Following Monday night’s Lions victory over the Seahawks, Troy Aikman discussed on ESPN how Jared Goff’s performance might have earned him a rating that isn’t “perfect” according to the NFL’s official passer rating system. This is because Goff caught a touchdown pass that he did not attempt to throw.
Together, the Lions completed 19 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns while picking up no interceptions. This yields a flawless passing score of 158.3.
On the other hand, this rating takes into account the trick play touchdown pass that Amon-Ra St. Brown made to Goff. Goff finished with a 292 yard completion percentage on 18 of 18 passes, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
This indicates that he completed 11.1 percent of his passes for touchdowns, which is somewhat less than what is required for a passer rating of “perfect.”
A player needs to complete 77.5 percent of passes for touchdowns, average at least 12.5 yards per attempt, have no interceptions, and throw at least 11.875 percent of passes for touchdowns in order to attain a perfect passer rating.
Goff’s passing rating was 155.8, meaning he barely missed the touchdown percentage mark while meeting three of the four requirements. Had the Lions run a play where Goff was supposed to throw a touchdown rather than catch one, he would have completed with an impeccable rating of 158.3.
For more than 50 years, the NFL has used the passer rating to evaluate quarterbacks, and there are no indications that this will change.
It’s not the most effective way to rate quarterbacks, in part because of the artificial cutoff points—for example, requiring an 11.875 touchdown percentage to be considered “perfect.” However, because the NFL does this, fans and the media pay it a lot of attention.
The Lions became the second team this year to complete a game with a perfect passer rating of 158.3, having done so against the Cardinals in Week Two. They are also the 57th club in NFL history to accomplish so.
Even if Goff didn’t quite reach perfection according to the passer rating system, it was still an unforgettable night for him.