Who has the best passer ratings for NFL QBs at each age?
By JERRY TAPP
If you follow the NFL, you know that the play of the quarterback is an important part of success in the league. Not only do we have young QB’s who are quickly becoming stars in the NFL (Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff), but we are also seeing QBs well into their 30s and 40s who are performing at a high level.
To put some numbers to this, let’s look at which QBs have had the most success at each age. Specifically, let’s see which QBs have the highest Passer Rating at age 21 all the way up to age 41.
Just last season Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff, who turned 24 during the 2018 campaign, ended his age 23 games with a Passer Rating of 109.3, highest of any QB in NFL history at that age. But he wasn’t the only player to set a record last year for the highest Passer Rating at a particular age:
- Los Angeles Chargers QB Philip Rivers ended his age 36 NFL games with a 110.2 Passer Rating.
- New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees, who was age 39 during the 2018 season, had a 115.7 Passer Rating, highest of any QB at age 39.
- New England Patriots ageless signal-caller, Tom Brady, was age 41 during last season when he compiled a 97.7 Passer Rating, the highest of any QB at age 41.
Following are the quarterbacks who have had the highest Passer Ratings in games at ages 21-41 (minimum of 200 passes attempted to qualify for the list).
Age 21: Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay, 84.2, 2015
Age 22: Robert Griffin Jr., Washington, 102.4, 2012
Age 23: Jared Goff, L.A. Rams, 109.3, 2017-18
Age 24: Nick Foles, Philadelphia, 119.2, 2013
Age 25: Milt Plum, Cleveland, 110.4, 1960
Age 26: Brett Favre, Green Bay, 110.5, 1995-96
Age 27: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay, 124.7, 2010-11
Age 28: Peyton Manning, Indianapolis, 121.1, 2004
Age 29: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay, 110.1, 2012-13
Age 30: Tom Brady, New England, 117.2, 2007
Age 31: Matt Ryan, Atlanta, 117.1, 2016
Age 32: Drew Brees, New Orleans, 110.6, 2011
Age 33: Steve Young, San Francisco, 107.0, 1996-97
Age 34: Tony Romo, Dallas, 113.2, 2014
Age 35: Steve Young, San Francisco, 107.0, 1996-97
Age 36: Philip Rivers, L.A. Chargers, 110.2, 2017-18
Age 37: Peyton Manning, Denver, 115.1, 2013
Age 38: Drew Brees, New Orleans, 103.9, 2017
Age 39: Drew Brees, New Orleans, 115.7, 2018
Age 40: Tom Brady, New England, 102.8, 2017
Age 41: Tom Brady, New England, 97.7, 2018
One final note: Jared Goff, who set the record for highest Passer Rating for a QB age 23 last season, could drop down to second place at that age if Patrick Mahomes has anything to say about it. Mahomes who is 23 and won’t turn 24 until September 17, will have two games to play before his 24th birthday. He has a 108.6 Passer Rating at age 23, which is percentage points behind Goff who had a Passer Rating of 109.3 at age 23.
Follow Jerry on Twitter @StatsonTapp
