Say cheese! Packers’ Rodgers wins long-elusive first season title in Herald QB rankings
PACKERS’ RODGERS SURPASSES CHIEFS’ MAHOMES IN FINAL WEEK TO CAPTURE 2020 SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP IN MIAMI HERALD NFL QUARTERBACK RANKINGS: Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers surpasses Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes on the final week of the regular season to win the 2020 season championship in the Miami Herald’s Passer Success System NFL quarterback rankings. Josh Allen, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson round out the top five. Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins takes Week 17 honors. Miami’s Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tua Tagovailoa finish ranked 27th and 30th, respectively. Mahomes led by about 11 points entering the final week but sat because the Chiefs had clinched a playoff bye. That put Rodgers in the passing lane, and he came through for a final winning margin of 626.95 season points to 595.00. Mahomes won the Herald’s season title two years ago, while Rodgers finally captures his first career crown, after previously finishing second in 2011 and third in 2012 and ‘16. This was the 23rd year for our annual rankings, which began in 1998 — Steve Young the inaugural season champion. Our rankings factor accuracy, passing yardage, touchdown/interception ratio and team result. They are passer ratings per se and do not include a quarterback’s running statistics. Most major passer rankings including the NFL’s and ESPN’s are percentile based, allowing players who miss half a season to still win a title. Our system is cumulative, rewarding players who are consistently productive and avoid injury or benching. Our expanded final Top 35 for the 2020 NFL season:
Miami Herald NFL QB Rankings / 2020 Final
Rk LW Player, Team Wk17 / Final Season
1. 2 Aaron Rodgers, GB 43.00 626.95
2. 1 Patrick Mahomes, KC DNP 595.00
3. 3 Josh Allen, BUF 33.20 592.80
4. 6 Tom Brady, TB 44.95 562.65
5. 4 Russell Wilson, SEA 24.05 561.60
6. 5 Deshaun Watson, HOU 41.25 559.15
7. 7 Ben Roethlisberger, PIT DNP 509.20
8. 9 Justin Herbert, LAC 42.10 506.80
9. 8 Philip Rivers, IND 20.20 498.45
10. 13 Kirk Cousins, MIN 50.25 496.25
11. 12 Matt Ryan, ATL 33.25 482.05
12. 15 Derek Carr, LV 33.55 478.10
13. 14 Ryan Tannehill, TEN 27.80 472.85
14. 10 Kyler Murray, ARI 9.35 472.55
15. 11 Jared Goff, LAR DNP 451.55
16. 17 Matthew Stafford, DET 29.65 427.20
17. 18 Baker Mayfield, CLE 24.80 410.15
18. 16 Teddy Bridgewater, CAR 5.80 405.70
19. 19 Drew Brees, NO 36.05 404.10
20. 20 Lamar Jackson, BAL 18.65 351.85
21. 21 Joe Burrow, CIN DNP 294.90
22. 22 Daniel Jones, NYG 28.45 285.15
23. 25 Cam Newton, NE 37.60 276.35
24. 23 Gardner Minshew, JAC DNP 255.95
25. 28 Mitch Trubisky, CHI 33.60 253.25
26. 27 Andy Dalton, DAL 20.15 247.45
27. 24 Ryan Fitzpatrick, MIA DNP 242.55
28. 31 Drew Lock, DEN 31.95 234.65
29. 26 Nick Mullens, SF DNP 228.85
30. 33 Tua Tagovailoa, MIA 24.05 216.70
31. 29 Carson Wentz, PHI DNP 216.50
32. 30 Nick Foles, CHI DNP 204.70
33. 32 Dak Prescott, DAL DNP 195.30
34. 34 Sam Darnold, NYJ 22.30 183.90
35. 35 Alex Smith, WAS 25.10 180.10
Week 17 best: Cousins, MIN, 50.25 (28-40, 405, 3-0 in win). Week 17 worst: (min. 10 attempts): Brandon Allen, CIN, minus-12.60 (6-21, 48, 0-2 in loss).
Season-best week: Mahomes,KC, 62.10. Season-worst week: B. Allen, CIN, minus-12.60.
Record-best week: Roethlisberger, PIT, 80.10 (2014). Record-worst week: Tim Hasselbeck, WAS, minus-23.20 (2003).
Season-record point total: Peyton Manning, DEN, 714.85 (2013).
