QB Performance Plots for Week 14: Skelton Goes Epic Bad

December 13, 2012 - by Gregory Matthews

This is a guest post by Greg Matthews (Twitter: @StatsInTheWild), founder of Stats In The Wild, a blog focused on sports analytics and data visualization. If you’re interested in guest posting on TeamRankings, email us your post and we’ll consider it.

In Week 14, Tom Brady’s 125.4 QB rating led all quarterbacks who attempted more than 10 passes. (Kirk Cousins, who was 2 for 2 with a touchdown and no interceptions, was good for a “perfect” passer rating of 158.3, but he’s disqualified!) Brady completed 60% (21 for 35) of his passes for 296 yards, no interceptions, and four touchdowns.

That stat line helped lead his team to a 42-14 victory over the Houston Texans who arguably, prior to Monday night at least, were the best team in the NFL.

(Just click on the graphic below to enlarge it…)

Joe Flacco also turned in a solid week 14 performance, completing just over 76% of his passes (16 for 21) for 182 yards, three touchdowns and an interception for a passer rating of  121.4. Ultimately, however, his efforts weren’t enough as Flacco’s Ravens fell to the Washington Redskins in overtime.

Chad Henne and John Skelton turned in this week’s worst performances. Henne, while bad, was merely “regular bad” as he completed 21 of 43 passes for 185 yards, 2 interceptions, and no touchdowns. That’s good for a passer rating of 41.3, which stinks, but it happens.

Skelton, however, went EPIC bad. You can see him (or not see him) in the lower left hand corner of this week’s graph. What you can make out if you squint is the green rushing wedge representing his two rushing yards. As for his passing he completed only 11 passes out of his 22 attempts for a mere 74 yards for an average yards per attempt of only 3.4.

Add no touchdowns and four interceptions and you end up with a passer rating of 18.2, a 58-0 loss to a division rival, and a nine game losing streak. That sucks.

Finally, I’ll leave you with this to ponder: I know it’s hard to believe but I swear to you the the Cardinals were 4-0 to start the season and beat the Patriots at Foxboro. Any given Sunday I guess.