Passer Rating vs EPA: Which Tells You More?
Why we rank quarterbacks by EPA per dropback, and what passer rating still gets right.
Read Article →2017 NFL EPA per Dropback, Excluding Garbage Time Leaders
EPA per dropback with garbage time removed: a margin of more than 38 points in the 2nd quarter, 28 in the 3rd or 22 in the 4th. This is a split, never a replacement for the full number.
The 2017 leaders: Tom Brady (+0.23), Carson Wentz (+0.22), Philip Rivers (+0.21).
EPA per Dropback, Excluding Garbage Time
Minimum to rank: 14 pass attempts per team game (the NFL's minimum for passing rate leaders). 32 players.
| Rk | Player | Pos | Team | Att | Dropbacks | EPA/DB (no GT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Brady | QB | NE | 581 | 622 | +0.23 |
| 2 | Carson Wentz | QB | PHI | 440 | 498 | +0.22 |
| 3 | Philip Rivers | QB | LAC | 575 | 593 | +0.21 |
| 4 | Alex Smith | QB | KC | 505 | 572 | +0.19 |
| 5 | Drew Brees | QB | NO | 536 | 558 | +0.19 |
| 6 | Jared Goff | QB | LA | 477 | 510 | +0.18 |
| 7 | Ben Roethlisberger | QB | PIT | 562 | 589 | +0.15 |
| 8 | Matt Ryan | QB | ATL | 529 | 567 | +0.14 |
| 9 | Case Keenum | QB | MIN | 481 | 522 | +0.13 |
| 10 | Jameis Winston | QB | TB | 442 | 495 | +0.12 |
| 11 | Aaron Rodgers | QB | GB | 238 | 275 | +0.11 |
| 12 | Russell Wilson | QB | SEA | 553 | 645 | +0.09 |
| 13 | Matthew Stafford | QB | DET | 565 | 629 | +0.07 |
| 14 | Blake Bortles | QB | JAX | 523 | 570 | +0.06 |
| 15 | Tyrod Taylor | QB | BUF | 420 | 506 | +0.06 |
| 16 | Josh McCown | QB | NYJ | 397 | 445 | +0.06 |
| 17 | Kirk Cousins | QB | WAS | 540 | 604 | +0.05 |
| 18 | Derek Carr | QB | LV | 515 | 544 | +0.04 |
| 19 | Marcus Mariota | QB | TEN | 453 | 501 | +0.02 |
| 20 | Cam Newton | QB | CAR | 492 | 556 | +0.01 |
| 21 | Carson Palmer | QB | ARI | 267 | 290 | -0.03 |
| 22 | Dak Prescott | QB | DAL | 490 | 552 | -0.03 |
| 23 | Andy Dalton | QB | CIN | 496 | 545 | -0.03 |
| 24 | Jay Cutler | QB | MIA | 429 | 455 | -0.05 |
| 25 | Mitchell Trubisky | QB | CHI | 330 | 380 | -0.06 |
| 26 | Jacoby Brissett | QB | IND | 469 | 558 | -0.06 |
| 27 | Joe Flacco | QB | BAL | 549 | 579 | -0.09 |
| 28 | Eli Manning | QB | NYG | 571 | 608 | -0.09 |
| 29 | Trevor Siemian | QB | DEN | 349 | 406 | -0.10 |
| 30 | C.J. Beathard | QB | SF | 224 | 254 | -0.12 |
| 31 | DeShone Kizer | QB | CLE | 476 | 558 | -0.16 |
| 32 | Brett Hundley | QB | GB | 316 | 366 | -0.17 |
More 2017 NFL Quarterback Leaderboards
EPA per Dropback ACE (Accuracy Compared to Expectation) ACE per 100 Attempts Expected Completion % Success Rate Total Passing EPA Total QB EPA (Passing + Rushing) First-Down Rate per Dropback Explosive Pass Rate Negative-Play Rate Win Probability Added NFL Passer Rating Completion % Yards per Attempt Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt Adjusted Yards per Attempt Net Yards per Attempt Yards per Completion Touchdown % Interception % TD:INT Ratio Sack % Passing Yards per Game Pass Attempts per Game Passing Yards Passing Touchdowns Completions Pass Attempts Interceptions Thrown Sacks Taken Passing First Downs 20+ Yard Completions 40+ Yard Completions Longest Completion 300-Yard Passing Games 4-Touchdown Games Wins as Starter Average Depth of Target Deep Attempt Rate Deep Completion % YAC per Completion Share of Yards Through the Air 3rd-Down Conversion Rate Red Zone Touchdown Rate Clutch EPA per Dropback Clutch Passer Rating Two-Minute Drill EPA per Dropback Game-Winning Drives 4th-Quarter Comebacks Quarterback Rushing Yards Quarterback Rushing EPA Scrambles QB Sneak Conversion Rate Touchdowns Responsible For Total Yards (Passing + Rushing) Turnovers Turnover Rate per Play
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QBS BLOG · PASSING QUESTIONS · MINDSET
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