Passer Rating Scale: Good, Average & Perfect QB Ratings
Understand the 0–158.3 NFL passer rating scale, including good, average, elite and perfect ratings, the 158.3 requirements, and NCAA differences.
What is a good passer rating?
A passer rating of 90 or higher is generally good in the modern NFL, 100 or higher is excellent, 120 or higher is elite for a game, and 158.3 is perfect. A rating near 80 is usually below a strong modern passing standard, while a rating below 70 indicates an inefficient performance.
These descriptions are interpretation bands, not official NFL awards. The NFL defines the calculation and its 0–158.3 limits; it does not publish universal labels for “good” or “elite.” A useful evaluation must also consider season, era, sample size and game situation.
NFL passer rating scale
| Passer rating | Practical interpretation | What the result usually signals |
|---|---|---|
| 120.0–158.3 | Elite | Exceptional efficiency across most formula components |
| 100.0–119.9 | Excellent | Strong accuracy, production and ball security |
| 90.0–99.9 | Good | Efficient starting-level passing in a modern context |
| 80.0–89.9 | Inconsistent | Some productive attributes with one or more weaknesses |
| 70.0–79.9 | Poor | Low efficiency or damaging negative plays |
| 0.0–69.9 | Very poor | Multiple formula components near their lower bounds |
Check a passer rating against the scale
How should a passer rating be interpreted?
Passer rating combines four attributes:
- Completion percentage represents accuracy.
- Yards per attempt represents production per throw.
- Touchdown percentage represents scoring frequency.
- Interception percentage represents ball security.
A high score normally requires strength across several attributes. However, each component is capped, and the formula ignores rushing, sacks, fumbles, score, down, distance and opponent quality. The number should be read as a passing-efficiency summary, not a complete quarterback grade.
Use the NFL passer rating formula to see how the four attributes produce the final score.
What is an average passer rating?
There is no permanent average passer rating because league passing conditions change. Rule changes, offensive systems, completion rates and interception rates have generally made modern ratings higher than ratings from earlier eras.
For a quick modern interpretation, the 80s represent mixed or below-strong efficiency, the 90s represent good efficiency, and 100-plus represents excellent efficiency. For historical comparisons, compare a quarterback with the league average from the same season rather than applying today’s expectations to every era.
Sample size also matters. A single trick-play completion can produce an extreme rating, while a full-season rating summarizes hundreds of attempts. A season-long rating is more stable than a one-game rating; a one-game rating is more stable than a one-pass rating.
What is a perfect passer rating?
A perfect NFL passer rating is 158.3. It occurs when all four components reach the maximum value of 2.375 in the same statistical sample.
The required component thresholds are:
| Formula attribute | Requirement for the maximum component |
|---|---|
| Completion percentage | At least 77.5% |
| Yards per attempt | At least 12.5 |
| Touchdown percentage | At least 11.875% |
| Interception percentage | 0% |
The quarterback does not need to complete every pass. “Perfect” means perfect under the formula, not a literally flawless game. Incompletions, sacks and rushing losses can occur without lowering passer rating if the four passing components remain at their caps.
Perfect games in NFL history
A 158.3 game is rare but not unique. It has happened more than 85 times since the formula’s introduction in 1973, spread across roughly three dozen different quarterbacks. Most passers who reach it do so once. Lamar Jackson holds the all-time record with four perfect games, breaking Ben Roethlisberger’s previous record of three, a mark also held by Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Kurt Warner.
Jackson’s fourth came in Week 9 of the 2024 season against Denver: 16-of-19 passing for 280 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. That line illustrates the earlier point about the formula’s ceiling — 16-of-19 is 84.2% completion and 280 ÷ 19 is 14.7 yards per attempt, both well past the 77.5% and 12.5 thresholds needed to max those components, so the extra accuracy and yardage above the cap added nothing further to the final score.
Perfect-rating component check
Why is the maximum 158.3?
