96	Matt Ryan	CHI	6	Boxscore	37	271	1	1	4	26	5.37	-1.28	-84
97	Ben Roethlisberger	BAL	2	Boxscore	37	217	0	1	2	15	4.03	-0.03	-83
98	Kyle Orton	GNB	15	Boxscore	27	158	0	1	3	18	3.17	0.24	-82
99	Jake Locker	HOU	13	Boxscore	12	91	1	2	2	24	-0.21	0.52	-81
100	Josh McCown	DET	14	Boxscore	39	250	2	2	6	43	3.49	0.85	-80

Blake Bortles leads the way here with eight bottom-100 games, followed closely by Josh McCown‘s seven. Honorable mention goes to Mike Vick, who saw meaningful time in five games and three of those make the above table.

Best Defensive Performances

What about the best defensive games of the year? We can calculate this just as easily, although keep the PseudoQB footnote from last year in mind. The best game by any pass defense in 2014 came by the Bills against Aaron Rodgers. That day, Rodgers dropped back 43 times and gained just 175 net yards, while throwing no touchdwosna nd two interceptions. Buffalo held him to a 1.98 ANY/A average; given the SOS — i.e., facing Aaron Rodgers — that was an incredible performance, and the Bills pass defense provided 287 adjusted net yards of value over expectation. ^[1]The mathy dirty work: The NFL average ANY/A was 6.13, so Rodgers fell 4.15 ANY/A below average in this game. Since Rodgers himself was 2.52 ANY/A better than average on the season, Buffalo’s … Continue reading

