Greg Cote

Greg Cote: Lions’ Matthew Stafford roars in first week

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) in action during an NFL football game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Detroit Lions in Indianapolis, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016.
Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) in action during an NFL football game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Detroit Lions in Indianapolis, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016. AP

Detroit’s Matthew Stafford scored a 54.00-point opening game to claim the Week 1 crown as the Miami Herald launches its 19th season of Passer Success System (PASS) quarterback rankings — a staple of our NFL coverage since 1998. The Dolphins’ Ryan Tannehill limps out of the gate in 30th place. Our rankings are cumulative and use a simple formula unchanged since its inception, factoring accuracy, yardage, TD/interception ratio and team result. Most rating systems including the NFL’s and ESPN’s are complicated and percentile-based, allowing players who miss half a season to still win a title. Our rankings place a premium on consistently productive QBs who who avoid injury or benching. Watch for our updated Top 20 chart in this space every Sunday.

Player

2015

’16 WK 1

Season

1. Matthew Stafford, DET

6

54.00

54.00

2. Drew Brees, NO

1

47.15

47.15

3. Andrew Luck, IND

33

46.25

46.25

4. Alex Smith, KC

15

46.15

46.15

5. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT

14

43.00

43.00

6. Jameis Winston, TB

23

41.05

41.05

7. Andy Dalton, CIN

19

39.30

39.30

8. Matt Ryan, ATL

8

37.70

37.70

9. Jimmy Garoppolo, NE

36.20

36.20

10. Derek Carr, OAK

12

33.95

33.95

11. Joe Flacco, BAL

24

32.90

32.90

12. Carson Wentz, PHI

31.90

31.90

13. Eli Manning, NYG

9

31.35

31.35

14. Carson Palmer, ARI

5

30.55

30.55

15. Philip Rivers, SD

4

29.15

29.15

16. Russell Wilson, SEA

7

28.90

28.90

17. Brock Osweiler, HOU

29

28.55

28.55

18. Kirk Cousins, WAS

3

27.45

27.45

19. Aaron Rodgers, GB

11

26.95

26.95

20. Marcus Mariota, TEN

25

25.55

25.55

30. Ryan Tannehill, MIA

13

12.30

12.30

▪ Week’s best: Matthew Stafford, DET, 54.00 (31-39, 340, 3-0 in win).

▪ Week’s worst: Case Keenum, L.A., minus-0.50 (17-35, 130, 0-2 in loss).

Thursday results included in following week’s chart.

This story was originally published September 17, 2016 at 10:48 PM with the headline "Greg Cote: Lions’ Matthew Stafford roars in first week."

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