Each of the four components can contribute 2.375 points:
2.375 × 4 = 9.5
The NFL formula then divides by six and multiplies by 100:
(9.5 ÷ 6) × 100 = 158.333…
The displayed value is rounded to one decimal place: 158.3.
Can a quarterback have a 0.0 passer rating?
Yes. The minimum is 0.0 because every component is limited at zero. A very low completion rate, fewer than three yards per attempt, no touchdowns and a high interception percentage can push all four components to the minimum.
A rating of 39.6 is sometimes described as the result of throwing every pass incomplete. That scenario receives zero for completion, yards and touchdown components, but the interception component remains at its maximum because no interceptions were thrown:
(0 + 0 + 0 + 2.375) ÷ 6 × 100 = 39.6
Therefore, 39.6 is not the minimum. Interceptions can lower the rating beneath it, all the way to 0.0.
Single-game rating vs season rating
The mathematical scale is identical, but the meaning changes with the sample:
- Single play: highly volatile and not useful by itself.
- Single game: describes one passing performance but can be shaped by a small number of attempts.
- Season: provides a more stable efficiency comparison.
- Career: summarizes a large sample but can hide changes between eras or stages of a player’s career.
This distinction is more useful than a simple list of record holders. A 158.3 game confirms that the formula’s four maximum conditions were met; it does not mean the performance had the greatest total value, volume or difficulty in NFL history.
For the qualified game, season and career categories, see the highest passer ratings in NFL history. Keeping the historical leaderboard separate lets this page remain focused on interpreting the scale.
NFL passer rating scale vs QBR scale
Do not interpret passer rating and QBR with the same bands.
| Metric | Scale | Average reference | Primary focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL passer rating | 0–158.3 | Changes by season and era | Passing efficiency |
| ESPN Total QBR | 0–100 | About 50 | Contextual total QB efficiency |
A 75 passer rating is generally poor, while a 75 QBR is considered elite over a season. See QBR vs passer rating before comparing the two numbers.
NFL scale vs NCAA passing efficiency
NCAA passing efficiency uses an uncapped weighted equation. College scores can exceed 158.3 and even 200, so the NFL interpretation bands do not apply. A college result must be evaluated against college competition and season-specific benchmarks.
Use the college passer rating calculator for NCAA statistics. Do not enter a college result into an NFL scale and treat the label as equivalent.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about passer rating and how to calculate it.
What is considered a good passer rating?
A passer rating of 90 or higher is generally good in the modern NFL. A rating above 100 is excellent, and a game above 120 represents elite passing efficiency.
What is an average QB rating?
The league average changes by season and era. For a quick modern interpretation, ratings in the 80s are mixed or below a strong standard, while ratings in the 90s are generally good.
What is a perfect NFL passer rating?
A perfect NFL passer rating is 158.3. The passer must reach the maximum completion, yards, touchdown and interception components in the same statistical sample.
Does a perfect passer rating require every pass to be completed?
No. The completion component reaches its maximum at 77.5%. A quarterback can throw incompletions and still finish with a 158.3 rating if all four component thresholds are met.
Who holds the record for most perfect passer rating games?
Lamar Jackson, with four for his career. He broke the previous record of three, a mark shared by Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner.
What is the lowest possible passer rating?
The lowest possible NFL passer rating is 0.0 because each of the four components is clamped at zero.
Is a 39.6 passer rating the minimum?
No. A 39.6 rating results when every pass is incomplete but none is intercepted. Interceptions can lower the score to 0.0.
Is 100 a perfect QB rating?
Not under the NFL passer rating formula. A 100 passer rating is excellent, but the maximum is 158.3. A 100 QBR belongs to a different 0-to-100 metric.
Can a college passer rating exceed 158.3?
Yes. NCAA passing efficiency has no equivalent 158.3 cap and uses a different formula, so college ratings can exceed 200.
Enter a stat line in the passer rating calculator, then use this scale to interpret the result in the correct NFL context.