Rk	Def	QB	Wk	Boxscore	Att	Yd	TD	INT	Sk	Skyd	ANY/A	SOS	VALUE
1	BUF	Aaron Rodgers	15	Boxscore	42	185	0	2	1	10	1.98	2.52	287
2	HOU	Joe Flacco	16	Boxscore	50	195	2	3	2	17	1.6	0.51	262
3	CLE	Andy Dalton	10	Boxscore	33	86	0	3	2	14	-1.8	-0.47	261
4	SFO	Eli Manning	11	Boxscore	45	280	1	5	2	15	1.28	0.28	241
5	DET	Teddy Bridgewater	6	Boxscore	37	188	0	3	8	45	0.18	-0.85	229
6	CAR	Matt Ryan	17	Boxscore	47	260	0	2	6	35	2.55	0.51	217
7	CIN	Matt Ryan	2	Boxscore	44	231	1	3	2	19	2.11	0.51	208
8	CIN	Peyton Manning	16	Boxscore	44	311	2	4	2	11	3.48	1.65	198
9	NWE	Matt Cassel	2	Boxscore	36	202	1	4	6	39	0.07	-1.49	192
10	CLE	Andrew Luck	14	Boxscore	53	294	2	2	3	25	3.91	1.15	189
11	MIA	Tom Brady	1	Boxscore	56	249	1	0	4	23	4.1	1.08	186
12	MIA	Philip Rivers	9	Boxscore	23	138	0	3	3	11	-0.31	0.62	183
13	TEN	Alex Smith	1	Boxscore	35	202	1	3	4	24	1.62	0.07	179
14	PHI	Tony Romo	13	Boxscore	29	199	0	2	4	25	2.55	1.65	173
15	BUF	Geno Smith	8	Boxscore	8	5	0	3	0	0	-16.25	-0.85	172
16	SFO	Tony Romo	1	Boxscore	37	281	1	3	3	26	3.5	1.65	171
17	SEA	Colin Kaepernick	13	Boxscore	29	121	0	2	4	21	0.3	-0.73	168
18	STL	Derek Carr	13	Boxscore	39	173	0	2	3	23	1.43	-0.84	162
19	SEA	Aaron Rodgers	1	Boxscore	33	189	1	1	3	14	4.17	2.52	161
20	NYJ	Tom Brady	16	Boxscore	35	182	1	1	4	36	3.1	1.08	160
21	NOR	Jay Cutler	15	Boxscore	31	194	2	3	7	41	1.53	-0.42	159
22	NYG	Kirk Cousins	4	Boxscore	33	257	1	4	2	14	2.37	0.59	152
23	DET	Eli Manning	1	Boxscore	33	163	1	2	2	19	2.11	0.28	150
24	CLE	Ben Roethlisberger	6	Boxscore	42	228	1	1	2	7	4.45	1.72	149
25	BAL	Ben Roethlisberger	2	Boxscore	37	217	0	1	2	15	4.03	1.72	149
26	CAR	Drew Brees	14	Boxscore	49	235	1	1	2	17	3.78	0.57	149
27	SFO	Nick Foles	4	Boxscore	43	195	0	2	1	4	2.3	-0.47	148
28	ATL	Drew Brees	16	Boxscore	47	313	1	2	5	42	3.87	0.57	148
29	DAL	Andrew Luck	16	Boxscore	22	109	0	2	0	0	0.86	1.15	141
30	PHI	Cam Newton	10	Boxscore	40	306	2	3	9	91	2.45	-0.82	140
31	IND	Brian Hoyer	14	Boxscore	30	136	0	2	1	3	1.39	-0.28	138
32	STL	Peyton Manning	11	Boxscore	54	389	1	2	2	20	5.34	1.65	137
33	TEN	Ben Roethlisberger	11	Boxscore	32	207	1	1	5	27	4.19	1.72	135
34	CIN	Joe Flacco	8	Boxscore	34	195	0	2	1	8	2.77	0.51	135
35	BUF	Ryan Tannehill	2	Boxscore	49	241	1	1	4	31	3.49	-0.11	134
36	GNB	Christian Ponder	5	Boxscore	44	222	0	2	6	34	1.96	-1.49	134
37	CIN	Johnny Manziel	15	Boxscore	18	80	0	2	3	26	-1.71	-1.49	133
38	BAL	Andrew Luck	5	Boxscore	49	312	1	2	1	7	4.7	1.15	129
39	CIN	Joe Flacco	1	Boxscore	62	345	1	1	3	16	4.68	0.51	127
40	IND	Joe Flacco	5	Boxscore	38	235	0	1	4	38	3.62	0.51	127
41	OAK	Colin Kaepernick	14	Boxscore	33	174	1	2	5	23	2.13	-0.73	124
42	IND	Andy Dalton	7	Boxscore	38	126	0	0	3	17	2.66	-0.47	123
43	IND	Charlie Whitehurst	17	Boxscore	28	72	1	0	4	29	1.97	-0.33	123
44	BAL	Matt Ryan	7	Boxscore	44	228	1	0	5	42	4.2	0.51	119
45	DAL	Russell Wilson	6	Boxscore	28	126	0	1	2	0	2.7	0.53	119
46	KAN	Philip Rivers	17	Boxscore	34	291	0	2	7	42	3.88	0.62	118
47	SEA	Shaun Hill	17	Boxscore	37	243	0	2	4	40	2.76	-0.55	116
48	BUF	Teddy Bridgewater	7	Boxscore	26	157	1	2	5	39	1.55	-0.85	116
49	TAM	Drew Brees	17	Boxscore	38	281	1	3	2	13	3.83	0.57	115
