Through 15 games in Week 3, there have been some impressive and not-so-impressive displays from quarterbacks around the NFL. ESPN Stats & Information takes a look at the best and worst QB performances from Week 3 in terms of ESPN's Total Quarterback Rating (QBR).
Top 3
Dak Prescott: 99.1 Total QBR
Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys scored on each of their four first-half possessions to take a 24-3 lead at halftime on Sunday night. He was 12-for-15 for 139 yards and added a rushing touchdown, accumulating a 99.6 QBR in the first half. With a two-score lead the remainder of the game, Prescott's QBR never dipped below 99 in the second half, and it was never lower than 97.5 for the entirety of the game.
Prescott added 2.7 expected points (EPA) with his rushes on Sunday, tied for the second-most by a QB this week, helping him to the third-most total EPA (9.1) of any QB in Week 3.
Aaron Rodgers: 99.1 Total QBR
In his 122nd career start for the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers posted a QBR of 99 or better for just the second time in his career (the other was versus the Bears in 2014). Rodgers was lights out to start the game, completing 12-of-18 passes, including four touchdowns in the first half.
Through 30 minutes, Rodgers had a 99.8 QBR and had already added nearly nine points to his net scoring margin more than an average QB would have with the same number of plays. Despite slowing down in the second half, Rodgers’ QBR never dipped below 98.5 for the rest of the game. QBR down-weights plays in blowout situations, and even though the game finished as a seven-point difference, it was out of hand for much of the second half.
One other factor worth highlighting is Rodgers’ impact by drawing defensive penalties. Though these plays will not show up for Rodgers in the box score, he drew a 66-yard defensive pass interference penalty that added 1.4 EPA, actually his second-biggest EPA play of the game. That play accounted for more penalty EPA than any other QB had in an entire game this week. No player in the past two seasons has had a bigger impact drawing penalties than Rodgers.
Russell Wilson: 93.8 Total QBR
Wilson left the game late in the third quarter with a knee injury, but by that point, the Seattle Seahawks were leading by 24 points and Wilson had already made a major impact. Wilson completed 15-of-23 passes and averaged 10.6 yards per attempt. Wilson's average pass traveled 11.2 yards in the air beyond the line of scrimmage, the highest of any QB so far in Week 3.
On throws of 15 yards or longer, he was 5-of-8 with a touchdown, and one of those completions traveled 50 yards in the air to Doug Baldwin on third-and-14. That play added 1.8 clutch-weighted EPA and was the seventh-biggest play of any QB of Week 3.
Bottom 3
Marcus Mariota: 3.6 Total QBR
Mariota posted a career-worst 3.6 QBR in the Tennessee Titans' 17-10 loss to the Oakland Raiders. At first glance, Mariota’s raw stats (17-of-33, 0 TD, 2 INT) may not look as egregious as other interception-laden stat lines; however, Mariota also fumbled twice (losing one), which cost his team about four EPA, and only converted two first downs in 12 third-down plays.
It’s worth noting that Mariota had a potential game-tying touchdown pass with 27 seconds remaining nullified by offensive pass interference, but given the plays that counted, Mariota was the least efficient QB in Week 3.
Ryan Fitzpatrick: 5.0 Total QBR
Fitzpatrick threw six (yes, six!) interceptions in the New York Jets' 24-3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He is the first quarterback to throw zero pass touchdowns and six interceptions in a single game since Tom Tupa in 1989.
In total, Fitzpatrick’s interceptions cost the team 7.2 EPA, the worst total since Eli Manning had a five-interception game against the San Francisco 49ers in 2014. Where those interceptions came – three in the red zone and two inside the six yard line – made them even more costly.
The only reason that Fitzpatrick’s QBR isn’t lower is that he had a few good rushes, took no sacks and had a few big third- and fourth-down conversions (seven first downs in 15 plays). On a per-play basis, Mariota was less efficient than Fitzpatrick, but accounting for his total number of plays, Fitzpatrick cost his team more than any other QB in a game this season (-10.4 points added).
Carson Palmer: 13.4 Total QBR
Palmer tied a career high Sunday with four interceptions, and it was the first game in his career with four INTs and zero passing touchdowns. Palmer could get nothing going early in the game; he was 1-of-7 for 8 yards in the first quarter, which was good for a QBR of 1.2. Palmer's QBR got as high as 32.5 early in the fourth quarter, but then he threw all four of his interceptions to lower it to 13.4 by the end of the game.
Palmer cost his team 1.7 expected points in Sunday’s 33-18 loss to the Bills , the most expected points he's cost his team in a game since Week 16 of 2013 against the Seahawks, which was also the last time he threw four interceptions in a game. The problem for Palmer wasn’t only his four interceptions. A slow start (1.2 QBR in the first quarter) and inability to get things going downfield (9-of-23 with four interceptions on throws of 10 yards or longer) were the major contributors to his inefficient outing.