Passer rating, also known as quarterback rating or passing efficiency, is a widely used measure of a quarterback’s performance in American football. The formula considers four key statistics: completion percentage, passing yards per attempt, touchdown percentage, and interception percentage. By understanding and calculating passer rating, you can better evaluate the overall effectiveness of a quarterback. In this article, we will walk you through the process of calculating passer rating step by step.

Step 1: Gather the Necessary Data

To calculate passer rating, you will need the following information for a specific game or set of games:

– Number of pass attempts

– Number of completions

– Total passing yards

– Number of touchdown passes

– Number of interceptions

Step 2: Calculate Component Ratios

Before you compute the passer rating itself, calculate the below component ratios:

1. Completion Ratio (A) = [(Completions ÷ Pass Attempts) – 0.3] x 5

2. Yards Per Attempt Ratio (B) = [(Passing Yards ÷ Pass Attempts) – 3] x 0.25

3. Touchdown Ratio (C) = (Touchdown Passes ÷ Pass Attempts) x 20

4. Interception Ratio (D) = 2.375 – [(Interceptions ÷ Pass Attempts) x 25]

Note that if any ratio is less than zero after these operations, set it to zero; and if any ratio exceeds 2.375, set it to 2.375.

Step 3: Compute Passer Rating

Use the ratios from step 2 and apply the following formula:

Passer Rating = ((A + B + C + D) ÷ 6) × 100

This yields a value between zero and 158.3 (the perfect passer rating). While no standard categorization of ratings exists, generally, rates above 100 signify above-average performance, and those under 70 tend to indicate below-average performance.

Let’s walk through an example:

Assume a player has the following statistics for a game:

– Pass Attempts: 20

– Completions: 10

– Passing Yards: 200

– Touchdown Passes: 2

– Interceptions: 1

Compute the component ratios:

1. A = [(10 ÷ 20) – 0.3] x 5 = [0.2] x 5 = 1

2. B = [(200 ÷ 20) -3] x 0.25 = [7] x 0.25 = 1.75

3. C = (2 ÷ 20) x 20 = [0.1] x 20 = 2

4. D = 2.375 – [(1 ÷20) x25] = [2.375 – (0.05 ×25)] = [2.375 -1.25]= 1.125

Next, calculate the passer rating:

Passer Rating = ((1 + 1.75 +2 +1.125) ÷6) ×100= (5.875 ÷6) ×100=97.917

In summary, given this player’s completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown percentage, and interception percentage for this game, their passer rating would be approximately 97.9.

Understanding how to calculate passer rating enables you to evaluate quarterbacks’ performances using a standardized metric across different games and playing conditions. Armed with this knowledge, you can better analyze players’ skills and effectiveness in the ever-evolving game of American football.