50	DEN	Philip Rivers	15	Boxscore	41	232	1	2	0	0	3.95	0.62	115
51	TAM	Andy Dalton	13	Boxscore	27	176	1	3	2	11	1.72	-0.47	114
52	NYG	Zach Mettenberger	14	Boxscore	24	125	0	1	5	33	1.62	-0.58	114
53	CHI	Matthew Stafford	16	Boxscore	39	243	0	2	4	14	3.23	-0.27	113
54	STL	Colt McCoy	14	Boxscore	32	199	0	2	6	45	1.68	-1.49	112
55	NWE	Philip Rivers	14	Boxscore	33	189	1	1	4	26	3.73	0.62	112
56	BUF	Michael Vick	12	Boxscore	19	76	0	1	5	30	0.04	-1.49	110
57	DEN	Derek Carr	10	Boxscore	47	192	2	2	0	0	3.02	-0.84	107
58	TAM	Drew Brees	5	Boxscore	57	371	2	3	0	0	4.84	0.57	106
59	JAX	Brian Hoyer	7	Boxscore	41	215	0	1	3	18	3.45	-0.28	105
60	DEN	Andrew Luck	1	Boxscore	53	370	2	2	3	16	5.43	1.15	104
61	SFO	Austin Davis	9	Boxscore	24	105	1	2	1	3	1.28	-0.71	103
62	DEN	Derek Carr	17	Boxscore	36	158	1	1	3	26	2.74	-0.84	99
63	KAN	Tom Brady	4	Boxscore	23	159	1	2	2	8	3.24	1.08	99
64	HOU	Andrew Luck	15	Boxscore	34	187	2	1	2	19	4.53	1.15	99
65	BUF	Brian Hoyer	13	Boxscore	30	192	0	2	2	14	2.75	-0.28	99
66	BUF	Michael Vick	8	Boxscore	36	153	0	1	4	21	2.18	-1.49	98
67	SEA	Peyton Manning	3	Boxscore	49	303	2	1	1	7	5.82	1.65	98
68	NYJ	Ben Roethlisberger	10	Boxscore	43	343	1	2	2	17	5.69	1.72	97
69	TAM	Robert Griffin	11	Boxscore	32	207	1	2	6	40	2.55	-1.06	96
70	KAN	Derek Carr	15	Boxscore	56	222	1	0	4	20	3.7	-0.84	96
71	SEA	Drew Stanton	12	Boxscore	26	149	0	1	3	9	3.28	0.44	95
72	DET	Ryan Tannehill	10	Boxscore	38	207	1	1	3	29	3.73	-0.11	94
73	DEN	Kyle Orton	14	Boxscore	57	355	1	2	4	14	4.44	-0.15	94
74	NOR	Cam Newton	9	Boxscore	28	151	0	1	4	29	2.41	-0.82	93
75	ARI	Austin Davis	10	Boxscore	30	216	1	2	6	42	2.89	-0.71	91
76	CLE	Andy Dalton	15	Boxscore	24	117	0	1	2	14	2.23	-0.47	89
77	TEN	Tony Romo	2	Boxscore	29	176	1	0	4	28	5.09	1.65	89
78	CHI	Colin Kaepernick	2	Boxscore	34	248	1	3	4	16	3.08	-0.73	88
79	CLE	Blake Bortles	7	Boxscore	31	159	1	3	2	8	1.09	-2.4	87
80	DET	Jay Cutler	13	Boxscore	48	280	2	2	3	24	4.04	-0.42	85
81	SFO	Philip Rivers	16	Boxscore	54	356	4	3	2	8	5.23	0.62	85
82	GNB	Josh McCown	16	Boxscore	26	147	0	1	7	54	1.45	-2.1	85
83	GNB	Kyle Orton	15	Boxscore	27	158	0	1	3	18	3.17	-0.15	84
84	DET	Aaron Rodgers	3	Boxscore	27	162	1	0	2	15	5.76	2.52	84
85	SEA	Derek Carr	9	Boxscore	41	194	2	2	1	5	3.31	-0.84	83
86	KAN	Austin Davis	8	Boxscore	25	160	1	1	7	44	2.84	-0.71	82
87	NWE	Matthew Stafford	12	Boxscore	46	264	0	1	2	20	4.15	-0.27	82
88	WAS	Tony Romo	8	Boxscore	28	209	1	0	5	54	5.3	1.65	82
89	SDG	Geno Smith	5	Boxscore	12	27	0	1	0	0	-1.5	-0.85	81
90	MIA	Aaron Rodgers	6	Boxscore	42	264	3	0	3	16	6.84	2.52	81
91	SEA	Ryan Lindley	16	Boxscore	44	216	0	1	4	29	2.96	-1.49	81
92	CLE	Kyle Orton	13	Boxscore	31	190	1	2	1	9	3.47	-0.15	80
93	DEN	Geno Smith	6	Boxscore	43	190	2	1	4	17	3.57	-0.85	80
94	ARI	Matthew Stafford	11	Boxscore	30	183	0	1	4	19	3.5	-0.27	80
95	SFO	Russell Wilson	15	Boxscore	24	168	1	1	5	30	3.9	0.53	80
96	SDG	Shaun Hill	12	Boxscore	35	198	1	2	1	7	3.36	-0.55	80
97	WAS	Chad Henne	2	Boxscore	28	193	1	1	10	70	2.58	-1.49	78
98	NOR	Ben Roethlisberger	13	Boxscore	58	435	2	2	1	0	6.53	1.72	78
99	BUF	Ryan Fitzpatrick	4	Boxscore	37	268	1	2	3	4	4.85	0.67	78
100	NYG	Ryan Fitzpatrick	3	Boxscore	34	289	1	3	2	7	4.64	0.67	78

