List of National Football League annual passer rating leaders

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This is a list of National Football League quarterbacks who have led the regular season in passer rating each year. The record for highest passer rating in a season is held by Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers who had 122.5 in 2011. Steve Young is the only quarterback to lead the NFL in passer rating in six different seasons. Len Dawson achieved the same feat in the AFL. The 2020 leader would end up being Rodgers again, who fell second in the history books to his own 2011 record at 121.5.

Passer rating leaders[]

As per the Pro Football Reference and Cold Hard Football Facts.[1][2]

Bart Starr led the league in passer rating five times during the 1960s.
Steve Young led the league in passer rating for a record four consecutive times and a record six overall times.
Peyton Manning led the league for three consecutive times during the 2000s.
Aaron Rodgers set the single-season NFL record for passer rating at 122.5 in 2011.
Tom Brady has led the league in passer rating twice.
Matt Ryan was the NFL leader in passer rating in 2016.
Set record*
Season Player Rating Team
1936 Arnie Herber 58.9* Green Bay Packers
1937 Ed Danowski 72.8* New York Giants
1938 Ed Danowski (2) 66.9 New York Giants
1939 Parker Hall 57.5 Cleveland Rams
1940 Sammy Baugh 85.6* Washington Redskins
1941 Sid Luckman 95.3* Chicago Bears
1942 Cecil Isbell 87.0 Green Bay Packers
1943 Sid Luckman (2) 107.5* Chicago Bears
1944 Frank Filchock 86.0 Washington Redskins
1945 Sammy Baugh (2) 109.9* Washington Redskins
1946 Sid Luckman (3) 71.0 Chicago Bears
1947 Sammy Baugh (3) 92.0 Washington Redskins
1948 Tommy Thompson 98.4 Philadelphia Eagles
1949 Tommy Thompson (2) 84.4 Philadelphia Eagles
1950 Norm Van Brocklin 85.1 Los Angeles Rams
1951 Bob Waterfield 81.8 Los Angeles Rams
1952 Tobin Rote 85.6 Green Bay Packers
1953 Otto Graham 99.7 Cleveland Browns
1954 Adrian Burk 80.4 Philadelphia Eagles
1955 Otto Graham (2) 94.0 Cleveland Browns
1956 Ed Brown 83.1 Chicago Bears
1957 Tommy O'Connell 93.3 Cleveland Browns
1958 Johnny Unitas 90.0 Baltimore Colts
1959 Charlie Conerly 102.7 New York Giants
1960 Milt Plum 110.4* Cleveland Browns
1961 Billy Wade 93.7 Chicago Bears
1962 Bart Starr 90.7 Green Bay Packers
1963 Y. A. Tittle 104.8 New York Giants
1964 Bart Starr (2) 97.1 Green Bay Packers
1965 Johnny Unitas (2) 97.4 Baltimore Colts
1966 Bart Starr (3) 105.0 Green Bay Packers
1967 Sonny Jurgensen 87.3 Washington Redskins
1968 Bart Starr (4) 104.3 Green Bay Packers
1969 Bart Starr (5) 89.9 Green Bay Packers
1970 John Brodie 93.8 San Francisco 49ers
1971 Roger Staubach 104.8 Dallas Cowboys
1972 Earl Morrall 91.0 Miami Dolphins
1973 Roger Staubach (2) 94.6 Dallas Cowboys
1974 Ken Anderson 95.7 Cincinnati Bengals
1975 Ken Anderson (2) 93.9 Cincinnati Bengals
1976 Ken Stabler 103.4 Oakland Raiders
1977 Bob Griese 87.8 Miami Dolphins
1978 Roger Staubach (3) 84.9 Dallas Cowboys
1979 Roger Staubach (4) 92.3 Dallas Cowboys
1980 Brian Sipe 91.4 Cleveland Browns
1981 Ken Anderson (3) 98.4 Cincinnati Bengals
1982 Ken Anderson (4) 95.3 Cincinnati Bengals
1983 Steve Bartkowski 97.6 Atlanta Falcons
1984 Dan Marino 108.9 Miami Dolphins
1985 Ken O'Brien 96.2 New York Jets
1986 Tommy Kramer 92.6 Minnesota Vikings
1987 Joe Montana 102.1 San Francisco 49ers
1988 Boomer Esiason 97.4 Cincinnati Bengals
1989 Joe Montana (2) 112.4* San Francisco 49ers
1990 Jim Kelly 101.2 Buffalo Bills
1991 Steve Young 101.8 San Francisco 49ers
1992 Steve Young (2) 107.0 San Francisco 49ers
1993 Steve Young (3) 101.5 San Francisco 49ers
1994 Steve Young (4) 112.8* San Francisco 49ers
1995 Jim Harbaugh 100.7 Indianapolis Colts
1996 Steve Young (5) 97.2 San Francisco 49ers
1997 Steve Young (6) 104.7 San Francisco 49ers
1998 Randall Cunningham 106.0 Minnesota Vikings
1999 Kurt Warner 109.2 St. Louis Rams
2000 Brian Griese 102.9 Denver Broncos
2001 Kurt Warner (2) 101.4 St. Louis Rams
2002 Chad Pennington 104.2 New York Jets
2003 Steve McNair 100.4 Tennessee Titans
2004 Peyton Manning 121.1* Indianapolis Colts
2005 Peyton Manning (2) 104.1 Indianapolis Colts
2006 Peyton Manning (3) 101.0 Indianapolis Colts
2007 Tom Brady 117.2 New England Patriots
2008 Philip Rivers 105.5 San Diego Chargers
2009 Drew Brees 109.6 New Orleans Saints
2010 Tom Brady (2) 111.0 New England Patriots
2011 Aaron Rodgers 122.5* Green Bay Packers
2012 Aaron Rodgers (2) 108.0 Green Bay Packers
2013 Nick Foles 119.2 Philadelphia Eagles
2014 Tony Romo 113.2 Dallas Cowboys
2015 Russell Wilson 110.1 Seattle Seahawks
2016 Matt Ryan 117.1 Atlanta Falcons
2017 Alex Smith 104.7 Kansas City Chiefs
2018 Drew Brees (2) 115.7 New Orleans Saints
2019 Ryan Tannehill 117.5 Tennessee Titans
2020 Aaron Rodgers (3) 121.5 Green Bay Packers
2021 Aaron Rodgers (4) 111.9 Green Bay Packers
  • Note: Minimum 10 attempts per team game (prior to 1976); 12 attempts per team game (19761977); 14 attempts per team game (1978–present).[3]

