Greg Cote’s Passer Ranking: Saints’ Drew Brees wins Week 4; Dolphins’ Ryan Tannehill falls
New Orleans’ Drew Brees returned to the lineup with a big 53.95-point game to take Week 4 honors and vault back into the season Top 20 in the Miami Herald’s 18th season of Passer Success System (PASS) NFL quarterback rankings. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers slips narrowly into the No. 1 overall spot past Tom Brady thanks to New England’s bye week. Meanwhile Dolphin Ryan Tannehill tumbles 10 spots to 23rd off the week’s second-worst performance. Our rankings are cumulative so players on a bye take a temporary hit that evens out over course of the year. We use a simple formula unchanged since its inception in 1998, factoring accuracy, yardage, TD/interception ratio and team result. Most rating systems including the NFL’s and ESPN’s are complicated and percent based, allowing players who miss half a season to still win a title. Our rankings place a premium on consistently productive passers who avoid injury or benching. Watch for our updated Top 20 rankings in this space every Sunday.
Player | LW | WK4 | Season |
1. Aaron Rodgers, GB | 2 | 31.20 | 157.75 |
2. Tom Brady, NE | 1 | BYE | 156.60 |
3. Andy Dalton, CIN | T-3 | 34.05 | 143.35 |
4. Philip Rivers, SD | 6 | 39.90 | 142.40 |
5. Matt Ryan, ATL | T-3 | 31.80 | 141.10 |
6. Carson Palmer, ARI | 7 | 29.60 | 129.75 |
7. Tyrod Taylor, BUF | 8 | 27.70 | 123.40 |
8. Russell Wilson, SEA | 12 | 36.35 | 122.95 |
9. Kirk Cousins, WAS | 16 | 38.50 | 117.25 |
10. Eli Manning, NYG | 11 | 26.60 | 113.80 |
11. Peyton Manning, DEN | 9 | 19.65 | 113.40 |
12. Alex Smith, KC | 21 | 36.30 | 106.50 |
13. Drew Brees, NO | 27 | 53.95 | 106.45 |
14. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT | 5 | DNP | 104.60 |
15. Joe Flacco BAL | 15 | 21.45 | 102.60 |
16. Derek Carr, OAK | 14 | 19.80 | 102.10 |
17. Matthew Stafford, DET | 17 | 23.15 | 99.85 |
18. Ryan Fitzpatrick, NYJ | 18 | 18.90 | 95.20 |
19. Nick Foles, STL | 23 | 30.55 | 91.75 |
20. Marcus Mariota, TEN | 10 | BYE | 89.65 |
23. Ryan Tannehill, MIA | 13 | 3.90 | 88.00 |
▪ Bubble: Sam Bradford, PHI, 89.40.
▪ Week’s best: Brees, NO, 53.95 (33-41, 359, 2-0 in win).
▪ Week’s worst: Ryan Mallett, HOU, 1.50 (12-27, 150, 0-1 in loss).
Note: Thursday night results included in following week’s chart.