That was one of 8 top-100 performances produced by the Bills defense last year. Seattle had seven such games, while Cleveland, San Francisco, and Denver had six each.

What about the worst defensive performances? That honor belongs to Miami in the aforementioned game against Geno Smith. Once you adjust for SOS, the Dolphins allowing Geno Smith to torch them is even worse than what the Colts allowed Roethlisberger to do:

Rk	Def	QB	Wk	Boxscore	Att	Yd	TD	INT	Sk	Skyd	ANY/A	SOS	VALUE
1	MIA	Geno Smith	17	Boxscore	25	358	3	0	1	6	15.85	-0.85	-275
2	IND	Ben Roethlisberger	8	Boxscore	49	522	6	0	0	0	13.1	1.72	-257
3	TEN	Ryan Fitzpatrick	13	Boxscore	33	358	6	0	0	0	14.48	0.67	-254
4	STL	Eli Manning	16	Boxscore	32	391	3	0	1	5	13.52	0.28	-234
5	WAS	Josh McCown	11	Boxscore	23	288	2	0	2	7	12.84	-2.1	-220
6	TAM	Joe Flacco	6	Boxscore	28	306	5	0	0	0	14.5	0.51	-220
7	STL	Colin Kaepernick	6	Boxscore	35	343	3	0	0	0	11.51	-0.73	-214
8	NOR	Matt Ryan	1	Boxscore	43	448	3	0	1	3	11.48	0.51	-213
9	WAS	Andrew Luck	13	Boxscore	27	370	5	1	1	9	14.86	1.15	-212
10	CHI	Tom Brady	8	Boxscore	35	354	5	0	0	0	12.97	1.08	-202
11	CHI	Aaron Rodgers	10	Boxscore	27	315	6	0	0	0	16.11	2.52	-201
12	NYG	Matthew Stafford	1	Boxscore	32	346	2	0	1	5	11.55	-0.27	-188
13	CAR	Joe Flacco	4	Boxscore	31	327	3	0	0	0	12.48	0.51	-181
14	TAM	Matt Ryan	3	Boxscore	24	286	3	0	1	6	13.6	0.51	-174
15	NYJ	Kyle Orton	8	Boxscore	17	238	4	0	4	25	13.95	-0.15	-167
16	ATL	Jay Cutler	6	Boxscore	38	381	1	0	2	6	9.88	-0.42	-167
17	SFO	Peyton Manning	7	Boxscore	26	318	4	0	2	14	13.71	1.65	-166
18	CHI	Drew Brees	15	Boxscore	36	375	3	0	2	15	11.05	0.57	-165
19	BAL	Brian Hoyer	3	Boxscore	25	290	1	0	0	0	12.4	-0.28	-164
20	PIT	Drew Brees	13	Boxscore	27	257	5	0	1	7	12.5	0.57	-162
21	PIT	Andy Dalton	14	Boxscore	29	302	2	0	2	5	10.87	-0.47	-162
22	ATL	Teddy Bridgewater	4	Boxscore	30	317	0	0	0	0	10.57	-0.85	-159
23	ARI	Russell Wilson	16	Boxscore	31	339	2	0	1	10	11.53	0.53	-156
24	IND	Colt McCoy	13	Boxscore	47	392	3	0	6	51	7.57	-1.49	-155
25	WAS	Nick Foles	3	Boxscore	41	325	3	0	0	0	9.39	-0.47	-153
26	SFO	Derek Carr	14	Boxscore	28	254	3	0	1	9	10.52	-0.84	-151
27	NOR	Andy Dalton	11	Boxscore	22	220	3	0	1	1	12.13	-0.47	-149
28	JAX	Philip Rivers	4	Boxscore	39	377	3	0	2	12	10.37	0.62	-148
29	CHI	Matthew Stafford	13	Boxscore	45	390	2	0	2	7	9	-0.27	-148
30	JAX	Andrew Luck	3	Boxscore	39	370	4	0	2	5	10.85	1.15	-146
31	BUF	Tom Brady	6	Boxscore	37	361	4	0	2	15	10.92	1.08	-145
