We’re far enough into the season that we can see where things are headed. And it looks like passing numbers will continue to nudge forward. The numbers are cheaper now than they were in the past.
At current pace, quarterbacks will complete 63.4 percent of their passes this year. That would be the highest in NFL history (beating last year’s record). And they’re averaging only 12.3 interceptions (per 16 games at this pace), which would smash the previous record. It was just last year that quarterbacks averaged 13.6 picks, going under 14 for the first time.
Yards and touchdowns look like they’ll be a little off. Looks like teams will finish just short of 4,000 yards (250 per game), which would be 3rd all-time. And teams are on pace to average 25 touchdowns, which is 4th. Peyton Manning retired in the offseason; he’s helped those averages in a lot of recent years.
| PASSING PRODUCTION (1996-2016) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pct | Yards | TD | Int |
| 1996 | 57.6% | 3,555 | 20.9 | 18.1 |
| 1997 | 56.2% | 3,510 | 20.6 | 16.0 |
| 1998 | 56.6% | 3,536 | 21.9 | 17.0 |
| 1999 | 57.1% | 3,653 | 21.5 | 18.1 |
| 2000 | 58.2% | 3,553 | 20.5 | 17.1 |
| 2001 | 59.0% | 3,537 | 20.5 | 17.6 |
| 2002 | 59.6% | 3,631 | 21.7 | 16.5 |
| 2003 | 58.8% | 3,421 | 20.4 | 16.8 |
| 2004 | 59.8% | 3,604 | 22.9 | 16.4 |
| 2005 | 59.5% | 3,491 | 20.1 | 15.8 |
| 2006 | 59.8% | 3,509 | 20.3 | 16.3 |
| 2007 | 61.2% | 3,652 | 22.5 | 16.7 |
| 2008 | 61.0% | 3,586 | 20.2 | 14.5 |
| 2009 | 60.9% | 3,716 | 22.2 | 16.4 |
| 2010 | 60.8% | 3,780 | 23.5 | 16.0 |
| 2011 | 60.1% | 3,917 | 23.3 | 15.8 |
| 2012 | 60.9% | 3,936 | 23.7 | 14.6 |
| 2013 | 61.2% | 4,037 | 25.1 | 15.7 |
| 2014 | 62.6% | 3,789 | 25.2 | 14.1 |
| 2015 | 63.0% | 4,146 | 26.3 | 13.6 |
| 2016 | 63.4% | 3,989 | 25.0 | 12.3 |
—Ian Allan