Greg Cote’s Passer Ranking: Chargers’ Rivers wins Week 6 title, now No. 1 overall
San Diego’s Philip Rivers wins the Week 6 title with a 52.15-point game and nudges past Tom Brady into the overall lead in the Miami Herald’s 18th season of Passer Success System (PASS) NFL quarterback rankings. Rivers seeks his first season championship; his best career finish has been third place in 2013. The Dolphins’ Ryan Tannehill moves up four spots to 23rd. Our rankings are cumulative so players on a bye take a temporary hit that evens out over the 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 | WK6 | Season |
1. Philip Rivers, SD | 2 | 52.15 | 237.80 |
2. Tom Brady, NE | 1 | 35.60 | 229.95 |
3. Andy Dalton, CIN | 3 | 37.15 | 221.05 |
4. Aaron Rodgers, GB | 4 | 26.75 | 209.55 |
5. Matt Ryan, ATL | 7 | 36.75 | 195.55 |
6. Eli Manning, NYG | 5 | 16.45 | 191.30 |
7. Carson Palmer, ARI | 6 | 31.05 | 190.85 |
8. Drew Brees, NO | T-10 | 44.60 | 179.80 |
9. Russell Wilson, SEA | 9 | 21.05 | 161.65 |
10. Matthew Stafford, DET | 19 | 46.25 | 157.50 |
11. Sam Bradford, PHI | 14 | 23.00 | 153.05 |
12. Peyton Manning, DEN | 12 | 17.50 | 152.20 |
13. Joe Flacco BAL | 17 | 30.15 | 149.25 |
14. Kirk Cousins, WAS | T-10 | 13.80 | 149.00 |
15. Tyrod Taylor, BUF | 8 | DNP | 144.85 |
16. Josh McCown, CLE | 13 | 11.65 | 144.80 |
17. Alex Smith, KC | 16 | 24.10 | 144.65 |
18. Blake Bortles, JAC | 18 | 23.55 | 138.50 |
19. Ryan Fitzpatrick, NYJ | 22 | 32.65 | 127.85 |
20. Derek Carr, OAK | 15 | BYE | 127.55 |
23. Ryan Tannehill, MIA | 27 | 33.30 | 121.30 |
▪ Bubble: Colin Kaepernick, SF, 123.45.
▪ Week’s best: Rivers, SD, 52.15 (43-65, 503, 2-0 in loss).
▪ Week’s worst: McCown, CLE, 11.65 (20-39, 213, 2-2 in loss).
Note: Thursday results included in following week’s chart.