32	CAR	Mark Sanchez	10	Boxscore	37	332	2	0	1	4	9.68	-0.23	-144
33	GNB	Matt Ryan	14	Boxscore	39	375	4	1	1	1	10.23	0.51	-144
34	SDG	Ryan Tannehill	9	Boxscore	34	288	3	0	0	0	10.24	-0.11	-143
35	OAK	Alex Smith	15	Boxscore	30	297	2	0	1	2	10.81	0.07	-143
36	ATL	Andy Dalton	2	Boxscore	23	252	1	0	0	0	11.83	-0.47	-142
37	SDG	Derek Carr	6	Boxscore	34	282	4	1	0	0	9.32	-0.84	-137
38	GNB	Drew Brees	8	Boxscore	32	311	3	0	2	9	10.65	0.57	-134
39	NYJ	Teddy Bridgewater	14	Boxscore	27	309	2	1	3	12	9.73	-0.85	-134
40	TAM	Matthew Stafford	14	Boxscore	34	311	3	0	4	17	9.32	-0.27	-132
41	CHI	Aaron Rodgers	4	Boxscore	28	302	4	0	1	0	13.17	2.52	-131
42	OAK	Philip Rivers	6	Boxscore	34	313	3	0	1	6	10.49	0.62	-131
43	TEN	Andrew Luck	4	Boxscore	41	393	4	1	0	0	10.44	1.15	-129
44	MIN	Ryan Tannehill	16	Boxscore	47	396	4	1	1	13	8.71	-0.11	-129
45	NYG	Tony Romo	12	Boxscore	26	275	4	0	2	9	12.36	1.65	-128
46	BAL	Ben Roethlisberger	9	Boxscore	37	340	6	0	3	19	11.03	1.72	-127
47	PIT	Brian Hoyer	6	Boxscore	17	217	1	0	1	7	12.78	-0.28	-125
48	PIT	Zach Mettenberger	11	Boxscore	24	263	2	1	0	0	10.75	-0.58	-125
49	IND	Tony Romo	16	Boxscore	20	218	4	0	1	11	13.67	1.65	-124
50	NWE	Alex Smith	4	Boxscore	26	248	3	0	2	12	10.57	0.07	-122
51	PHI	Kirk Cousins	3	Boxscore	48	427	3	1	0	0	9.21	0.59	-120
52	OAK	Brian Hoyer	8	Boxscore	28	275	1	0	1	8	9.9	-0.28	-117
53	KAN	Jake Locker	1	Boxscore	33	266	2	0	4	23	7.65	-1.6	-115
54	PHI	Austin Davis	5	Boxscore	49	375	3	0	4	34	7.57	-0.71	-114
55	NOR	Cam Newton	14	Boxscore	33	226	3	0	0	0	8.67	-0.82	-111
56	BUF	Philip Rivers	3	Boxscore	25	256	2	0	2	6	10.74	0.62	-108
57	BAL	Andy Dalton	1	Boxscore	38	301	1	0	0	0	8.45	-0.47	-106
58	CIN	Ben Roethlisberger	14	Boxscore	39	350	3	0	0	0	10.51	1.72	-104
59	PHI	Carson Palmer	8	Boxscore	42	329	2	0	0	0	8.79	0.19	-104
60	DAL	Colin Kaepernick	1	Boxscore	23	201	2	0	1	9	9.67	-0.73	-102
61	MIA	EJ Manuel	2	Boxscore	26	202	1	0	0	0	8.54	-1.49	-101
62	TAM	Derek Anderson	1	Boxscore	34	230	2	0	1	9	7.46	-1.49	-99
63	CIN	Blake Bortles	9	Boxscore	33	247	2	1	2	14	6.51	-2.4	-97
64	IND	Nick Foles	2	Boxscore	37	331	1	1	0	0	8.27	-0.47	-97
65	DAL	Eli Manning	7	Boxscore	33	248	3	0	0	0	9.33	0.28	-96
66	NWE	Andy Dalton	5	Boxscore	24	204	2	0	1	8	9.44	-0.47	-94
67	STL	Matt Cassel	1	Boxscore	25	170	2	0	0	0	8.4	-1.49	-94
68	CAR	Aaron Rodgers	7	Boxscore	22	255	3	0	2	14	12.54	2.52	-93
69	WAS	Shaun Hill	14	Boxscore	22	213	2	0	4	15	9.15	-0.55	-93
70	ARI	Peyton Manning	5	Boxscore	47	479	4	2	1	3	9.71	1.65	-92
