They keep opening up the game, making things easier for the passing game, and that makes it harder to compare players across years. Quarterbacks are completing more of their passes for more yards and more touchdowns, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re better. They’re playing a different game.
10-20 years ago, it meant something when a quarterback averaged 240 passing yards per game. Now that’s below average.
But there’s one stat that remains unaffected by inflation: wins. That’s a zero-sum category. There’s still just as many losses as wins in any given season, just as there always has been.
So when looking at last year’s rookie quarterbacks (Bridgewater, Bortles and Carr all started at least 13 games) we can compare their wins and losses relative to other first-year quarterbacks. Set aside the yards and touchdowns for a moment.
In wins, they look like a pretty typical rookie class. Bridgewater went 6-6 as a starter, which is above-average. Bortles and Carr both won only 3 games, which is below-average.
In the past 20 years, 45 rookie quarterbacks have started at least seven games. Here they be. Guys who’ve had worthy careers are tagged with a black dot. Guys who’ve had outstanding careers have two black dots.
| ROOKIE QUARTERBACKS WITH 7-PLUS STARTERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pick | Player | G | W | L | Pct |
| 2004 | 11 | ••Ben Roethlisberger | 13 | 13 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2012 | 1 | ••Andrew Luck | 16 | 11 | 5 | .688 |
| 2008 | 18 | ••Joe Flacco | 16 | 11 | 5 | .688 |
| 2008 | 3 | ••Matt Ryan | 16 | 11 | 5 | .688 |
| 2012 | 75 | ••Russell Wilson | 16 | 11 | 5 | .688 |
| 2006 | 3 | Vince Young | 13 | 8 | 5 | .615 |
| 2012 | 2 | Robert Griffin III | 15 | 9 | 6 | .600 |
| 2011 | 35 | •Andy Dalton | 16 | 9 | 7 | .563 |
| 2003 | 19 | Kyle Boller | 9 | 5 | 4 | .556 |
| 2007 | 92 | Trent Edwards | 9 | 5 | 4 | .556 |
| 1995 | 5 | •Kerry Collins | 13 | 7 | 6 | .538 |
| 2009 | 5 | Mark Sanchez | 15 | 8 | 7 | .533 |
| 2013 | 39 | Geno Smith | 16 | 8 | 8 | .500 |
| 2014 | 32 | Teddy Bridgewater | 12 | 6 | 6 | .500 |
| 2012 | 8 | •Ryan Tannehill | 16 | 7 | 9 | .438 |
| 2010 | 1 | Sam Bradford | 16 | 7 | 9 | .438 |
| 1998 | 60 | Charlie Batch | 12 | 5 | 7 | .417 |
| 2013 | 16 | EJ Manuel | 10 | 4 | 6 | .400 |
| 2003 | 7 | Byron Leftwich | 13 | 5 | 8 | .385 |
| 1996 | 42 | Tony Banks | 13 | 5 | 8 | .385 |
| 2011 | 1 | ••Cam Newton | 16 | 6 | 10 | .375 |
| 2006 | 49 | Kellen Clemens | 8 | 3 | 5 | .375 |
| 2001 | 53 | Quincy Carter | 8 | 3 | 5 | .375 |
| 2011 | 8 | Jake Locker | 11 | 4 | 7 | .364 |
| 2006 | 10 | Matt Leinart | 11 | 4 | 7 | .364 |
| 2012 | 22 | Brandon Weeden | 15 | 5 | 10 | .333 |
| 1997 | 42 | •Jake Plummer | 9 | 3 | 6 | .333 |
| 2009 | 17 | Josh Freeman | 9 | 3 | 6 | .333 |
| 1998 | 2 | Ryan Leaf | 9 | 3 | 6 | .333 |
| 2011 | 10 | Blaine Gabbert | 14 | 4 | 10 | .286 |
| 2005 | 1 | •Alex Smith | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 |
| 2005 | 25 | Jason Campbell | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 |
| 2002 | 1 | David Carr | 16 | 4 | 12 | .250 |
| 2002 | 3 | Joey Harrington | 12 | 3 | 9 | .250 |
| 1999 | 2 | ••Donovan McNabb | 8 | 2 | 6 | .250 |
| 2014 | 3 | Blake Bortles | 13 | 3 | 10 | .231 |
| 2011 | 12 | Christian Ponder | 10 | 2 | 8 | .200 |
| 2009 | 1 | ••Matthew Stafford | 10 | 2 | 8 | .200 |
| 2014 | 36 | Derek Carr | 16 | 3 | 13 | .188 |
| 1998 | 1 | ••Peyton Manning | 16 | 3 | 13 | .188 |
| 1999 | 1 | Tim Couch | 14 | 2 | 12 | .143 |
| 2004 | 1 | ••Eli Manning | 7 | 1 | 6 | .143 |
| 1994 | 3 | Heath Shuler | 8 | 1 | 7 | .125 |
| 2004 | 22 | J.P. Losman | 8 | 1 | 7 | .125 |
| 2010 | 48 | Jimmy Clausen | 10 | 1 | 9 | .100 |
—Ian Allan