Top 25 single-season passer rating[]

List includes qualifying players only[4]. Click on heading to sort.

Season minimum:

Prior to 1976, 10 pass attempts per team game
1978–present, 14 pass attempts per team game (224 pass attempts per season)
Updated through the 2021 season
Rank Player Year Team Rating
1 Aaron Rodgers 2011 Green Bay Packers 122.5
2 Aaron Rodgers (2) 2020 Green Bay Packers 121.5
3 Peyton Manning 2004 Indianapolis Colts 121.1
4 Nick Foles 2013 Philadelphia Eagles 119.2
5 Ryan Tannehill 2019 Tennessee Titans 117.5
6 Tom Brady 2007 New England Patriots 117.2
7 Matt Ryan 2016 Atlanta Falcons 117.1
8 Drew Brees 2019 New Orleans Saints 116.3
9 Drew Brees (2) 2018 New Orleans Saints 115.7
10 Peyton Manning (2) 2013 Denver Broncos 115.1
11 Patrick Mahomes 2018 Kansas City Chiefs 113.8
12 Lamar Jackson 2019 Baltimore Ravens 113.3
13 Tony Romo 2014 Dallas Cowboys 113.2
14 Steve Young 1994 San Francisco 49ers 112.8
15 Joe Montana 1989 San Francisco 49ers 112.4
Deshaun Watson 2020 Houston Texans
17 Aaron Rodgers (3) 2014 Green Bay Packers 112.2
Tom Brady (2) 2016 New England Patriots
19 Otto Graham 1946 Cleveland Browns 112.1
20 Aaron Rodgers (4) 2021 Green Bay Packers 111.9
21 Tom Brady (3) 2010 New England Patriots 111.0
22 Daunte Culpepper 2004 Minnesota Vikings 110.9
Russell Wilson 2018 Seattle Seahawks
24 Drew Brees (3) 2011 New Orleans Saints 110.6
25 Milt Plum 1960 Cleveland Browns 110.4
Rank Player Year Team Rating

Other leagues[]

All-America Football Conference (AAFC)[]

Year Player Rating Team
1946 Otto Graham 112.1 Cleveland Browns
1947 Otto Graham 109.2 Cleveland Browns
1948 Frankie Albert 102.9 San Francisco 49ers
1949 Otto Graham 97.5 Cleveland Browns

American Football League (AFL)[]

Year Player Rating Team
1960 Tom Flores 71.8 Oakland Raiders
1961 George Blanda 91.3 Houston Oilers
1962 Len Dawson 98.3 Dallas Texans
1963 Tobin Rote 86.7 San Diego Chargers
1964 Len Dawson 89.9 Kansas City Chiefs
1965 Len Dawson 81.3 Kansas City Chiefs
1966 Len Dawson 101.7 Kansas City Chiefs
1967 Len Dawson 83.7 Kansas City Chiefs
1968 Len Dawson 98.6 Kansas City Chiefs
1969 Greg Cook 88.3 Cincinnati Bengals

Most titles[]

Titles Player Years Team
6 Steve Young 19911994, 1996, 1997 San Francisco 49ers
5 Bart Starr 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969 Green Bay Packers
4 Roger Staubach 1971, 1973, 1978, 1979 Dallas Cowboys
Ken Anderson 1974, 1975, 1981, 1982 Cincinnati Bengals
Aaron Rodgers 2011, 2012, 2020, 2021 Green Bay Packers

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Kerry Byrne, "Yearly league-wide passer rating & passer rating leaders", Cold Hard Football Facts, January 24, 2008
  2. ^ "NFL Year-by-Year Passer Rating Leaders", Pro Football Reference, January 1, 2015
  3. ^ "Minimum Requirements For Football Leaderboards". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  4. ^ "Official 2017 National Football League Record & Fact Book" (PDF). NFL. p. 310. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
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