71	CLE	Charlie Whitehurst	5	Boxscore	21	194	2	0	2	11	9.7	-0.33	-90
72	TAM	Derek Anderson	15	Boxscore	40	277	1	0	3	8	6.72	-1.49	-90
73	NYJ	Matthew Stafford	4	Boxscore	34	293	2	0	4	21	8.21	-0.27	-90
74	NOR	Joe Flacco	12	Boxscore	24	243	1	0	1	9	10.16	0.51	-88
75	DAL	Colt McCoy	8	Boxscore	30	299	0	1	3	13	7.3	-1.49	-88
76	SDG	Carson Palmer	1	Boxscore	37	304	2	0	2	10	8.56	0.19	-88
77	OAK	Shaun Hill	13	Boxscore	22	183	2	0	1	7	9.39	-0.55	-88
78	NYG	Tony Romo	7	Boxscore	23	279	3	1	2	12	11.28	1.65	-87
79	TEN	Matt Hasselbeck	17	Boxscore	19	155	1	0	0	0	9.21	-1.49	-87
80	KAN	Peyton Manning	2	Boxscore	26	242	3	0	1	5	11	1.65	-87
81	MIN	Drew Brees	3	Boxscore	35	293	2	0	1	5	9.11	0.57	-87
82	SEA	Austin Davis	7	Boxscore	20	155	2	0	0	0	9.75	-0.71	-87
83	NYG	Shaun Hill	16	Boxscore	32	290	2	1	2	9	8.12	-0.55	-86
84	OAK	Ryan Tannehill	4	Boxscore	31	278	2	1	0	0	8.81	-0.11	-86
85	BAL	Drew Brees	12	Boxscore	45	420	3	1	4	21	8.45	0.57	-86
86	CLE	Joe Flacco	17	Boxscore	36	312	2	0	1	22	8.92	0.51	-85
87	ARI	Colin Kaepernick	17	Boxscore	26	204	2	0	1	15	8.48	-0.73	-83
88	NYG	Andrew Luck	9	Boxscore	46	354	4	0	1	9	9.04	1.15	-83
89	NYJ	Philip Rivers	5	Boxscore	28	288	3	1	3	11	9.42	0.62	-83
90	SDG	Peyton Manning	15	Boxscore	20	233	1	0	1	7	11.71	1.65	-83
91	JAX	Tony Romo	10	Boxscore	27	246	3	0	1	6	10.71	1.65	-82
92	NOR	Tony Romo	4	Boxscore	29	262	3	0	1	7	10.5	1.65	-82
93	HOU	Eli Manning	3	Boxscore	28	234	2	0	1	8	9.17	0.28	-80
94	SEA	Philip Rivers	2	Boxscore	37	284	3	0	1	8	8.84	0.62	-80
95	CHI	Ryan Tannehill	7	Boxscore	32	277	2	0	4	21	8.22	-0.11	-79
96	PHI	Aaron Rodgers	11	Boxscore	36	341	3	0	1	2	10.78	2.52	-79
97	TEN	Blake Bortles	6	Boxscore	46	336	1	1	6	39	5.23	-2.4	-78
98	TEN	Brian Hoyer	5	Boxscore	37	291	3	1	1	7	7.87	-0.28	-77
99	NOR	Matt Ryan	16	Boxscore	40	322	1	0	0	0	8.55	0.51	-77
100	WAS	Ryan Fitzpatrick	1	Boxscore	22	206	1	0	0	0	10.27	0.67	-76

The Saints and Bears lead the way with six bottom-100 performances. That’s probably not too surprising to anyone who watched those defenses last year.

References[+]

References
↑1	The mathy dirty work: The NFL average ANY/A was 6.13, so Rodgers fell 4.15 ANY/A below average in this game. Since Rodgers himself was 2.52 ANY/A better than average on the season, Buffalo’s pass defense gets a +6.67 ANY/A grade in this game. Over the course of 43 dropbacks, that’s worth 287 ANY of value.

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